Since the June 2026 redesign, Ontario’s only economic immigration stream — the Ontario Workforce Priority (OWP) stream — is employer-led. If you are an Ontario business trying to fill a full-time, permanent role with international talent, this guide explains your role, your obligations, and the deadlines that drive the whole process.
TL;DR — what employers must know
1. You start the process: register in the OINP Employer Portal and submit the job offer — the candidate’s Expression of Interest (EOI) clock starts after that.
2. Your business must have been actively operating for at least 3 years with a business premises in Ontario.
3. The position must be full-time and permanent, meet the regional wage level, and be genuinely necessary to your business.
4. Filing deadlines are short: the candidate registers an EOI within 30 days of your job-offer submission; after an invitation, your position-approval application is due within 14 days and the candidate’s application within 17 days.
5. Municipalities, school boards, universities and colleges, hospitals, and agencies of the Crown — including the Ontario Public Service — cannot participate as employers.
Who can be an OINP employer
To submit a job offer under the OWP stream, your organization must meet all of these:
– Active business for at least 3 years at the time the position approval application is filed
– A business premises in Ontario where the candidate will work (home addresses do not qualify)
– No outstanding orders under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 or the Occupational Health and Safety Act
– Revenue and full-time-employee minimums based on where the job is located — with lower thresholds for employers outside the Greater Toronto Area, and lower thresholds still for rural and northern employers
– Willingness to demonstrate recruitment effort for Canadian citizens and permanent residents, where required (when the candidate lives outside Canada or outside Ontario)
Excluded employers: the Ontario Public Service and other Crown agencies, municipalities, school boards, universities, colleges, and hospitals cannot participate as designated employers under the stream.
The position you offer
The job offer must be:
– Full-time — at least 30 hours per week
– Permanent — no end date, not a contract or seasonal position
– Genuinely necessary to your business and consistent with its activities
– At or above the wage level for the occupation and region
– Not affecting a labour dispute and not displacing a Canadian worker
It must fall in a TEER 0–3 occupation (skilled pathway) or a TEER 4–5 occupation — under the redesigned stream, any TEER 4–5 occupation qualifies; there is no occupation list.
How the process works — step by step
- You register and submit the job offer in the OINP Employer Portal. The candidate receives a job-offer ID tied to your submission.
- The candidate registers an EOI within 30 days of your job-offer submission. EOIs are ranked and Ontario issues invitations to apply in draws.
- If the candidate is invited: your employer position-approval application is due within 14 days of the invitation. This is where you prove the business tests above — revenue, employees, premises, recruitment.
- The candidate files their application within 17 days of the invitation (after your position approval is submitted).
- Nomination decision. If approved, the candidate receives a certificate of nomination and applies to IRCC for permanent residence — the final decision rests with IRCC.
What the 2026 change means for employers
All nine former OINP streams — including the three employer job-offer streams — were revoked in May–June 2026 and replaced by the single OWP stream. Practically, this means:
– One framework instead of many — the same employer tests apply whether you hire a TEER 0 engineer or a TEER 4 production worker.
– Lower-skilled hiring is now mainstream — TEER 4–5 hires no longer need to fit an occupation list; they need 9 months’ experience with your company, CLB 4 language, and secondary education.
– EOIs under old streams are gone — profiles registered under former streams were automatically withdrawn after June 26, 2026. Any hire starts fresh in the new system.
– Self-employed physicians are the one exception to the job-offer requirement; they contact the OINP directly to begin EOI registration.
Common employer mistakes to avoid
- Submitting a job offer for a contract or probation-to-hire role — only permanent positions qualify
- Wage below the regional level for the occupation
- No documentation of recruitment efforts when required — this is a testable requirement, not a formality
- Letting the 14-day position-approval window lapse after an invitation — the file dies
- Registering the candidate’s EOI before your job-offer submission — the sequence matters and the 30-day clock runs from your submission
How Mozirski Immigration Consulting helps employers
Led by Alexandra Mozirski, RCIC (#R516418), our Barrie-based practice supports Ontario employers through the full OWP cycle: eligibility review against the business tests, job-offer submission strategy in the Employer Portal, position-approval documentation, and coordination with the candidate’s application inside the short filing windows. Contact us or request a free assessment to review a specific hire.
Related pages
- Ontario Workforce Priority stream — the 2026 guide
- Ontario PNP processing time
- OINP draws & application status
- Stranded EOIs & grandfathering
- Work permits Canada
Official sources
- Ontario Workforce Priority stream — official stream page, employer requirements (accessed 2026-10-27)
- Ontario OINP main page (updated 2026-10-20)
- 2026 OINP updates — Redesign Phase 1
- O. Reg. 422/17 — GENERAL (e-Laws currency 2026-10-22)
Eligibility is individual. Requirements on this page summarize official sources as of the review date above; verify against the official pages or speak with our RCIC before making decisions.