From “First Come First Serve” to “Points System”
On July 21st, 2020, OINP Foreign Worker stream only opened for 2 hours before it announced that it had reached capacity. While Varity Law had successfully secured spots for all its 13 OINP foreign worker clients, most people were unable to even log into the system.
Consequently, many argue that this “first come first serve” system is unfair to all applicants. In response, on September 8th, the Ontario immigration department proposed it will change its system to a points system similar to the Express Entry points system already used by the federal immigration department. This change will affect many Ontario immigration programs including all employer sponsored programs (foreign worker, international students, in-demand skills stream), master’s stream, and PhD stream.
This sweeping change will affect many applicants who are using the OINP nomination to get their work permit and/or permanent residency status in Canada.
OINP Employer Sponsored – Other Requirements
Other than this change, the rest of the eligibility criteria will likely remain the same. For instance, the OINP employer sponsored – foreign worker program will continue to have the following requirements:
- The sponsoring Canadian employer must have $1 million revenue in the past year (if the Canadian job offer is based outside of GTA, then the Canadian employer must have $500 k revenue)
- The sponsoring Canadian employer must employ at least 5 Canadian citizens or permanent residents (if the Canadian job offer is based outside of GTA, then the Canadian employer must employ 3 Canadian citizens or permanent residents)
- The immigration applicant (foreign worker) must have at least 2 years of relevant experience that matches with the Canadian job offer
- The Canadian employer must advertise and recruit for local talents for at least one month – must make sufficient effort to genuinely look for and interview local talents
- The immigration applicant must have qualifications that make him/her more suitable for the Canadian job offer than local talents
From the above, requirements #1-3 are straightforward requirements, whereas #4-5 is more of an art than a science. Many applications tend to be rejected due to failure to satisfy #4-5.
In addition, the OINP employer sponsored programs are ever popular because there are no language requirements.
Is your only competitive advantage Language and Foreign Connections?
In proving #4-5, which is showing that the immigration applicant is more suitable to the Canadian job than local talents, many people try to argue their native language skills and their native connections make them more competitive. For instance, if Alisha speaks fluent Hindi and have client connections in India, she could argue then she’s more suitable for a position where the Canadian company is looking for India clients, suppliers, etc.
However, Ontario immigration department have been increasingly rejecting this reasoning recently. For a strong application, Alisha’s language and connection skills to her home country should not be her only competitive advantage. The program is designed to look for other competitive advantages such as technical expertise, specialized knowledge, and deep industry experience. To show those things, each OINP application should be given a tailored approach and an in-depth analysis.
Varity Law takes pride in providing tailored services to each case and conducting a deep dive in each immigration file, analyzing the details and specific advantaged held by each foreign applicant. Given our efforts, we are proud to announce that we have received various OINP nominations already – a tremendous feat given the difficulty of this immigration program.
Better to Act Now Before Ontario System Changes
When the Ontario immigration programs do switch over to the points system, then it’s bad news for foreign applicants who want their PR status without having language scores. Most likely, those with designated language results will be given higher scores and be selected by the program.
The good news is, regarding this change the Ontario immigration department is seeking public opinions until October 23rd, 2020. Only after this date will they consider and likely implement the change to the points system.
In addition, the OINP employer sponsored programs will likely open once more before 2020 is over, and before the change over to the points system. This is because historically the Ontario programs try to approve a significant number of applications on an annual basis. In 2019, Ontario approved of 7,391 immigration applications, resulting in 13,731 foreign applicants receiving their work permits and/or permanent residency status, as those applications included their family members.
Therefore, it’s prudent to act fast and plan to apply for the last round of OINP employer sponsored program for 2020. As there is the advertising & recruitment requirement of one month for the foreign worker program, ideally applicants should be preparing now.
Conclusion
Many OINP programs, including all of its popular employer sponsored programs, are switching from a first come first serve system to a points system similar to express entry. Nevertheless, implementing such sweeping changes take time – so for those looking to apply under the old system with no language requirements, better to act now. Whether it’s reserving that spot in the OINP queue or getting that successful OINP nomination, Varity Law have successful experience. Call 905-597-9357 or visit https://varitylaw.ca/book-consultation/ today to book a free initial consultation with us.
This article is only meant to give general legal information. For legal advice on your specific situation, please consult a legal professional.
Yi Dan (Sabrina) Ding is the Owner & Principal Lawyer at Varity Law Professional Corporation. Varity Law is a one-stop-shop law firm offering immigration law, business law, real estate law, and wills & estates law services.
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