Permanent residence: Express Entry

Overview

The Ontario Workforce Priority stream offers eligible skilled foreign workers with a qualifying job offer and work experience in any National Occupational Classification (NOC) occupation a pathway to apply to permanently live and work in Ontario. The stream is also available to eligible self-employed physicians who do not have a job offer.

If you are a skilled foreign worker who meets the stream requirements, your employer must first initiate the process through the employer portal. You can then register an expression of interest.

If you are invited to apply, you must demonstrate that you possess the attributes outlined in your expression of interest and meet the eligibility criteria set out on this page. Your employer must also seek approval of the employment position by applying through the employer portal.

If your application is approved, you may then apply to the federal government through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for permanent residence. IRCC makes the final decision on who becomes a permanent resident.

Self-employed physician

If you are a self-employed physician, you may apply without having a job offer. Please refer to the requirements under the self-employed physicians section.

Applicant requirements

These requirements apply to you if you’re applying with a job offer under the Ontario Workforce Priority stream.

To qualify for nomination, you must meet all the following requirements:

• Have an employer who has registered with the program and submitted an application for an approval of your employment position.
• Receive an invitation to apply and apply within the deadline.
• Provide documentation to support the scoring factors that you attested to in your expression of interest (EOI) that formed the basis of your invitation to apply.
• Meet the following stream requirements and provide supporting documentation as outlined in the document checklist:
  • work experience (or mandatory licence or other authorization)
  • valid licence or other authorization (if required by your employment position)
  • language
  • education
  • legal status in Canada (if applicable)
  • intention to live and work in Ontario
• Your employer’s application for an approval of your employment position must be approved for your application for a certificate of nomination to be approved.

There are different requirements depending on the TEER category of your job offer NOC. The TEERcategory is determined by the second digit of your occupation’s 5-digit NOC. For example, the TEERcategory for NOC 13102 — Payroll administrators is 3.

Review the requirements below to learn how to meet all stream requirements.  

Please refer to Ontario Regulation 422/17 for more details on each requirement.

1. Expression of interest and invitation to apply

• You must have received an invitation to apply and applied within the deadline.
• You must demonstrate that you have the qualifications that you claimed and attested to in your expression of interest.

2. Work experience (or mandatory licence or other authorization)

Your work experience requirement depends on the TEER category of your job offer NOC.

Your job offer employment position means the employment position your employer is seeking approval for and which is set out in your job offer.

Job offer under TEER category 0, 1, 2 or 3

If you have a job offer under TEER category 0, 1, 2 or 3, you must have one of the following:

• At least 6 months of consecutive, paid full-time work experience in the job offer employment position, within the 12 months before the date you made your application.
• If you are a recent Ontario graduate, at least 3 months of consecutive, paid full-time work experience in the job offer employment position within the 12 months before the date you made your application.
• At least 2 years of cumulative, paid, full-time work experience in the same NOC occupation as the job offer employment position (or in a different position that is permissible if your job offer employment position is in NOC 33102, NOC Sub-Major Group 223 or NOC 33103) within 5 years before the date you made your application, or the equivalent paid, part-time work experience
• Licence or other authorization required under Ontario or federal law to work in the job offer employment position.

6 months of consecutive work experience in the job offer employment position within the last year

You must have:

• at least 6 months of consecutive, paid, full-time work experience in the employment position your employer is seeking approval for and which is set out in your job offer
• gained this experience within the 12 months before the date you submitted your application

Full-time work experience means work experience in the employment position your employer is seeking approval for and which is set out in your job offer (meaning, the same occupation, employer and location, etc.) which must require at least 780 hours of paid work in a 12-month period and at least 30 hours of paid work per week in a 12-month period.

Return to work experience requirements for job offer under TEER category 0, 1, 2 or 3.

3 months of consecutive work experience in the job offer within the last year for a recent Ontario graduate

If you are a recent Ontario graduate, meaning that you:

• graduated from an eligible Ontario institution within the last 3 years with one of the following credentials:
  • post-secondary degree or diploma that took at least 2 years to complete on a full-time basis
  • Ontario College Graduate Certificate
  • Master’s degree
  • PhD degree

You must have:

• at least 3 months of consecutive, paid, full-time work experience in the employment position your employer is seeking approval for and which is set out in your job offer
• gained this experience within the 12 months before the date you submitted your application

Full-time work experience means work experience in the employment position your employer is seeking approval for and which is set out in your job offer (meaning, the same occupation, employer and location, etc.), which must require at least 390 hours of paid work in a 12-month period and at least 30 hours of paid work per week in a 12-month period.

Return to work experience requirements for job offer under TEER category 0, 1, 2 or 3.

2 years of cumulative work experience in the job offer NOC within the past 5 years

You must have:

• at least 2 years of cumulative, paid, full-time work experience
• gained this work experience within the past 5 years before the date you submitted your application

The experience must be in one or more of the following:

• The same NOC occupation as the job offer employment position.
• A NOC occupation in Sub-Major Group 213 (Professional occupations in engineering), if you have a job offer for an employment position in a NOC occupation in Sub-Major Group 223 (Technical occupations related to engineering).
• NOC occupation 31120 (Pharmacists), if you have a job offer for an employment position in NOC occupation 33103 (Pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants).
• NOC occupation 32101 (Licensed Practical Nurses) or 31301 (Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses), if you have a job offer for an employment position in NOCoccupation 33102 (Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates).

In short, applicants whose job offer employment position is for a professional occupation in engineering, as a pharmacist, or a licensed practical nurse, can use experience in that occupation, or in one of the listed related NOC occupations, to meet the minimum work experience requirement.

Full-time work experience

Full-time work experience means working in a job with at least 30 hours of paid work in a week that amounts to at least 3,120 hours of paid work over a two-year period.

Part-time work experience

Part-time equivalent work experience means working in:

• 1 job for at least 15 hours of paid work in a week that amounts to at least 3,120 hours of paid work over a 4-year period
• more than 1 job for at least 30 hours of paid work in a week, for 2 years, that amounts to at least 3,120 hours of paid work in that 2-year period

Return to work experience requirements for job offer under TEER category 0, 1, 2 or 3.

Mandatory licence or other authorization in the job offer employment position

If your job offer is for an employment position that requires a licence or other authorization under Ontario or Canadian law to perform the work, you must hold that valid licence or authorization from the appropriate regulatory body in Ontario or Canada. In that case, subject to the exception below, you do not need to demonstrate work experience in your occupation or job offer employment position.

Return to work experience requirements for job offer under TEER category 0, 1, 2 or 3.

Transport truck drivers and Bus drivers, subway operators and other transit operators 

If your job offer is for a NOC 73300 – Transport truck drivers or NOC 73301 – Bus drivers, subway operators and other transit operators employment position, you must meet the minimum 6 months of consecutive, paid, work experience requirement set out above, even if you are licensed or a recent Ontario graduate.

Job offer for a TEER category 4 or 5 employment position

If you have a job offer for a TEER category 4 or 5 employment position, you must have:

• at least 9 months of cumulative, paid, full-time work experience in the employment position your employer is seeking approval for and which is set out in your job offer
• gained this work experience within 2 years before the date you submitted your application

Full-time work experience means work experience in the employment position your employer is seeking approval for and which is set out in your job offer (meaning, the same occupation, employer and location, etc.) which must require at least 1,170 hours of paid work in a 12-month period and at least 30 hours of paid work per week in a 12-month period.

Notes on calculating work experience

Applicants can only use work experience that was completed by the time of application submission to demonstrate meeting the work experience requirements. Remember that you must also make sure you meet all stream criteria at the time you register your expression of interest. You should not apply if you do not meet all stream criteria.

Cumulative work experience means the work experience you’ve gained must add up to at least the minimum amount over the required period. Breaks in employment over the required period are allowed.

Vacation periods, regular sick leave and other standard paid short term leave entitlements as provided for in collective agreements, workplace legislation and/or individual employer policies will not generally be considered interruptions to full-time employment. Extended leaves will be considered interruptions to full-time employment and should not be included in the calculation of work experience.