June 26, 2026 Ontario introduces the first set of new pathways for Canada permanent residency. The introduction of three new pathways under the Ontario Workforce Priority Stream, are a part of the termination of its overall provincial immigration pathways.
The last week of May played a crucial role in Canada immigration as Ontario overhauled all its immigration pathways for Canada PR. In the latest announcement, Ontario aims to restart its immigration pathways allowing skilled workers to live, work, and stay in Ontario, Canada.
Ontario PNP Program: The Latest Update
With the latest update, Ontario dropped regulatory amendments detailing how foreign nationals can qualify for provincial nomination for permanent residence under the newly launched Ontario Workforce Priority Stream, which includes three pathways:
❖ TEER 0 – 3 Pathway – for workers in higher-skilled occupations
❖ TEER 4 – 5 Pathway – for workers in lower-skilled occupations
❖ Self-employed Physicians – for registered physicians eligible to bill through the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP)
As stated by the immigration department of Ontario, these streams will be in effect but eligible foreign nationals can only apply after the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) reopens its Expression of Interest (EOI) system, which is expected later in the summer season. It is also expected that in the second phase that the province will launch three additional streams which are as follows:
❖ Priority healthcare stream
❖ Entrepreneurs stream
❖ Exceptional talent stream
However, applicants who have already applied for provincial nomination under the old pathways will continue to have their applications processed with the prior set requirements.
Ontario PNP: Newly Introduced Pathways
With the introduction of three new pathways, Ontario has also listed out certain eligibility requirements against each pathway such as education, language proficiency, and work experience. Below is a clear representation of each pathway which are as follows:
1. TEER 0 – 3 Pathway
This pathway is applicable to those foreign nationals who have job offers in occupations that typically require at least some level of post-secondary education or training. However, certain other requirements are as follows:
Requirements | Details |
Who can Apply | Foreign nationals with a job offer in a TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3 occupation that generally requires post-secondary education or training |
Job Offer | Must have a full-time, permanent job offer from an eligible Ontario employer in a TEER 0–3 occupation |
Language Requirements | Meet CLB 6 or CLB 5 (depending on the occupation) in English or French, or qualify as a recent Ontario graduate |
Recent Ontario Graduate | Graduated within the last 3 years from an eligible Ontario institution with one of the following: • 2-year (or longer) diploma/degree • Ontario graduate certificate • Master's degree • PhD |
Licensing | If the occupation is regulated, the applicant must hold the required Ontario licence or authorization. |
Education Requirements | A post-secondary degree or diploma (minimum one-year full-time program) from Canada or an equivalent foreign credential supported by an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) |
Nurse Aid Exemption | Nurse aides (NOC 33102) may qualify with a one-year Ontario college certificate. Certain skilled trades occupations may qualify with only a secondary school diploma or equivalent |
Work Experience Requirements | Applicants must meet either the Occupational Work Experience requirement or the Job Offer Work Experience requirement |
Skilled Trade Exemptions | |
Requirements | Details |
Education | A secondary school diploma (or equivalent) is sufficient if the job offer falls under the eligible NOC groups listed below |
Language | Applicants in these occupations can meet the language requirement with CLB 5 instead of CLB 6 |
Eligible NOC Groups | Major Group 72: Technical trades and transportation officers/controllers (excluding Sub-Major Group 726) Major Group 73: General trades Major Group 82: Supervisors in natural resources, agriculture, and related production Major Group 83: Occupations in natural resources and related production Major Group 93: Central control and process operators, aircraft assembly assemblers and inspectors (excluding Sub-Major Group 932) Minor Group 6320: Cooks, Butchers, and Bakers Unit Group 62200: Chefs |
Work Experience Requirements | |
Requirements | Details |
Occupational Work Experience | At least 2 years of cumulative full-time (or equivalent part-time) experience within the last 5 years in the same occupation or an eligible related occupation |
Job Offer Work Experience | Experience with the same Ontario employer in the same position within the last 12 months while residing in Ontario: • 6 months of consecutive full-time work, or • 3 months of consecutive full-time work for recent Ontario graduates |
Work Rules | |
Requirements | Details |
Full Time Work | Minimum 30 hours per week in a single role |
Part Time Work | Can only count toward the Occupational Work Experience requirement: • Multiple jobs totaling 30+ hours/week count one-for-one. • A single job of at least 15 hours/week counts two-for-one toward full-time equivalency |
Occupational Work Experience Exemptions | |
Occupations | Exemption Details |
Pharmacy Assistants | For a job offer for NOC 33101, (Pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants), work experience can qualify under NOC 31120 (Pharmacists) |
Nurse Aids and Orderlies | For a job offer for NOC 33102 (Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates), work experience can qualify under NOC 32101 (Licensed Practical Nurses) or NOC 31301 (Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses) |
Engineering Technician Occupations | For a job offer falling within NOC Sub-Major Group 223, (Technical occupations related to engineering), work experience can qualify under a NOC within Sub-Major Group 213 (Professional occupations in engineering) |
Note: foreign nationals who aspire to apply their application under this pathway are required to have appropriate licensing or authorization to perform the job, if any of the job activities require licensing under either Ontario or federal law.
2. TEER 4 – 5 Pathway
TEER 4 – 5 pathway is applicable to those foreign nationals with job offers in occupations that typically require only a secondary school education and/ or several weeks of on-the-job training. Several other requirements set by the immigration department is as follows:
Requirements | Details |
Job offer | Have a full-time, permanent job offer from an eligible Ontario employer in a TEER 4 or 5 occupation, paying at least the occupation’s median wage |
Job offer work experience | Have at least nine months cumulative work experience within the past two years in the same job, with the same employer as their qualifying Ontario job offer |
Education | Have a secondary school diploma, or equivalent |
Language | Have at least CLB 4 in English or French in all four abilities |
3. Self- employed Physicians
Self-employed physicians are one of the third recently introduced pathways. Eligible applicants applying under this pathway are required to hold certain requirements such as:
● Be licensed and in good standing as a physician in Ontario, with a valid certificate of registration as an independent, academic, or provisional practitioner
● Be eligible to bill through OHIP
To be eligible to bill through OHIP means applicants must have an OHIP billing number, as without OHIP number applicants cannot submit claims to the Ministry of Health for payments. To receive an OHIP billing number from the ministry you must:
● hold a valid Certificate of Registration with a governing body
● have an Ontario practice address
● complete the online application form
● provide banking information to support direct payment
Eligible applicants requiring a license for occupation, must be established by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.
Ontario PNP: Employer Requirements
Ontario not only regulates requirements for skilled professionals who aspire to immigrate to Canada but also regulates certain eligibility requirements for the employers. To qualify as the eligible employer, the employer must meet certain requirements which are as follows:
Requirements | Details |
Business Location | Must operate a business in Ontario. |
Business Operations | Must have been operating for at least 3 years |
Minimum Annual Revenue | GTA: CAD 1 million (latest fiscal year) Major CMA: CAD 500,000 (latest fiscal year) Outside GTA & Major CMAs: CAD 250,000 in each of the last 2 fiscal years |
Minimum full - time Employees | GTA: At least 5 Canadian citizens or permanent residents. Outside GTA: At least 3 Canadian citizens or permanent residents |
Compliance | Must not have any outstanding orders under Ontario labour laws |
Major CMA means: census metropolitan area which are Ottawa, Waterloo, Hamilton, Niagara, Essex, Wellington, Greater Sudbury, Frontenac, Brant, Peterborough, Hastings, Thunder Bay
Job Offer Requirements | |
Requirements | Details |
Employment Type | Must be full-time and permanent (not a fixed-term contract) |
Business Need | Must be full-time and permanent (not a fixed-term contract) |
Work Location | Work must be performed mainly in Ontario, unless covered under the transport occupation exemption |
Current Employee Pay | If the candidate already works for the employer, the offered wage must be at least equal to their current pay |
Wage Requirement | Must meet or exceed the median wage for the occupation and region. Recent Ontario graduates under the TEER 0–3 pathway may qualify if the wage meets the low-wage threshold |
Recruitment Efforts | The employer may be required to show they tried but were unable to hire a Canadian citizen or permanent resident before offering the job to the foreign worker |
Ownership Restrictions a | The applicant and their family must not own 10% or more of the employer's business, unless the shares were received as employee compensation |
Ontario PNP: Considerations Under New OINP EOI System
To be considered under the new Ontario Workforce Priority stream, eligible foreign nationals must create a new Expression of Interest (EOI) once the OINP EOI system reopens.
Employers must also submit a new job offer and an employment position approval application through the Employer Portal. However, employers who are already registered in the portal do not need to register again.
OINP Occupations TEER Category
Although the Canadian government bifurcates occupations using the National Occupation Classification (NOC) system which ranks occupations based on certain parameters such as Training, Education, Experience, and Responsibilities (TEER) with level 0 being the highest and level 5 the lower skilled occupations. However, a clear representation of the TEER categories are:
TEER Level | TEER Definition |
0 | Management position |
1 | Typically requires a university degree |
2 | Supervisory occupation, or typically requires a college diploma or two-year apprenticeship |
3 | Typically requires a college diploma, an apprenticeship of less than two years, or at least six months of on-the-job training |
4 | Typically requires at least a secondary school diploma, or at least several weeks of on-the-job training |
5 | Typically requires only short-term work demonstration |
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