Are you living in Nigeria but have dreams of immigrating to Canada? One of the easiest ways to immigrate from Nigeria to Canada in 2022 is the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).
Given that Ontario is the economic, social, and political center of Canada, and has many opportunities for immigrants, the Ontario PNP is a popular choice for Nigeria to Canada immigration. There are two ways of applying for the Ontario PNP.
In this article, we’ll show you how to apply for Ontario PNP through Express Entry from Nigeria.
Ontario PNP Streams to Target When Applying from Nigeria
The provincial nominee program of Ontario, which is officially called the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP), has nine streams. The province uses the different streams to select different categories of immigrants to fill its labour needs.
However, only three of the nine streams operate through the Express Entry system, which are:
Human Capital Priorities stream – The stream is created for foreign workers who have required skilled work experience, education, and language abilities to fill Ontario jobs
Skilled Trades stream – The stream is created for foreign workers who have Ontario work experience in an eligible skilled trade
French-speaking Skilled Worker stream – The stream is created for French-speaking foreign workers who have strong English language abilities to fill Ontario jobs
Thus, when applying for Ontario PNP through Express Entry from Nigeria, it should be in the Human Capital Priorities stream. This is because the Skilled Trade stream requires Canadian work experience and the French-speaking Skilled Worker stream is for French-speaking foreign workers.
The Human Capital Priorities Stream
To use the Human Capital Priorities stream when applying for OINP, the steps are:
- Create a profile in IRCC’s Express Entry system to get a notification of interest
- Apply for OINP to get a certificate of nomination
- Accept your provincial nomination and increase your chances of getting an ITA (invitation to apply for permanent residency)
- Apply for permanent residence
1. Create an Express Entry Profile
The first step is to create an Express Entry profile. In the profile, you should name the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) as the federal program that you would like to be assessed against.
You’ll be placed in the Express Entry FSWP pool where candidates are assessed based on a comprehensive ranking system (CRS). In the CRS system, you can get up to 600 core sets of points. The points are awarded as follows:
| With a spouse or common-law partner | Without a spouse or common-law partner | ||
| Human Capital Factors | Age | 100 | 110 |
| Level of Education | 140 | 150 | |
| Language Proficiency | 150 | 160 | |
| Canadian work experience | 70 | 80 | |
| Spouse or common-law partner factor | Level of education | 10 | – |
| Language proficiency | 20 | – | |
| Canadian work experience | 10 | – | |
| Skill transferability factors | 100 | 100 | |
| Total | 600 | 600 |
The Ontario province regularly checks candidates in the Express Entry pool to find candidates that it thinks can improve its economy. To increase your chances of being “found”, indicate that the Canadian province you are interested in is Ontario.
Such candidates will then be sent a “notification of interest,” which is an invitation to apply to the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program. Know that such candidates are required to have at least 400 CRS points.
2. Apply to the OINP
If you receive a notification of interest, you can then apply to the OINP for provincial nomination under the Human Capital Priorities stream.
You must submit the application within 45 days of receiving the notification of interest. Your application will be placed in the Humans Capital Priorities selection pool. Candidates in the pool are assessed based on the following scoring factors:
| Language skills | 28 points |
| Education level | 25 points |
| Experience | 15 points |
| Age | 12 points |
| Arranged employment in Canada | 10 points |
| Adaptability in Canada | 10 points |
| Total | 100 points |
To be considered for nomination, you must score a minimum of 67 points. If your application is successful, the OINP will send you a letter confirming your nomination.
To score the minimum points, you must meet the stream requirements. These include:
Work Experience
- You must have at least one year of continuous, paid, full-time work experience (or its equivalent in paid full-time work)
- The work experience must be in a Skill Level NOC 0, A, or B
- The work experience must have been obtained in the last five years of applying to the OINP
You can use periods of self-employment, but you’ll have to provide employment documentation that is independently verifiable through third parties (such as client reference letters indicating periods of work and duties performed, invoices, etc.).
Education
You must have a bachelor’s, master’s, or Ph.D. degree. However, if your degree was not obtained in Canada, you’ll need to get an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report, which proves that your credential is up to Canadian standards.
The educational credential assessment must be done by one of the organizations designated by the IRCC. The ECA report must be obtained within five (5) years of applying to the OINP.
Language Requirements
You must take an approved English or French test, and score Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 7 or higher. The most popular English test for Nigerians is the International English Language Testing (IELTS).
Settlement Funds
You must show that you have enough money to support yourself and dependent family members. If you are in Nigeria, you can show settlement funds with a job offer in Ontario or funds listed in bank statements.
The amount of funds you need depends on the size of your family as follows:
| Number of family members | Settlement funds (Canadian dollars) |
| 1 | $13,310 |
| 2 | $16,570 |
| 3 | $20,371 |
| 4 | $24,733 |
| 5 | $28,052 |
| 6 | $31,638 |
| 7 | $35,224 |
| For each additional family member | $3,586 |
Intention to live in Ontario
You must show that you intend to live in the province of Ontario. If you live in Nigeria and have never been to Canada before, some ways to show intention to live in Ontario include:
- Getting job offers or interviewing for jobs in Ontario
- Having professional networks, affiliations, family ties, or personal relationships in Ontario.
3. Accept Your Provincial Nomination
If your application to the OINP is successful, you will receive a message in your account to accept or “not accept” the nomination. You will have 30 days from receiving the message to either accept or reject the nomination.
If you accept the nomination, you will automatically be awarded 600 additional points in the Express Entry system. This boosts your CRS score and all but guarantees getting an invitation to apply for permanent residency.
4. Apply for Permanent Residency
If you get an invitation to apply (ITA) for permanent residency, you must submit your application to the IRCC within 90 days of receiving the ITA. Proceed to fill out the online application and upload all your supporting documents.
Final Thoughts
There’s good news for Nigerians wishing to immigrate to Canada. Even when you are living in Nigeria and have no ties to Canada, you can still apply for Ontario PNP through Express Entry.
Target the OINP Human Capital Priorities streams, and follow these steps:
- Create an Express Entry profile and indicate your interest in the province of Ontario.
- If you receive a notification of interest, apply to the OINP for nomination
- If the province nominates you, accept it to get 600 additional points and increase your chances of getting an ITA
- If you get an ITA, apply to the IRCC for permanent residency
Take the assessment test on our website Assessment Forms to find out what immigration program will be best for you and one of our specialists will call you shortly to further discuss your options.
