You probably already know that one of the easiest ways to immigrate from Nigeria to Canada is via the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). You may also know that Ontario is one of the most preferred Canadian provinces for immigration because it is the economic heartbeat of the country and has many opportunities for immigrants wanting to settle in Canada permanently.
Now you want to know how to calculate your Ontario PNP points to know if you qualify. How do you do this, especially if you are in Nigeria? The article will show you how to calculate points for Ontario PNP and more.
At the end of this article, you’ll be one step closer to immigrating from Nigeria to Canada, via the Ontario provincial nominee program.
The Ontario Immigration Nominee Program (OINP)
The economic immigration program of the province of Ontario (the OINP) works in partnership with the Canadian government through the IRCC (Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada).
The OINP targets foreign workers, international students, and others with the right skills, experience, and education that the Ontario community needs.
The Ontario Immigration Nominee Program has nine (9) streams that you can qualify for. These are:
Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker Stream – This stream is for foreign workers who have a Canadian job offer in a skilled occupation.
Employer Job Offer: International Student Stream – This stream is for international students who have a job offer in a skilled occupation.
Employer Job Offer: In-demand Skills Stream – This stream is for foreign workers who have a job offer in specific in-demand occupations such as construction, agriculture, trucking, personal support work, and more.
Masters Graduate Stream – This stream is for international students who have a master’s degree from an Ontario university.
Ph.D. Graduate Stream – This stream is for international students who have a Ph.D. degree from an Ontario university.
Entrepreneur Stream – This stream is for individuals who can establish a new business or buy and grow an existing business to permanently live and work in Ontario.
Human Capital Priorities Stream – This stream allows foreign workers who have the required skilled work experience, education, and language abilities to permanently live and work in Ontario.
Skilled Trades Stream – This stream allows foreign workers who have experience in an eligible skilled trade to permanently live and work in Ontario.
French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream – This stream allows French-speaking foreign workers with strong English language abilities to permanently live and work in Ontario.
The first six streams operate through the OINP’s Expression of Interest System, while the last three streams operate through the federal government’s Express Entry System.
The Expression of Interest System
To immigrate from Nigeria to Canada via the OINP streams requiring the expression of interest, the process is as follows:
Register an expression of interest – From the information on registrations, the OINP will rank candidates, and then send “Invitations To Apply” to those ranked highest and viewed as most likely to meet Ontario’s labor demand.
Apply to the OINP – Upon receiving an Invitation to Apply, you can then apply to the OINP and submit relevant documents. Applications are reviewed, and qualifying candidates are sent certificates of nomination.
Apply for permanent residency – If the OINP nominates you, you can then apply to the government, for permanent residency, through the IRCC.
Knowing the scoring factors, and how points are allocated per scoring factor, you’ll be able to calculate your points for the Ontario Nominee Program.
The scoring factors and points are as follows:
| Employment/ labor market factor | |
| Job offer: NOC skill level | · NOC Skill Level A – 10 points
· NOC Skill Level B – 8 points · NOC Skill Level C or D – 0 points |
| Job offer: NOC type | · Type 0, 1, 2, 3, 9, 10 – 10 points
· Type 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 – 5 points |
| Job offer: wage | · $40 per hour or higher – 10 points
· $20 to $39.99 per hour – 5 points · Less than $20 per hour – 0 points |
| Canadian work experience: duration | · 12 months or more – 4 points
· Less than 12 months – 0 points |
| Canadian work experience: NOC Skill Level | · NOC Skill Level A – 3 points
· NOC Skill Level B, C, or D – 0 points |
| Canadian work experience: earnings history | · $40k or more earnings in a year – 3 points
· Less than $40k earnings in a year – 0 points |
| Education factors | |
| Highest level of education | · Ph.D. – 10 points
· Masters – 8 points · Bachelors – 6 points · College diploma or trade certificate – 5 points · Less than college or trade certificate |
| Field of study | · Engineering – 10 points
· Health care – 10 points · Math and computer science – 9 points · Business and Administration – 7 points · Trades – 7 points · Social, legal, education and science – 6 points · Arts and humanities – 5 points |
| Canadian education experience | · More than one Canadian credential – 10 points
· One Canadian credential – 5 points |
| Language factor | |
| Official language ability | · CLB 9 or higher – 10 points
· CLB 8 – 6 points · CLB 7 – 4 points · CLB or lower – 0 points |
| Knowledge of official languages | · 2 official languages – 10 points
· 1 official language – 5 points |
| Regionalization | |
| Regional immigration: location of job offer | · Outside GTA – 10 points
· Inside GTA – 6 points |
| Regional immigration: location of study | · Outside GTA – 10 points
· Inside GTA – 6 points |
Know that not all of the scoring factors are applied in each OINP stream. As such, the minimum points for Ontario PNP vary from stream to stream.
For example, on June 29, 2022, the OINP issued Invitations To Apply to candidates under the “Employer Job Offer: International Student” stream with a score of 74 and above. It also issued Invitations To Apply to candidates under the “Employer Job Offer: In-demand Skills” stream with a score of 24 and above.
The scoring factors of the EOI (Expression of Interest) system are applied to each OINP stream as follows:
| Scoring factor | Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker | Employer Job Offer: In-demand Skills | Employer Job Offer: International Student | Masters Graduate | Ph.D. Graduate |
| Job Offer: NOC skill level | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | N/A | N/A |
| Job Offer: NOC type | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | N/A | N/A |
| Job Offer: wage | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | N/A | N/A |
| Canadian work experience duration | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Canadian work experience: NOC skill level | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Canadian work experience: earnings history | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Highest level of education | N/A | N/A | ✔ | N/A | N/A |
| Field of study | N/A | N/A | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Canadian education experience | N/A | N/A | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Official language ability | N/A | N/A | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Knowledge of official languages | N/A | N/A | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Regional immigration: location of job offer | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | N/A | N/A |
| Regional immigration: location of study | N/A | N/A | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Also note that the minimum points for the OINP change every invitation round. For example, in the June 29, 2022 round, the minimum score for candidates under the “Employer Job Offer: International Student” stream was 74. But in the preceding round of invitations (June 1, 2022), the minimum score for candidates under the stream was 79.
The Express Entry System
To immigrate from Nigeria to Canada via the OINP streams requiring Express Entry, the process is as follows:
Create an Express Entry profile – When creating your profile, name Ontario as your preferred immigration destination. Such profiles will get to the OINP. They are ranked using the Express Entry comprehensive ranking system (CRS). Only candidates who have a minimum of 400 CRS points are seen as likely to meet Ontario’s labor demand, and are sent a “Notification of Interest.”
Apply to the OINP – Upon receiving the Notification of Interest, you can then apply to the OINP to be nominated for permanent residency. Applications are reviewed based on certain scoring factors, and qualifying candidates are sent certificates of nomination.
Apply for permanent residency – If the OINP nominates you, you can then apply to the government, for permanent residency, through the IRCC.
For the OINP streams that operate through the Express Entry, the scoring factors are as follows:
| Language skills | Maximum 28 points |
| First official language | · CLB level 9 or higher – 24 points
· CLB level 8 – 20 points · CLB level 7 – 12 points · Below CLB level 7 – Not eligible to apply |
| Second official language | · CLB 5 or higher – 4
· CLB 4 or less – 0 points |
| Education | Maximum 25 points |
| Highest level of education | · Ph.D. level – 25 points
· Masters level – 23 points · Two or more Canadian post-secondary credentials (one must be at least three years), or equivalent – 22 points · Canadian post-secondary credential of three years or longer, or equivalent – 21 points · Two year Canadian education, or equivalent – 19 points · One-year Canadian education, or equivalent – 15 points · Canadian high school diploma, or equivalent – 5 points |
| Experience | Maximum 15 points |
| Number of years of experience | · 1 year – 9 points
· 2 to 3 years – 11 points · 4 to 5 years – 13 points · 6 or more years – 15 years |
| Age | Maximum 12 points |
| · Under 18 years – 0 points
· 18 to 35 years – 12 points · 36 years – 11 points · 37 years – 10 points · 38 years – 9 points · 39 years – 8 points · 40 years – 7 points · 41 years – 6 points · 42 years – 5 points · 43 years – 4 points · 44 years – 3 points · 45 years – 2 points · 46 years – 1 point · 47 years and older – 0 points |
|
| Arranged employment in Canada | 10 points |
| Adaptability in Canada | 10 points |
The total number of points is 100. You need to score a minimum of 67 points to be eligible for any of the three Ontario PNP streams under this system.
Final Thoughts
To successfully immigrate from Nigeria to Canada via the Ontario PNP, the minimum number of points you need depends on the OINP stream you choose.
Of the 9 OINP streams, 6 operate under the Expression of Interest (EOI) system while 3 operate under the Express Entry (EE) system. For the EOI streams, you may need as high as 79 points or as low as 24 points, but for the EE streams, you need a minimum of 67 points.
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.
