Since the beginning of autumn, the Ontario media has shaken with two important news in the field of immigration. Firstly, Immigration Ontario cancelled the requirement to have 400 CRS on the Express Entry selection system in order to receive an invitation through the Ontario Express Entry: Human Capital Priorities Stream of the Ontario Provincial Nominee Program (OINP). Secondly, there might be the Northern Ontario Immigration Pilot aimed at immigration to the northern part of the province. Green Light Canada expands more detail about new opportunities and upcoming changes in immigration in Ontario.
Ontario Express Entry: Human Capital Priorities
The OINP includes several different immigration streams. One of them is the Human Capital Priorities Stream, thanks to which Ontario selects a significant part of the immigrants by the provincial quota. One of the cornerstones of this immigration program was the mandatory requirement of a minimum of 400 points in the Express Entry selection system. Thus, the provincial authorities targeted those candidates who did not get enough points to be invited through the federal quota. However, according to the last rounds of invitations in Ontario, the province reduced the minimum score to 350 points. It is also noteworthy that preference was given to candidates who had a job offer, i.e. to the candidates who already almost settled in the province. And more recently, the requirement of 400 points has also disappeared from the official Human Capital Priorities guide, and thus, the change was introduced officially.
Northern Ontario Immigration Pilot
As for the Northern Ontario Immigration Pilot, so far, this is only a promising project. The fact is that although Ontario is the most developed Canadian province, the level of its economic development is very different in different parts of the province. For instance, the northern part of the province is in dire need of skilled specialists. That is why the Northern Policy Institute recommended Ottawa to open an immigration program focused on Northern Ontario to give impetus to the economy of the north of the province. The Minister of Immigration of Canada Ahmed Hussen has already supported this idea. The pilot program will aim to annually invite 1,500 new immigrants to alleviate the shortage of skilled middle-level workers in North Ontario. The initiative is very similar to the Atlantic Immigration Pilot, successfully launched in 2017.
Our company keeps monitoring of any changes in immigration law in order to provide our clients with the full range of services and opportunities for immigration to Ontario.
