Opportunities Ontario: Provincial Nominee Program
A New Direction
Ontario’s Immigration Strategy
A new direction for immigration in Ontario – attracting highly skilled workers and their families, supporting diverse communities and growing a globally-connected economy.
The Opportunities Ontario: Provincial Nominee Program gives international students the opportunity to stay permanently in Ontario; employers and investors the opportunity to recruit and retain highly skilled foreign workers; and foreign workers the opportunity to permanently live and work in Ontario. The program helps to fast-track permanent residence status for successful nominees.
Every year, Opportunities Ontario's nomination target is capped by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. The 2012 cap is 1,000 nominations.
Who can apply to Opportunities Ontario?
- International student graduates with a Master's or a PhD degree from an Ontario university or graduates of a Canadian college or university with a job offer in Ontario.
- Employers who would like to hire foreign skilled workers for professional, managerial and skilled trade positions they have not been able to fill.
- Foreign workers who have two years of professional work experience and have a permanent, full-time job offer from an employer in Ontario.
- Investors who want to bring in key foreign employees on a permanent basis to ensure the long term success of their investment.
Learn more about Opportunities Ontario: Provincial Nominee Program:
Opportunities Ontario: Provincial Nominee Program can facilitate the immigration process for international students who have completed their studies at a publicly funded College or University in Canada and would like to live and work permanently in Ontario.
International students can apply to Opportunities Ontario through the following streams:
- International students with a job offer
- International PhD Graduate - No job offer required
- Pilot International Master's Graduate - No job offer required
For more information:
- General program information: International Students
- Eligibility requirements: International Students
- What Ontario has to offer international students
- Information brochure for International Students
Are you an employer looking to recruit highly skilled workers? Opportunities Ontario can facilitate the immigration process so employers can recruit and permanently retain foreign workers and international students they need to succeed.
For more information:
- General program information: Employers
- Eligibility requirements: Employers
- What Ontario has to offer employers
- Information brochure for Employers
If you are a foreign worker, you can apply to Opportunities Ontario if you:
- Have a job offer in Ontario.
- Have a prospective employer who has first applied for pre-screening of a position and the position has been approved.
For more information:
- General program information: Foreign workers
- Eligibility requirements: Foreign workers
- Information brochure for Foreign workers
Opportunities Ontario supports investment and job creation in Ontario. We help companies making an investment in Ontario to recruit or relocate key foreign employees to ensure the long-term success of the investment.
For more information:
- General program information: Investors
- Eligibility requirements: Investors
- What Ontario has to offer investors
- Information brochure for Investors
