If a friend in Brampton told you to apply to the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program through the International Student stream, or suggested that your master’s degree alone would qualify you, that advice may have been correct once. It is out of date now. Ontario redesigned the program in 2026, closed its former streams, and moved to a single stream built around an employer job offer in most cases. A great deal of what is still circulating on social media, and even on some websites, describes a program that no longer exists in that form.
The redesign particularly affects people in Brampton and elsewhere in the Greater Toronto Area, because the former routes without a job offer are gone, and because employers in Peel Region must meet some of the program’s higher thresholds. Candidates need to look at both sides of this picture: whether they qualify, and whether their employer qualifies too.
Treat this as general information and not as legal advice. Ontario has said that further changes are on the way, so check the OINP’s pages on ontario.ca for the current criteria before you rely on anything here. The program’s own updates page is a good place to start.
How a Nomination Fits Into Immigration
The OINP does not grant permanent residence. Ontario nominates candidates, and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) makes the final decision on whether they become permanent residents, including checks on health, security, and criminality.
A nominee has six months to apply to IRCC for permanent residence. If the nomination is enhanced through Express Entry, the nominee has 30 days to accept it, which adds 600 Comprehensive Ranking System points, and then 60 days to apply after being invited. A nomination does not itself give you status in Canada or permission to work, so your temporary status still has to be kept valid. Ontario may issue a work permit support letter in some cases.
What Remains Open
According to Ontario, the Ontario Workforce Priority stream is the only general stream open. The earlier streams were closed as part of the first phase of the redesign in June 2026, with these former programs among them:
- Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker, International Student, and In-Demand Skills
- Master’s Graduate and PhD Graduate
- Express Entry Human Capital Priorities, French-Speaking Skilled Worker, and Skilled Trades
No further invitations are being issued under those streams. If you had a pending expression of interest under one of them, it was withdrawn. A separate regional immigration initiative covers named parts of Northern and Eastern Ontario, and it does not cover Peel. Ontario has also spoken of a second phase, without publishing many details, so keep an eye on the updates page.
The Worker: Requirements by TEER
The Workforce Priority stream can cover any occupation in the National Occupational Classification. Requirements differ according to the TEER level of the job offered, which you can identify by the second digit of the NOC code.
For TEER 0 to 3 jobs, the candidate generally needs one of the following:
- Six consecutive months of full-time paid work in the job offered, in the past 12 months.
- Three months of such work, for recent graduates of eligible Ontario institutions.
- Two years of cumulative work in the same NOC in the past five years.
- The licence that the job legally requires. Truck and bus drivers need six months, even if licensed.
The candidate also needs CLB 6 in all four language skills (CLB 5 for listed skilled trades), or graduation from an eligible Ontario institution within the past three years. A postsecondary credential of at least one year is required, or a high school diploma for listed skilled trades.
For TEER 4 and 5 jobs, the candidate generally needs nine months of cumulative full-time work in the job in the past two years, CLB 4, and a high school diploma.
Foreign credentials need an Educational Credential Assessment less than five years old, and language tests must be from within two years of the application. If you are in Canada, you must have valid status, or maintained status. You must also intend to live and work in Ontario after you get permanent residence. A hypothetical warehouse lead in Brampton on a work permit, doing a TEER 2 job, would need all these pieces to line up, and a supportive boss alone would not be enough.
The Employer: Peel Region Thresholds
An employer’s qualifications can make or break an application, and the bar in the Greater Toronto Area is higher than elsewhere. Peel Region, including Brampton, counts as part of the GTA for these purposes. To support a position here, the business generally needs:
- At least $1,000,000 in total gross annual revenue in its most recent fiscal year.
- At least five full-time employees who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents, working at or reporting to that location.
- At least three years of active business before applying.
- Business premises in Ontario, where the worker will work.
- No outstanding orders under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 or the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Small family businesses in Brampton sometimes fail on these points, even if they treat their worker very well. Self-employed professionals, other than physicians who qualify under a dedicated pathway, cannot use this stream to nominate themselves. That is an issue for people who hoped to support their own application through their own corporation.
Ontario Public Service bodies cannot act as employers either.
The Job Offer
The offer must be for a full-time and permanent position, meaning at least 1,560 hours per year with no end date. Seasonal or contract work does not qualify. The position must be urgently necessary to the business and must not interfere with a labour dispute.
The wage matters a lot. It must meet the level set for the region and occupation, and it should be at or above the median wage level, although recent Ontario graduates in TEER 0 to 3 jobs may qualify at a lower level. If the worker is already employed there, the offer has to be at least the current wage. Piece work, bonuses, commissions, and vacation pay do not count as part of the base wage. A driver paid by the load may need careful analysis here.
An employer may also need to show recruitment efforts, unless the worker is already authorized to work in Ontario or a positive LMIA exists for the same position. That means at least two recruitment methods, with advertisements that run for at least four weeks and contain the required details. Recruitment carried out by an immigration representative does not qualify, and it can lead to a refusal.
From Job Offer to Invitation
The steps follow a strict order and strict timelines:
- The employer creates an account in the Employer Portal and submits the job offer, which produces a job offer ID. Doing this does not, by itself, constitute an application.
- The worker registers an expression of interest within 30 calendar days. If the worker misses this date, the job offer lapses.
- Ontario scores registered candidates and invites some of them. Being in the pool is no guarantee of an invitation.
- If invited, the employer has 14 days to submit its part.
- The worker has 17 days to apply and pay, but can do so only after the employer has filed.
These windows are short. An employer who is slow with its financial statements could lose the opportunity for both parties. Prepare the corporate records, employee lists, and job descriptions before the invitation arrives, not after.
The scoring system considers the TEER level, occupational category, wage, Ontario work experience, Canadian earnings, legal status, education, language ability, and region. Regional points are lower in the Toronto area than in Northern Ontario, so a candidate in Brampton may need strength elsewhere in the profile. Ontario adjusts its scoring from time to time, as it did in October 2026, when it added points for high Canadian earnings.
Conditions After Nomination
A nomination carries conditions. The approved position cannot be changed after you have been nominated, and if your job ends, you will need to submit a fresh expression of interest. Ontario may cancel an approval if the conditions are not met.
If your pay, duties, hours, or the term of your job changes, the change has to be reported immediately. Do not treat this as paperwork. A worker who quietly moves to another Brampton employer after nomination, even for a better job, could lose the nomination. An unsuccessful applicant generally has 30 days from the refusal notice to request internal review, so check any refusal letter for the deadline at once.
Beware of anyone offering a job offer for money. Paying for a position can put your application and your future at risk, and it can expose you to a misrepresentation finding. Applications made through self-appointed representatives are withdrawn as well, so check that your representative is properly authorized.
Is the OINP the Right Route?
The program may fit well for someone already working full-time for an established Brampton employer in a permanent role, particularly where the employer is willing to do its share. It is a poor fit for those without a job offer, for those in a short-term contract, and for those whose employer is too small.
Other routes deserve a look alongside it, such as Express Entry and its category-based draws, spousal sponsorship if you are in a relationship with a citizen or permanent resident, and other federal programs. Comparing them honestly is often more useful than looking at the OINP alone. Our permanent residence page gives an overview, and our immigration law team can review the options available to a worker or an employer.
If you are an employer in Brampton considering whether to support a valued employee, start by checking your revenue, your payroll, and your wage against the published requirements. If you are a worker, start by checking your job’s NOC code and how long your permit lasts. Neither party can control whether an invitation arrives, and no representative can promise you one. But a worker and employer who have checked those basics early are much better placed to respond in the short windows that the program allows.