The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) has completed its allocation for 2024, distributing all 21,500 nominations.
This marks the end of a busy year for the program, which plays a significant role in helping eligible individuals gain permanent residency in Canada.
This means that the OINP has given out all of its available spots (21,500) for people to apply for permanent residency in Canada in 2024.
This indicates that the program has finished its work for the year in terms of accepting new applications for nominations, which help people gain permanent residency.
According to Immigration News Canada (INC), the federal government allocated a total of 21,500 nominations to Ontario for the OINP in 2024. As of December 23, OINP confirmed that all these nominations have been fulfilled. Moving forward, new applications and those previously submitted will be reviewed under the 2025 allocation.
Future nominations to be reviewed in 2025
Reports inform that Ontario will continue to accept applications and consider them under next year’s program. As of now, the OINP will prioritize submissions for 2025, when the nomination allocation will likely be lower.
Candidates can submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) for consideration in one of five main OINP streams. Applicants will be assigned a score, with draws held to determine the cutoff for receiving Invitations to Apply (ITAs).
This essentially means that once they submit their EOI, candidates will receive a score based on their qualifications. Periodically, OINP will hold draws to select the top candidates based on their scores. The “cutoff” refers to the lowest score that will receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residency. If a candidate’s score meets or exceeds the cutoff, they will be invited to apply.
OINP 2024 invitations and cutoff scores
The highest number of ITAs in 2024 was issued under the Employer Job Offer:
- International Student stream, with 8,363 invitations. This was followed by 6,695 invitations in the Employer Job Offer:Foreign Worker stream and
- 5,519 invitations in the Masters Graduate stream.
The minimum cutoff score ranged from 33 for Skilled Trades in the Employer Job Offer/Foreign Worker stream, to 72 for Health and Tech in the Employer Job Offer/International Student stream. Masters graduate cutoff score was ranges 50 and above.
Notifications of Interest Issued in 2024
OINP also sent 12,731 Notifications of Interest (NOIs) for the Express Entry Human Capital Priorities stream in 2024, with CRS scores ranging from 352 to 528. In addition, 9,006 NOIs were issued under the Express Entry Skilled Trades stream, with scores between 350 and 435. For French-speaking skilled workers, 1,525 NOIs were sent, with CRS scores ranging from 290 to 469.
Processing times for OINP streams
OINP has provided details on average processing times for various streams. For example, the processing time for the Express Entry Human Capital Priorities stream is 60 to 90 days, while the Employer Job Offer streams range from 90 to 150 days, depending on the category. The Entrepreneur stream sees assessments in less than 30 days, while application processing times vary based on complexity.
Expectations for 2025 and reduced nominations
Looking ahead to 2025, INC reveals that OINP is expecting a significant reduction in the number of nominations available due to changes in the federal immigration levels plan. The overall provincial nomination program target for 2025 has been reduced by 54%, from 110,000 in 2024 to 55,000.
- This reduction will likely result in a smaller allocation for Ontario, expected to be around 10,747 nominations. This is a sharp decrease compared to the 2024 allocation, and applicants can anticipate fewer invitations, with potentially higher cutoff scores.
- The changes reflect the federal government’s shift to lower immigration targets in 2025. The Ontario program, which accounted for 19.54% of the federal nomination quota in 2024, will likely see a reduction in the number of invitations issued. Similar changes were seen in 2022, when Ontario issued fewer invitations, particularly in the Employer Job Offer streams and the Masters Graduate stream.
Reports warn that for those interested in applying, the reduced quota will likely make the process more competitive, and candidates should be prepared for higher cutoff scores.
