By: Odeh Favour Adiya
In what will come as welcome news to skilled foreign nationals seeking green pastures abroad, Ontario, a province in Canada, has officially opened the application process for its new Workforce Priority Stream.
The development, which operates under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP), offers eligible foreign workers a fresh pathway to secure permanent residence in Canada.
According to details made public on Wednesday via Canada Visa’s X handle, the province announced that effective August 4, 2026, interested foreign nationals can register an Expression of Interest (EOI) through Ontario’s e-Filing Portal, provided it is linked to a qualifying job offer from an eligible Ontario employer.
The new stream is structured into three distinct pathways: one for higher-skilled workers, one for lower-skilled workers, and a third dedicated to self-employed physicians who are registered to practise in Ontario and eligible to bill the province’s public health insurance plan, OHIP.
To qualify for consideration, the province emphasized that prospective candidates must ensure their job offer is properly processed by their prospective employers.
The province said that eligible foreign nationals must create an EOI linked to a qualifying job offer created by an eligible employer in the OINP Employer Portal to be considered for nomination.
Although the Workforce Priority Stream was initially launched on June 26, 2026, applicants could not access the selection pool until the online portal went live this week.
Under the new arrangement, candidates with active EOIs will be ranked using a points-based scoring system that was introduced on July 20, 2026, with invitations to apply expected to be issued through periodic draws.
Clarifying the validity period for applicants, the government noted the timeframe within which an expression must remain active.
“Once submitted, an EOI remains valid for up to 12 months,” the province said, adding that candidates who do not receive an invitation within that period must register a new EOI to remain under consideration.
Strict timelines have also been attached to the application procedure once an invitation is extended to an applicant.
The province also said invited candidates will have 17 calendar days to submit a complete application, while employers must apply for approval of the employment position within 14 calendar days of the invitation.
Foreign workers who scale through the process stand to gain interim residency benefits while awaiting final clearance.
Successful job-offer nominees will receive a provincial support letter that can be used to apply for a federal work permit while their permanent residence application is being processed.
Furthermore, Ontario noted that successful applicants under the higher-skilled worker stream and the self-employed physician stream may also qualify to apply through the Enhanced Provincial Nominee Program linked to Express Entry, potentially benefiting from faster permanent residence processing.
This new pathway represents the first major rollout following a comprehensive restructuring of the province’s immigration framework.
The Workforce Priority Stream is the first immigration pathway introduced under Ontario’s overhaul of the OINP after the province closed all previous streams on May 30, 2026.
More opportunities are expected to open up for foreign workers as the government progresses with its reform plan.
Ontario said additional pathways, including a Priority Healthcare Worker Stream, an Entrepreneur Stream and an Exceptional Talent Stream, will be introduced during the second phase of the program’s modernisation.
