Provincial Nominee Program Lawyer · Toronto

Who this is for

This page is for workers and recent graduates, in Canada or abroad (including Türkiye), seeking permanent residence through a province, and for employers who want to keep them. To buy or start a business, see provincial entrepreneur programs.

How provincial nomination works

A province first assesses you under one of its streams and issues a nomination certificate. You then apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for permanent residence in the provincial nominee class.

Since March 30, 2026, section 87 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations makes the province solely responsible for judging whether you can become economically established and intend to live there. If IRCC finds adverse information, it consults the province, and refuses if the province revokes the nomination.

A base nomination leads to a non-Express Entry application. An enhanced nomination goes through Express Entry, if you meet a federal program’s minimum criteria, and adds 600 points to your Comprehensive Ranking System score.

Ontario’s Workforce Priority stream

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) has closed its eight former streams: the Employer Job Offer streams (Foreign Worker, International Student, In-Demand Skills), the Masters and PhD Graduate streams, and the Express Entry streams (Human Capital Priorities, French-Speaking Skilled Worker, Skilled Trades). The list establishing those categories in Ontario Regulation 421/17 was revoked on May 30, 2026, and amendments to Ontario Regulation 422/17 in force on June 25, 2026 removed their criteria and created the Ontario Workforce Priority stream, the first phase of a two-phase redesign. Expressions of interest opened on August 4, 2026.

The stream covers job offers in any occupation, TEER 0 to 5, and self-employed physicians. Your employer submits a job offer in Ontario’s Employer Portal, and you register an expression of interest within 30 days. If invited, the employer has 14 days to seek approval of the position and you have 17 days to apply, after the employer files.

• The job: full-time, permanent, urgently necessary to the business, and paid at least the Job Bank median wage for the occupation and region (the low wage level for recent Ontario graduates in TEER 0 to 3).

• The employer: three years in active business, premises in Ontario, gross revenue of at least $1,000,000 in the Greater Toronto Area ($500,000 in listed census divisions, or $250,000 in each of the last two years elsewhere), and at least five full-time citizen or permanent resident employees at a GTA work location (three elsewhere).

• Your experience: six months in the position in the last year (three for recent Ontario graduates), two years in the same occupation, or a required licence; for TEER 4 and 5, nine months in the position.

• Your profile: CLB 6 (CLB 5 for listed trades, CLB 4 for TEER 4 and 5, no test for recent Ontario graduates in TEER 0 to 3), the required education, valid status if in Canada, and an intention to live and work in Ontario.

Ontario’s applicant checklist asks for identity documents, recent language results, credentials or an assessment, reference letters showing duties, hours and pay, pay and tax records, your ties to Ontario, and proof of every point claimed. The employer checklist calls for a signed job offer stating the NOC code, wage, duties, hours and location, and job ads where recruitment applies. Our Workforce Priority guide covers the points grid.

Other provinces

Each province sets its own streams and nominates within a yearly allocation. British Columbia’s Skills Immigration has Skilled Worker and Health Authority streams; Alberta’s AAIP, Saskatchewan’s SINP and Manitoba’s MPNP run worker streams, and Manitoba has a stream for its graduates.

What provinces and IRCC check

Ontario checks that the job is real and needed, that your duties match the NOC code, that the wage meets the Job Bank level, and that time in the position itself was earned while lawfully living and working in Ontario. It also weighs your ties to Ontario. You and your family cannot hold, or have held, equity in the employer unless it came as pay and totals under 10 per cent.

IRCC checks the certificate, federal eligibility for an enhanced nomination, and admissibility. Misrepresentation can bring a five-year bar under section 40 of IRPA.

Your status while you wait

Ontario accepts applications on maintained status, but may not nominate you if you are in Canada without status. After nomination, its support letter backs an employer-specific permit (IRCC code T13), with the offer in IRCC’s Employer Portal and the compliance fee paid. A bridging open work permit needs an unrestricted nomination. See our maintained status article and work permit extensions page.

Common reasons for refusal, and how we build against them

• Registering too early: every criterion must be met when you register, so we count your months and hours first.

• An employer that is not ready: the 14-day and 17-day windows overlap, so we collect the employer’s documents before any invitation.

• A job offer that does not look genuine: we check the employer’s revenue, headcount and activities, and that the role fits the business.

• Duties that do not match the occupation code: we test the offer, reference letters and résumé against the NOC description.

• Weak ties to the province: we document your ties, or prepare a clear statement of intent.

• Inconsistent history: we compare the file with your past IRCC applications and explain differences first (see mistakes on immigration forms and misrepresentation).

• Expired status: we match your permit dates to Ontario’s deadlines and extend before expiry.

• Recruitment by the wrong person: Ontario refuses the file if an immigration representative ran the employer’s recruitment, so the employer runs its own.

Ontario allows an internal review within 30 days, limited to errors in the decision. At IRCC, a procedural fairness letter is your chance to answer; see reconsideration and procedural fairness.

How the process works with us

It starts with an online consultation, booked at cal.com/blacksyimmigration. If we take the file, you complete a secure online intake, we open a shared document folder, and we build a checklist for your file. You deal directly with our lawyer, Ahmet Faruk Ocak. There are no middlemen. We communicate by email, so every instruction and decision is documented. The work is fully virtual, in English or Turkish.

We test you and the employer against the criteria first, then prepare each application in step with the employer.

Our fee is a flat fee agreed in writing before you hire us. You can pay it in full or in two instalments. It is held in trust and earned at set milestones. Government fees are separate, and HST applies to clients resident in Canada.

What happens next

Apply to IRCC within six months, before your nomination certificate expires. With an enhanced nomination, you have 30 days to accept it in Express Entry and, once invited, 60 days to apply. Until IRCC decides, stay in the approved position and report changes to Ontario, which runs post-nomination checks; if the job ends, the nomination can be cancelled. To start, book a consultation at cal.com/blacksyimmigration. Bring the job offer, your permit dates, language results and any invitation.

Frequently asked questions

Can I apply from outside Canada?

Sometimes. The legal status rule applies only if you apply from inside Canada, but the experience rules decide most cases. For a TEER 0 to 3 job, the six-month and three-month routes count only time in the position itself while lawfully living and working in Ontario, so applicants abroad usually rely on two years of paid full-time experience in the same occupation within the last five years, or on a licence the job requires. TEER 4 and 5 jobs need nine months in the position in Ontario. If you live outside Canada, your employer must also show it tried to recruit a Canadian citizen or permanent resident first.

I applied under one of Ontario’s old streams. What happens now?

If you applied before May 30, 2026, Ontario’s regulation says your application is assessed under the criteria that applied to your stream immediately before that date. Ontario issues no more invitations under the former streams, and it withdraws expressions of interest and job offers registered under them that had not led to an invitation. If that happened to you, your employer must submit a new job offer and you must register a new expression of interest under the Ontario Workforce Priority stream, meeting all of its criteria on the day you register.

Should I ask for a base nomination or an Express Entry nomination?

It depends on your occupation and your federal eligibility. In Ontario, the Express Entry option is open to job offers in TEER 0 to 3 and to self-employed physicians, and only if you meet the minimum criteria of a federal Express Entry program and keep a valid profile until you are nominated. An accepted nomination adds 600 points to your Comprehensive Ranking System score, and Ontario notes that this route may mean faster IRCC processing. TEER 4 and 5 nominees use the non-Express Entry process. Ontario says a profile that lapses after nomination means starting again with a new expression of interest, so we plan the profile dates with you.

Can I keep working while my nomination and permanent residence application are processed?

Often, yes, but it needs planning. If you applied to extend your permit before it expired, you have maintained status and can keep working under the same conditions as long as you stay in Canada, and Ontario accepts applications in that situation. You may not be nominated if you are in Canada without valid status when Ontario decides. After nomination, Ontario’s work permit support letter can be used for an employer-specific work permit. A bridging open work permit is only available if your nomination letter says your employment is unrestricted, so we read the letter before choosing a route.

Can I own shares in the company that is offering me the job?

Usually not. Ontario’s regulation excludes you from the Ontario Workforce Priority stream if you or a family member hold, or have held, equity in the employer’s business, directly or indirectly. The only exception is equity received as part of your pay as an employee, where the total held by you and your family stays under 10 per cent. Owners who run their own business in Canada usually need a different route, such as a work permit for business owners followed by a provincial entrepreneur stream. We review the corporate records before any expression of interest is registered.