Multiple Permanent Residence Streams in Ontario Closed or Paused

At a Glance

• The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program has closed the Masters Graduate Stream for 2019 because the stream has reached its registration limits and temporarily paused the Employer Job Offer Streams for International Students and Foreign Workers due to an influx of applications. These streams are used by foreign nationals to apply for permanent residence in Ontario.
• Since no additional registrations for these streams will be accepted until further notice, foreign nationals applying for permanent residence in Ontario have limited options until the streams reopen, which is expected to happen later in the year.

The situation

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) has closed the Masters Graduate Stream for 2019 because the stream has reached its registration limits and temporarily paused the Employer Job Offer Streams for International Students and Foreign Workers due to an influx of applications. These streams are used by foreign nationals to apply for permanent residence.

Impact

• No applications accepted. Foreign nationals will not be able to apply to the Employer Job Offer Stream for International Students and the Employer Job Offer Stream for Foreign Workers until they reopen, which is expected to be later this year. Foreign nationals will not be able to apply to the Masters Graduate Stream until 2020 as it has reached its yearly registration intake limit.
• Alternative streams still open. Qualified foreign nationals can apply to the following streams which are still open in Ontario:

Background

• Increase in applications. The three closed/paused streams have seen a significant increase in applications in 2019 due to an increase in immigration levels, particularly of students, who are attracted to the flexible requirements of these programs.
• Stream closures not unusual. The closure or pausing of certain streams when a registration intake limit is reached is typical in Ontario; for example, the last time this occurred was in April 2018 for the Masters Graduate Stream.

Looking ahead

The OINP is working with the federal government to increase the nomination space for these streams this year so that they are reopened as quickly as soon as possible.  

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to canada@fragomen.com.