OINP Employer Eligibility Requirements

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) has changed how employers participate in Ontario’s economic immigration system. Under the Ontario Workforce Priority Stream, having an eligible job offer is only one part of the process. The employer providing that job offer must also meet specific OINP requirements.

This is an important distinction for applicants. You may meet the individual eligibility requirements, but your application can still depend on whether your employer and employment position qualify.

Employers also have a more direct role in the process. They must use the OINP Employer Portal, submit information about the job offer and, if the employee receives an invitation to apply, complete the employer’s portion of the application within the required deadline.

So, what exactly makes an employer eligible?

Who Is Eligible as an Employer for OINP?

Ontario looks at several aspects of the business before approving an employment position.

An employer generally needs to have been actively conducting business for at least three years before submitting an application for approval of an employment position. The employer must also have qualifying business premises in Ontario where the employee will work or report to work.

The business must meet applicable gross annual revenue requirement and maintain the required number of full-time employees who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents.

These requirements are important because OINP is not simply assessing whether a foreign worker has received a legitimate job offer. Ontario also assesses whether the business itself is established and eligible to participate in the program.

How Much Revenue Does an OINP Employer Need?

OINP requires the employer to meet a minimum gross annual revenue threshold. The amount depends on where the employee will work or report to work in Ontario.

If the employee will work or report to work in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), the business must have at least $1,000,000 in total gross annual revenue in its most recently completed fiscal year.

For certain locations outside the GTA, the minimum requirement is $500,000 in total gross annual revenue in the most recently completed fiscal year.

For other eligible locations in Ontario, a lower threshold may apply. In these locations, the business must generally have at least $250,000 in total gross annual revenue in each of its two most recently completed fiscal years.

The important point is that “outside the GTA” does not automatically mean one revenue requirement. The threshold depends on the employee’s specific work or reporting location.

Employers should therefore verify which revenue category applies to their location before submitting an OINP employment-position application.

OINP may also ask the employer to prove its revenue. Supporting evidence can include applicable Canada Revenue Agency financial schedules or business financial statements signed by a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA).

How Many Employees Does an OINP Employer Need?

OINP also considers the size of the employer’s existing Canadian workforce.

For a position located in the Greater Toronto Area, an employer generally needs at least five full-time employees who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents at the applicable work or reporting location.

For positions outside the GTA, the general requirement is at least three full-time Canadian citizen or permanent resident employees at the applicable location.

For this purpose, full-time employment generally means working at least 30 hours per week.

The work location therefore matters for more than one part of employer eligibility.

What Happens If the Employee Works Remotely?

Remote and multi-location work arrangements can make determining the applicable location more complicated.

OINP looks at where the employee works or reports to work. For employees working across multiple locations, the reporting relationship and the employer’s Ontario business premises may become relevant.

Employers should make sure that the workplace arrangement described in the Employer Portal accurately reflects how the employee actually performs their job.

This information should also be consistent with the employee’s job offer and other supporting employment documents.

The Job Offer Must Also Qualify

An eligible employer does not automatically mean that every position offered by that employer will qualify.

OINP separately assesses the employment position.

The job offer generally needs to be full-time and permanent. Full-time means at least 30 hours of paid work per week and 1,560 hours of paid employment over a 12-month period.

Permanent means the position does not have a predetermined end date. A temporary, seasonal or fixed-term position would therefore generally not satisfy the permanent employment requirement.

The position must also represent a genuine employment opportunity that makes sense within the employer’s normal business activities.

The Position Must Be Necessary to the Business

OINP may assess whether the employment position is genuinely needed by the employer.

The role should reasonably fit within the company’s existing business activities and operational needs. The employer should be able to explain why the position exists and how it relates to the business.

This is particularly important because OINP can request additional information or documentation while assessing an employer or employment position.

A position should not exist simply for the purpose of supporting an immigration application.

OINP Wage Requirements Matter Too

The wage offered to the employee must satisfy the applicable OINP wage requirement.

The exact requirement can depend on several factors, including the occupation, NOC code, employment location and applicant’s circumstances.

Employers should therefore verify the applicable wage requirement before submitting the job offer through the Employer Portal.

If the applicant is already working for the employer, additional wage considerations can apply. The wage entered in the OINP application should also accurately reflect the employee’s actual employment circumstances.

What Should Be Included in an OINP Job Offer?

The written job offer should clearly explain the terms of employment rather than simply state that the individual has been hired.

It should generally identify the employer and employee, the position and NOC, wage, job duties, hours of work, weeks worked per year, vacation entitlement, workplace location and employment start date.

Where applicable, the employer should also explain any remote-work arrangement.

Most importantly, the offer should clearly establish that the position is full-time and permanent with no predetermined end date.

The offer should be properly signed and dated, and the information should match what is submitted through the Employer Portal.

Already Working for the Employer?

Many OINP candidates are already working for the employer supporting their application.

In these situations, additional employment documentation may be necessary. For example, a supplementary employment letter may be required where an existing offer is older or does not contain all of the information required by OINP.

The supplementary documentation can confirm that the employee continues to work for the company and provide updated information about their position, duties, wage, hours or other employment conditions.

This is another reason employers should review existing employment documents rather than assuming an original offer letter will automatically be sufficient.

Does the Employer Need to Advertise the Position?

Recruitment requirements can apply in certain situations.

Depending on the employee’s circumstances, the employer may need to demonstrate reasonable efforts to recruit Canadian citizens or permanent residents before offering the position to the foreign worker.

This can be particularly relevant when the employee is outside Canada, visiting Canada or working outside Ontario.

However, recruitment requirements and exemptions depend on the circumstances. For example, different considerations can apply when an employee is already legally authorized to work in Ontario or when an applicable Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) exists.

Employers should determine whether recruitment evidence is required for their specific case rather than assuming that every OINP job offer requires the same recruitment process.

How Does the OINP Employer Portal Work?

The Ontario Workforce Priority Stream uses an employer-led process.

The employer begins by creating access to the OINP Employer Portal and entering information about the business and employment position. The employer then submits the job offer information required for the employee to proceed with the Expression of Interest process.

The employee can then register an Expression of Interest (EOI).

An EOI is not an application for nomination and does not guarantee that the employee will receive an invitation. Ontario can select candidates from the EOI pool based on its program criteria and immigration priorities.

If the employee’s EOI is selected, the employer is notified and the next stage begins.

The Employer Has a 14-Day Deadline

This is one of the most important parts of the employer process.

Once the employee receives an Invitation to Apply, the employer generally has 14 calendar days to submit the application for approval of the employment position through the Employer Portal.

That is a relatively short window.

Employers should therefore avoid waiting for an invitation before reviewing their eligibility or gathering documents. Business records, employment documents and any applicable recruitment evidence should ideally be reviewed in advance.

The employee has a separate deadline for submitting their nomination application, so both sides need to coordinate during this stage.

What Documents Can an Employer Need?

The exact documentation depends on the employer and employment position.

A signed job offer and required consent documentation form part of the employer-side documentation. Depending on the circumstances, OINP may also require or request additional documents such as a supplementary employment letter, recruitment evidence, LMIA documentation, collective agreement information or representative documentation.

Certain occupations can have additional requirements. For example, applicable transportation employers may need to provide Commercial Vehicle Operator’s Registration (CVOR) information.

Not every document applies to every employer. The employer should follow the document requirements applicable to their particular employment-position application.

OINP Can Ask for Additional Business Evidence

Employers should also understand that the initial documents uploaded through the portal may not necessarily be the end of the process.

OINP may request additional evidence to confirm that the employer meets program requirements.

This could include evidence relating to the company’s three years of business operations, Ontario business premises, gross annual revenue, number of eligible full-time employees, recruitment activities or the company’s ability to support the employment positions submitted through OINP.

Employers should therefore maintain appropriate business and employment records even if those documents are not requested at the beginning of the application.

Employer and Employee Applications Need to Match

One detail that can easily be overlooked is consistency between the employer’s information and the employee’s application.

The job title, NOC code, wage, working hours, duties, work location and other employment information should accurately reflect the same position.

For example, an employer should not describe a position one way in the Employer Portal while the employee provides materially different duties or employment terms in their application.

Both sides should review the employment information carefully before submitting their respective applications.

What If Something Changes After Applying?

The employment relationship may change while an OINP application is being processed.

A wage could change, duties could be updated, the employee could move to another work location or other circumstances affecting the employer or employment position could change.

Employers and applicants should not assume these changes are irrelevant simply because the application has already been submitted.

Material changes affecting eligibility or information provided to OINP should be reviewed to determine whether they need to be reported.

Prepare Before the Invitation Arrives

For employers, preparation is especially important because of the 14-calendar-day deadline after an employee receives an invitation.

Before reaching that stage, an employer should already understand whether the business satisfies OINP’s requirements and whether the proposed position qualifies.

It is also helpful to have the job offer, business information, wage and NOC details, employment records and any potentially applicable recruitment documentation organized in advance.

That can make the employer-side application significantly easier once an invitation is issued.

Employer Eligibility Can Determine Whether an OINP Application Moves Forward

An employee qualifying for the Ontario Workforce Priority Stream is only one side of the equation.

OINP also looks at the employer and the employment position.

A business that does not meet the applicable revenue, staffing, business-operation or workplace requirements can create an eligibility problem even when the employee otherwise appears to qualify.

Similarly, an eligible business still needs to offer a position that satisfies OINP’s requirements for employment, wage and genuine business need.

For this reason, employer eligibility should be reviewed early - not after an employee receives an invitation.

Final Takeaway

Employer eligibility is only one part of the Ontario Workforce Priority Stream. Even when the business and employment position meet OINP requirements, the foreign worker must separately satisfy the stream’s applicant criteria, including applicable requirements for work experience, education, language ability and licensing.

If you are an employee considering this pathway, read our complete Ontario Workforce Priority Stream 2026: Applicant Eligibility Requirements guide to understand the other side of the OINP process.