January 25, 2018

One of the most prominent Express Entry-aligned Provincial Nominee Program streams for immigration to Canada, Ontario’s Human Capital Priorities Stream issued new Notifications of Interest on January 22 to eligible candidates in the federal Express Entry pool.

This particular round of invitations conducted by Ontario under the Human Capital Priorites (HCP) Stream is innovative for several reasons. Not only was it the first round of Notifications of Interests (NOIs) for 2018, but this was the first instance where the Government of Ontario provides this level of detail about the NOI invitation round.

The province revealed the total number of new NOIs issued, which was 340, as well as the federal Express Entry ranking scores of candidates selected. In the January 22 invitation round, candidates with Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) scores in the range of 440 to 446 were issued a NOI.

Even though candidates with Express Entry CRS scores below 440 were not invited during this round, the government of Ontario did announce that the “Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) will be issuing NOIs on a regular basis to applicants, who at minimum, have a CRS of 400 and meet all eligibility criteria.”

Another important detail released by the province was the date of Express Entry profiles submitted. During this round, only candidates with profiles submitted between January 1, 2018 and January 19, 2018 were issued NOIs from Ontario.

The HCP stream is a major component of the OINP, one of Canada’s popular PNPs. Successful applicants to the HCP stream are awarded 600 additional CRS points and, as a result an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence at a subsequent draw from the Express Entry pool.

Ontario’s HCP stream functions in a unique way, as the OINP searches the Express Entry pool for eligible candidates who may settle in the province successfully and issues selected candidates a NOI, which serves as an invitation to apply for a provincial nomination certificate through the OINP.

News of the HCP stream reopening was provided by immigration authorities in Ontario on Thursday, January 18.

Eligibility

To be eligible under the Ontario Human Capital Priorities stream, candidates must:

• Have a profile in the Express Entry pool and score a minimum of 400 points under the CRS.
• Have a minimum level of work experience;

1. Candidates who choose to be assessed against the Federal Skilled Worker Class (FSWC) criteria must have at least one year of continuous and full-time employment experience, or part-time equivalent, in a National Occupation Classification (NOC) level 0, A, or B occupation in the five years prior to the date of the Notification of Interest from the OINP.
2. Candidates who choose to be assessed against the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) criteria must have at least one year of cumulative and full-time employment experience, or part-time equivalent, in a NOC 0, A, or B occupation in Canada in the three years prior to the date of the NOI from the OINP.

• Have a Canadian Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD degree OR an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report produced by a designated organization indicating that their foreign education credential is equivalent to a Canadian Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD;
• Demonstrate English or French language proficiency level of Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7 or above in all four competencies (speaking, reading, writing, and listening);
• Intend to reside in Ontario;
• Possess sufficient funds to cover settlement costs in Ontario; and
• Meet the additional criteria under either the FSWP or CEC.

If you missed this opportunity, make sure you catch another in the next few upcoming months.

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