Employer eligibility, job-offer requirements and the Employer Portal process — prepared for Ontario employers supporting a foreign worker under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP).
Prepared by K2 Canada Immigration Management Inc. · Based on Government of Ontario sources current as of August 2026
Ontario redesigned the OINP in 2026 and launched the Ontario Workforce Priority Stream. The stream is now the principal OINP pathway for workers with qualifying Ontario job offers. The process is employer-led: the employer initiates the process through the Employer Portal, and the worker uses the resulting Job Offer ID to register an Expression of Interest (EOI).
Confirm business eligibility, create the job offer, provide business and position information, submit the employment-position approval application when invited, upload evidence and respond to OINP requests.
Confirm pathway eligibility, register the EOI using the Job Offer ID, submit the nominee application and fee when invited, and maintain the required employment and immigration conditions.
| Pathway | Typical job offer | Key worker-side threshold relevant to employer planning |
|---|---|---|
| TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 | Full-time, permanent Ontario position in NOC TEER 0–3 | Worker must meet one of the permitted work-experience routes. These include recent consecutive experience in the offered position or qualifying cumulative experience in the applicable NOC. |
| TEER 4 or 5 | Full-time, permanent Ontario position in NOC TEER 4–5 | At least 9 months of cumulative paid work experience in the offered position with the job-offer employer within the preceding 2 years; CLB 4; Canadian secondary school credential or equivalent. |
| Self-employed physician | Separate physician route | The general employer guide does not apply to self-employed physician applicants. |
The employer must satisfy all applicable requirements at the time of application and continue to satisfy them while the application is being assessed. OINP may verify the business, employment position, worksite, payroll, recruitment and supporting records.
| Employee work/reporting location | Minimum gross annual revenue | Minimum full-time Canadian citizen/PR employees |
|---|---|---|
| Greater Toronto Area (GTA) | $1,000,000 | 5 at the location where the employee will work or report to work |
| Outside the GTA | $500,000 | 3 at the location where the employee will work or report to work |
Where the recruitment requirement applies, the employer must demonstrate reasonable efforts to recruit Canadian citizens or permanent residents before offering the position to the foreign worker. The evidence should show that the recruitment was genuine, appropriately targeted and consistent with the offered occupation, wage and location.
| Requirement | What the employer should verify |
|---|---|
| Full-time | At least 30 paid hours per week. The position cannot be seasonal, casual or structured as insufficient part-time work. |
| Permanent | The offer must be indeterminate and have no fixed end date. A contract with a defined expiry date is not a permanent offer. |
| Ontario position | The employee must work or report to work in Ontario in accordance with the approved terms. |
| Urgently necessary | The position must be urgently necessary to maintain or grow the employer's ongoing business activities. The organizational need should be supported by operations, staffing, contracts, workload or growth evidence. |
| Eligible occupation and duties | The NOC must be selected based on the lead statement and the substantial match of main duties, not only the job title. |
| Wage | The offered wage must meet the applicable OINP wage requirement for the occupation and region and must be consistent with the employer's compensation practices. |
| No prohibited impact | The offer must not adversely affect a labour dispute, displace a person involved in such a dispute, or create an arrangement contrary to program rules. |
| Genuine employee relationship | The employer must control the work and pay the employee. Independent-contractor or self-employment arrangements are generally not suitable for the employer-supported pathways. |
The Employer Portal is the required channel for submitting job-offer information and, after an invitation, the application for approval of the employment position. The portal is integrated with Ontario.ca Login and allows employer contacts, representatives, document uploads, communication and application tracking.
Use a business-controlled email address. Preserve access credentials and multi-factor authentication. The individual creating the employer account should be authorized by the business.
Enter the legal and operating names, CRA business number, addresses, contact information and authorized signing officer details. Avoid duplicate employer profiles for the same business.
Provide the business history, industry, Ontario locations, revenue, workforce and compliance information requested by the portal. Review all pre-populated information before reusing it in later filings.
Enter the employee's legal name and email, pathway, NOC, job title, duties, work location, wage, hours and employment terms. The portal calls this a "job offer" even where the employee already works in the position.
After submission, the worker receives a Job Offer ID by email. The worker must use the ID and the matching email address to register the EOI.
The Job Offer ID remains valid for up to 30 calendar days. If the worker does not register the EOI in time, the job offer expires in the system and the employer must submit a new job offer.
If selected, both employer and worker are notified by email. The invitation does not itself approve the employer or the position.
The employer must complete the detailed position approval application, upload required evidence, sign declarations and submit within the deadline stated in the invitation/portal. Current guidance uses a 14-calendar-day employer deadline.
The worker submits the OINP application and fee within the applicable deadline. Current guidance uses 17 calendar days from the invitation date.
Monitor the portal and email. Respond by the stated deadline and report material changes such as wage, hours, duties, work location, ownership, layoff, termination or withdrawal of the offer.
This guide was prepared from current Government of Ontario sources available in August 2026. Employers should use the live official pages when preparing a filing because program instructions, portal fields and documentary requirements may change.
K2 Canada Immigration Management Inc. guides Ontario employers through every stage of the Workforce Priority Stream — from eligibility review to submission.