OINP Employer Requirements: Job Offers and Compliance

Ontario has changed the structure of the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program. Under the new framework, employer compliance is more important than ever. For most applicants under the new Ontario Workforce Priority stream, the employer is not just providing a job offer. The employer must also meet regulatory requirements, use the Employer Portal properly, and support the approval of an employment position.

The current version of Ontario Regulation 422/17, General, under the Ontario Immigration Act, 2015, shows a consolidation period beginning June 25, 2026, with an e-Laws currency date of June 29, 2026. The regulation also identifies O. Reg. 204/26 as the last amendment.

Ontario has confirmed that the OINP redesign removed the former eight streams and introduced the new Ontario Workforce Priority stream. The new stream includes pathways for workers with job offers in all TEER levels, as well as a pathway for self-employed physicians.

What changed for employers?

The new OINP structure is more employer-driven. For workers in TEER 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 occupations, the job offer must come from an Ontario employer, and the employment position must be approved through the OINP process.

This means an employer must do more than sign an employment letter. The employer must:

• qualify as an eligible Ontario employer;
• offer a position that meets OINP requirements;
• Submit the job offer through the Employer Portal;
• support the employee’s Expression of Interest;
• apply for approval of the employment position if the employee receives an invitation; and
• remain compliant throughout the process.

Ontario’s public update says the new Ontario Workforce Priority stream will include a TEER 0-3 pathway, a TEER 4-5 pathway, and a self-employed physician pathway. The physician pathway differs in that qualifying self-employed physicians may apply without a job offer.

Which OINP options need an employer?

Most Ontario Workforce Priority applicants will need an employer. The two main employer-backed options are:

TEER 0-3 pathway

This pathway is for workers with a full-time and permanent job offer in Ontario in a TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3 occupation (high-skilled jobs). Ontario’s update describes this pathway as targeting skilled, internationally trained workers in TEER 0-3 occupations who have a full-time, permanent job offer in Ontario.

TEER 4-5 pathway

This pathway is for workers with a full-time and permanent job offer in Ontario in a TEER 4 or 5 occupation (low-skilled jobs). Ontario’s update confirms that this pathway is open to workers in all TEER 4 and 5 occupations, provided they have a qualifying full-time and permanent job offer in Ontario.

Self-employed physician pathway

This pathway is not a regular employer job-offer pathway. A qualifying self-employed physician may qualify without a job offer if they are a member in good standing with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, hold an eligible certificate of registration, and are eligible to bill through OHIP.

What is an approved employment position?

Under the OINP, the job offer and the approval of the employment position are connected but not identical.

A job offer is the information the employer submits through the Employer Portal to allow the employee-applicant to register an Expression of Interest. However, Ontario’s Employer Portal instructions state that creating a job offer is not the same as applying to the OINP. The employer may submit an application for approval of the employment position only if the employee-applicant receives an invitation to apply.

This distinction matters. A candidate may have a job offer ID and still not have an approved employment position. The employment position is approved only after the employer submits the approval application, and the OINP accepts it.

Core employer requirements under O. Reg. 422/17

Section 4 of O. Reg. 422/17 sets out the requirements for approval of an employment position. The requirements are detailed, and employers should review them before creating a job offer.

The employer must be established and active.

The employer’s business must have existed and been active for at least three years before the application is made. This is a threshold requirement. A newly created company will generally not qualify as an employer for this purpose.

The employer must have a place of business in Ontario

The employer must maintain a place of business in Ontario. The OINP is an Ontario economic immigration program, so the employer must have a real presence in Ontario.

The work must usually happen in Ontario.

The anticipated employment activities must occur primarily in Ontario. There are specific exceptions for transport truck drivers and bus drivers, subway operators, and other transit operators. For those occupations, the employer must demonstrate a valid CVOR certificate and an Excellent or Satisfactory safety rating under Ontario’s highway safety regime.

The employer must meet the revenue threshold

The regulation creates location-based revenue requirements:

• GTA (Greater Toronto Area) positions: at least $1,000,000 in gross annual revenue in the most recently completed fiscal year.
• Specified census divisions: at least $500,000 in gross annual revenue in the most recently completed fiscal year.
• Other Ontario locations: at least $250,000 in gross annual revenue in each of the last two completed fiscal years.

The specified census divisions include Ottawa, Waterloo, Hamilton, Simcoe, Middlesex, Niagara, Essex, Wellington, Greater Sudbury, Frontenac, Brant, Peterborough, Hastings, and Thunder Bay.

The employer must meet the employee threshold.

The employer must have a minimum number of full-time employees who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents at the relevant location:

• GTA: at least five full-time Canadian citizen or permanent resident employees.
• Outside the GTA: at least three full-time Canadian citizen or permanent resident employees.

This requirement focuses on the location where the prospective nominee will work or report to work.

The position must be full-time and permanent.t

The position must be full-time and have an indeterminate duration. The regulation defines full-time employment as at least 1,560 hours of paid work in 12 months and at least 30 hours of paid work per week.

In practical terms, temporary, seasonal, casual, or fixed-term employment can create serious eligibility concerns.

The position is urgently necessary.

The regulation requires that the position be urgently necessary to the employer’s business. This is not just a formality. Employers should be ready to explain why the role is needed, how it fits into operations, and why the business requires the employee in that position.

The position must match the correct TEER pathway.

For the TEER 0-3 category, the approved position must be in a TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3 NOC occupation. For the TEER 4-5 category, the position must be in a TEER 4 or 5 NOC occupation.

Choosing the wrong NOC can affect both the employer’s approval application and the worker’s eligibility.

The wage must meet the OINP requirement.s

The employer must generally offer at least the applicable wage level for the occupation and region, as shown by the Government of Canada Job Bank. If the employer already employs the applicant, the wage must be at least equal to the wage the employer currently pays the applicant in that position.

The regulation also contains special rules for recent Ontario graduates in the TEER 0-3 category and fallback rules where regional wage data is unavailable. If a collective agreement applies, wage levels must be assessed with reference to that agreement.

The job must not interfere with a labour dispute.

The approval must not be likely to affect the settlement of a labour dispute or the employment of a person involved in a labour dispute. Employers involved in active workplace disputes should review this issue carefully before submitting a job offer.

The employer must not have outstanding employment or safety orders

The employer must not have outstanding orders under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 or the Occupational Health and Safety Act. This is a direct compliance requirement and can result in the employer’s position being disqualified from approval.

Recruitment efforts may be required.

The director may require the employer to show reasonable but unsuccessful efforts to fill the position with a Canadian citizen or permanent resident before offering the position to the applicant. This is not always mandatory, but employers should be prepared to provide evidence of recruitment if requested.

Exceptions for recent graduates

For most TEER 0-3 OINP job-offer positions, the employer must meet at least the applicable median wage for the occupation and region, as determined by the Government of Canada Job Bank. However, if the applicant is a recent Ontario graduate in the TEER 0-3 category, the regulation permits the position to meet the applicable low wage level instead. Recent Ontario graduates also benefit from a reduced work-experience pathway: three consecutive months of paid full-time work in the offered position, instead of the usual six months, and the CLB 6 language requirement is applied only to applicants who are not recent Ontario graduates.

In this regulation, the term “recent Ontario graduate” has a specific definition. It means a person who obtained an eligible Ontario post-secondary credential from an eligible Ontario institution within the last three years.

If current regional Job Bank wage data is unavailable, the employer must use the most recently available historical regional wage data. If that is also unavailable, the employer must use the national Job Bank wage data for the occupation. Finally, if a collective agreement applies to the position, the wage analysis must be conducted with reference to that agreement, rather than relying solely on the ordinary Job Bank wage figures.

How employers can make a job offer

Ontario’s Employer Portal instructions explain the employer-led process. Although Ontario is still transitioning to the new Ontario Workforce Priority system, the existing Employer Portal process is important because it explains how employers submit job offers and applications for approval of employment positions. Ontario has also stated that the Ontario Workforce Priority EOI system is expected to open later in the summer.

Step 1: Register in the Employer Portal

The employer must create a My Ontario Account and complete employer registration in the OINP Employer Portal. The employer may also complete an Employer Profile, which can prepopulate parts of the later approval application.

Step 2: Use the proper signing officer

An authorized signing officer must complete the employer registration. Ontario states that the person must have legal authority to bind the employer at law. Administrative staff should not complete the employer registration unless they have the authority to do so.

The employee-applicant must not register the employer account, act as the signing officer, or be listed as the employer contact. If that happens, Ontario says the application will be deemed incomplete, the account will be deactivated, and related job offers, EOIs, and applications will also be deactivated.

Step 3: Submit the job offer

The employer submits the job offer through the Employer Portal. This is required even if the worker is already employed in the position. The employer provides information about the position, including the NOC, wage, work location, and the employee-applicant’s details.

Once submitted, the employee-applicant receives a Job Offer ID and uses it to register an Expression of Interest.

Step 4: The employee registers an Expression of Interest

The employee-applicant must register an Expression of Interest within 30 calendar days after the job offer is submitted. If the employee does not register within 30 days, the Job Offer ID expires, and the job offer is withdrawn. The employer must then create a new job offer.

Step 5: If invited, the employer applies for approval

If the employee-applicant receives an invitation to apply, the employer must submit the application for approval of the employment position within 14 calendar days. The employee-applicant must submit their own application within 17 calendar days from the invitation.

If the employer does not apply within 14 days, the application is withdrawn, and the employer must create a new job offer to be considered for future invitations.

Employer disqualifications and refusal risks

The regulation does not always use the word “disqualification” in a casual sense, but several issues can prevent approval of the employment position. Common employer-side refusal risks include:

• The business has not existed and been active for at least three years;
• The business does not maintain a place of business in Ontario;
• The work is not primarily in Ontario, unless a specific exception applies;
• The employer does not meet the applicable revenue threshold;
• The employer does not meet the minimum Canadian citizen or permanent resident employee threshold;
• The job is not full-time or is not indeterminate;
• The position is not urgently necessary to the business;
• The wage is below the required Job Bank or applicable collective agreement wage level;
• The employer has outstanding orders under Ontario employment standards or occupational health and safety legislation;
• The position may affect a labour dispute;
• The employer cannot satisfy a recruitment request if the director requires recruitment evidence; or
• The employer provides inaccurate, misleading, or incomplete information.

Employers should also be cautious when a worker or a worker’s family members hold equity in the employer’s business. For both TEER 0-3 and TEER 4-5 categories, the regulation restricts equity ownership unless it was obtained as part of employee remuneration and the total equity held by the applicant and family members is less than 10 percent.

What happens if the job offer is withdrawn, expires, or is returned?

This is one of the most practical issues under the employer-led system.

If the job offer needs changes

A submitted job offer cannot be changed. If the employer needs to change the job offer, the employer must withdraw it and create a new one. Moreover, if the employee has already registered an EOI for that job offer, the EOI is withdrawn, and the employee must register a new EOI with the new Job Offer ID.

If the employee does not register an EOI within 30 days

The Job Offer ID remains valid for up to 30 days. If the employee does not register the EOI within that period, the Job Offer ID expires, and the job offer is withdrawn. A new job offer is required.

If the EOI expires

Ontario states that EOIs are valid for up to 12 months. If the employee-applicant does not receive an invitation within that period, both the EOI and the job offer are automatically withdrawn. Also, if the employer and employee still want to proceed, the employer must create a new job offer, and the employee must register a new EOI.

If the employer withdraws the job offer

The employer can withdraw a job offer at any time. If the employer withdraws the job offer after the employee has registered an EOI, the employee receives an email that the EOI was automatically withdrawn. Moreover, if the employer withdraws the job offer after the application has been submitted, the employee receives an email stating that the application has been withdrawn.

What if the employer misses the 14-day deadline?

If the employee receives an invitation to apply, the employer must submit the approval application within 14 calendar days. Moreover, if the employer misses that deadline, the application is withdrawn, and the employer must create a new job offer for the employee to be considered in the future.

If Ontario returns applications

O. Reg. 421/17 deals with approvals and procedures under the OINP. It allows the director, in certain circumstances, to suspend the receipt of applications or to return undecided applications and application fees. This is different from an employer voluntarily withdrawing a job offer. A returned application usually means the file does not proceed to a decision, and the parties may need to restart if a pathway is available.

If the old job offer was under a former stream

Ontario has stated that EOIs and job offers registered under former streams that did not result in an invitation to apply will be automatically withdrawn. At the same time, the EOI and application platforms are updated. Employers already registered in the Employer Portal will not need to register again. However, once the portal reopens, they will need to submit a new job offer and a new application for approval of the employment position to initiate a new EOI under the new stream.

Compliance risks for employers

Employer compliance is not only about qualifying at the start. The employer must remain credible throughout the process. The OINP may request supporting documents to verify information in the application, and employers must be prepared to respond.

The regulation also includes administrative penalty provisions. For administrative penalties, the formula starts with $10,000 if the person or body is an employer, representative, or recruiter, or if they acquired a financial benefit as a result of the contravention. The formula may increase based on prior penalties, the number of applicants involved, and any monetary amount received in connection with the contravention.

Ontario’s program integrity update also confirms that the response time for a Notice of Intent to Issue an Administrative Monetary Penalty or Ban order has been reduced from 60 days to 30 days. Ontario also states that regulatory amendments allow notices of contravention to be sent by email, mail, or in person, with deemed delivery rules.

The uploaded regulation reflects this approach. A notice may be served directly, by regular mail, or by email. A mailed notice is generally deemed received on the fifth business day after mailing, and an emailed notice is generally deemed received on the first business day after it is sent, subject to limited exceptions in which the person or body establishes good-faith non-receipt or later receipt for reasons beyond their control.

Practical checklist for employers

Before creating an OINP job offer, an employer should gather and review:

• CRA business number and legal business information;
• proof that the business has existed and been active for at least three years;
• evidence of Ontario business premises;
• financial statements or tax documents showing gross annual revenue;
• payroll records proving the required number of Canadian citizens or permanent residents full-time employees;
• detailed job description;
• NOC analysis;
• wage calculation based on Job Bank or collective agreement;
• evidence that the position is full-time and indeterminate;
• Explanation of why the position is urgently necessary;
• proof of licensing, where applicable;
• recruitment evidence, if the director requests it;
• confirmation that there are no outstanding ESA or OHSA orders; and
• careful review of any ownership or family relationship between the worker and the employer.

Frequently asked questions

Can an employer make a job offer to someone who is already employed?

Yes. Ontario’s Employer Portal instructions say employers must submit a job offer regardless of whether the employee-applicant is already in the position.

Does a job offer guarantee nomination?

No. A job offer does not guarantee an invitation, approval of the employment position, nomination, or permanent residence. Creating a job offer is only one step in the process. Ontario expressly states that creating a job offer is not the same as applying to the OINP.

Can the employee create the employer account?

No. The employee-applicant cannot register the employer account, act as the signing officer, or act as the employer contact. If this happens, Ontario says the application will be deemed incomplete and related records may be deactivated.

Can a job offer be changed after submission?

No. Once submitted, the job offer cannot be changed. The employer must withdraw it and create a new one. If an EOI was registered based on the original job offer, the EOI will also be withdrawn.

What happens if the employer withdraws the job offer?

If the EOI has been registered, the EOI is automatically withdrawn. If the approval application has already been submitted, the employee’s application is withdrawn. A new job offer and new EOI are required if the parties want to proceed.

What if the employer has an outstanding Employment Standards Act order?

The position will not meet the regulatory requirement if there are outstanding orders under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 or the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The employer should resolve compliance issues before proceeding.

Can an employer with low revenue qualify?

It depends on the location and the applicable revenue threshold. The current regulation sets different thresholds for GTA locations, certain listed census divisions, and other Ontario locations. If the employer does not meet the applicable threshold, the employment position may not be approved.

Final thoughts

The new Ontario Workforce Priority framework makes the employer’s role central to most OINP applications. A strong job offer is not enough on its own. The employer must qualify, the position must qualify, the portal process must be followed, and compliance must be maintained throughout.

For employers, the safest approach is to treat the OINP job offer as a formal regulatory submission, rather than just an HR document. Before submitting anything, the employer should confirm the business requirements, wage level, NOC, work location, employee count, revenue threshold, and compliance history.

For applicants, the key takeaway is simple: an OINP job offer is only as strong as the employer behind it.

Ontario Workforce Priorities Assessment Form

Sources

• Ontario Regulation 422/17, General, under the Ontario Immigration Act, 2015.
• Ontario, 2026 Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program Updates.
• Ontario, Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program home page.
• Ontario, How to Use the Employer Portal: Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program.
• Ontario Regulation 421/17, Approvals Under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program and Other Matters.