OINP TEER 0-3 Pathway: Requirements and Exceptions

Ontario has redesigned the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program, commonly known as the OINP. One of the most important options under the new system is the Ontario Workforce Priority: TEER 0-3 category.

This category is for foreign nationals who have a qualifying Ontario job offer in a TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3 occupation (high-skilled jobs). However, the rules are not limited to job offers. The applicant must meet OINP eligibility requirements, the employer must obtain approval of the employment position, and the position must satisfy wage, location, employment, and compliance rules.

The current consolidated version of Ontario Regulation 422/17, General, under the Ontario Immigration Act, 2015, establishes the Ontario Workforce Priority categories and sets out the eligibility criteria for the TEER 0-3 category. The version reviewed for this article shows a consolidation period beginning June 25, 2026, with O. Reg. 204/26 as the last amendment.

What is the OINP TEER 0-3 category?

The Ontario Workforce Priority: TEER 0-3 category is one of the current nomination categories under the OINP. It applies to applicants with a qualifying Ontario employment position in a NOC occupation listed under Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities, TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3. In simple terms, the category is for workers in managerial, professional, technical, skilled trades, and other TEER 0-3 occupations who have an Ontario employer willing and able to support the OINP process.

This article focuses only on the TEER 0-3 category. It does not cover the TEER 4-5 category or the self-employed physician category.

The basic eligibility rules for all applicants

Before reviewing the TEER 0-3 rules, applicants must first meet the general requirements applicable to all OINP nomination categories.

The applicant must be a foreign national. They must also demonstrate, on a reasonable basis, an intention to reside in Ontario. If the person applies from inside Canada, they must be a temporary resident under section 22 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

The applicant must also attend any in-person interview requested by the director. The regulation allows the director to request an interview, including a separate one from other persons.

There is also a transition rule. If an applicant applied for an approval or a certificate of nomination in any category before May 30, 2026, the application is assessed under the criteria that applied to that category immediately before that date.

An invitation to apply is required.

An applicant cannot simply submit a TEER 0-3 nomination application whenever they want.

The applicant must first receive an invitation from the Government of Ontario to apply for a certificate of nomination. They must then apply within the deadline determined by the director and published on the Ministry’s website.

The applicant must also prove the qualifications they attested to under Ontario’s expression of interest process. In other words, the applicant must be able to substantiate the qualifications that led to the invitation.

This is important. An expression of interest is not just an informal profile. If Ontario invites the applicant based on claimed qualifications, the applicant must later demonstrate those qualifications.

The job offer must be approved.

The applicant must have a job offer for a position approved by the director under the OINP. The position must be in a TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3 NOC occupation.

This means the job offer and the employer matter as much as the applicant’s personal qualifications. A job offer that looks strong on paper may still fail if the employer or position does not meet the regulatory requirements.

Employer and position requirements

For the TEER 0-3 category, the employment position must be approved. Section 4 of the regulation sets out the requirements for approval of an employment position.

Employer business history

The employer’s business must have existed and been active for at least three years before the application is made. The employer must also maintain a place of business in Ontario.

This requirement may exclude newly created businesses, inactive businesses, shell entities, or employers without a real Ontario business presence.

Work location in Ontario

The anticipated employment activities related to the position must occur primarily in Ontario.

There is an exception for two occupations:

• NOC 73300, Transport truck drivers
• NOC 73301, Bus drivers, subway operators and other transit operators

For those occupations, the work is not subject to the same “primarily in Ontario” requirement. However, the employer must demonstrate that it has a valid CVOR certificate and a safety rating under the Highway Traffic Act of Excellent or Satisfactory.

Revenue requirements

The employer must meet a gross annual revenue threshold. The amount depends on the work location.

If the prospective nominee will work in the Greater Toronto Area, or will work at more than one location but report to a location in the GTA, the employer must have at least $1,000,000 in gross annual revenue in its most recently completed fiscal year.

If the prospective nominee will work in one of several listed census divisions, or will report to work in one of those census divisions, the employer must have at least $500,000 in gross annual revenue in its most recently completed fiscal year. These locations include Ottawa, Waterloo, Hamilton, Simcoe, Middlesex, Niagara, Essex, Wellington, Greater Sudbury, Frontenac, Brant, Peterborough, Hastings, and Thunder Bay.

If the prospective nominee will work elsewhere in Ontario, the employer must have at least $250,000 in gross annual revenue in each of its most recently completed two fiscal years.

Employee requirements

The employer must also have a minimum number of full-time employees who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents.

If the prospective nominee will work in the GTA or report to a GTA location, the employer must have at least five full-time Canadian citizens or permanent residents at that location.

If the prospective nominee will work outside the GTA or report to a location outside the GTA, the employer must have at least three full-time Canadian citizens or permanent residents at that location.

Full-time and indeterminate position

The position must be full-time and have an indeterminate duration.

The regulation defines full-time employment as a position requiring at least 1,560 hours of paid work in 12 months and at least 30 hours of paid work per week in those 12 months.

This means temporary, casual, seasonal, or fixed-term positions may not meet the requirement.

Urgently necessary to the business

The position must be urgently necessary to the employer’s business.

This is a meaningful requirement. The employer should be able to explain why the position is needed, how it fits into the business, and why the business requires the applicant in that role.

Wage requirements

The wage rules are important. If the applicant is already working for the employer in the position, the wage must be at least equal to the wage the employer currently pays the applicant in that position.

In addition, the position must generally meet at least the median wage for the occupation and region, as determined by the Government of Canada Job Bank on the date the application is made.

There is an important exception for recent Ontario graduates in the TEER 0-3 category. If a recent Ontario graduate fills the position, the wage may meet the applicable low-wage level rather than the median wage level. 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 Job Bank wage data is unavailable

The regulation also provides fallback rules if the current Job Bank wage information is unavailable.

If current regional wage data is unavailable, the position must meet the wage level from the most recently available historical Job Bank data for the occupation and region. If that information is also unavailable, the position must meet the national wage level for the occupation as listed in the Job Bank on the day the application is made.

Collective agreements

If a collective agreement applies, the wage levels must be determined with reference to it.

Therefore, unionized positions require a careful review of the collective agreement. The employer should not rely solely on Job Bank wage data if the collective agreement governs wages.

No labour dispute issue

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.

This rule protects the integrity of the labour market and prevents the OINP from being used in ways that interfere with labour disputes.

No outstanding ESA or OHSA 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. Employers with unresolved employment standards or workplace safety orders should address those issues before pursuing an OINP-supported position.

Recruitment efforts may be required.

If the director determines it is necessary, the employer must show that it made 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 framed as a universal recruitment requirement. However, the employer should be ready to provide recruitment evidence if Ontario requests it.

Licensing and authorization

If Ontario law or federal law requires a licence or other authorization for the applicant to perform the job, the applicant must have obtained that licence or authorization.

This may apply to regulated occupations. For example, some health, engineering, skilled trade, transportation, legal, financial, and technical roles may require a licence, certification, or other legal authorization.

Licensing also affects some exceptions discussed below. In some cases, if the applicant meets the licence or authorization requirement, the regulation removes certain work experience and education requirements.

Work experience requirements

Under the general TEER 0-3 rule, the applicant must meet at least one of three work-experience pathways.

Option 1: Six months in the offered position

The applicant may qualify by accumulating, within the 12 months preceding the application, at least 6 consecutive months of paid full-time work experience in the position to which the application relates. The work must have been completed while the applicant was lawfully residing and working in Ontario.

This option is position-specific. It focuses on the actual position offered by the Ontario employer.

Option 2: Three months for recent Ontario graduates

If the applicant is a recent Ontario graduate, they may qualify with at least three consecutive months of paid full-time work experience in the employment position to which the application relates. The experience must be within the 12 months before the application and must have been obtained while lawfully residing and working in Ontario.

This is one of the main advantages for recent Ontario graduates.

Option 3: Two years of experience in the same or related occupation

The applicant may also qualify by demonstrating at least 2 years of paid full-time work experience, or the equivalent paid part-time experience, within the 5 years preceding the application.

The experience must be in one or more of the following occupations:

• the same NOC occupation as the employment position;
• a NOC occupation in Sub-Major Group 213, Professional occupations in engineering, if the job offer is in a NOC occupation in Sub-Major Group 223, Technical occupations related to engineering;
• NOC 31120, Pharmacists, if the job offer is in NOC 33103, Pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants;
• NOC 32101, Licensed practical nurses, or NOC 31301, Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses, if the job offer is in NOC 33102, Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates.

This route is broader than the first two because it does not necessarily require recent work in the same Ontario position. However, it must fit within the specific NOC rules in the regulation.

Part-time work equivalent

For the two-year experience route, part-time work may count if it is equivalent to the required full-time experience.

The regulation provides two ways to calculate equivalent part-time work:

• The applicant worked concurrently in multiple positions for at least 30 hours per week for the required period; or
• The applicant worked in one position for at least 15 hours per week for double the required period.

This part-time equivalency rule applies to the two-year experience route under subparagraph 5 iii of subsection 5(1).

Education requirements

Under the general TEER 0-3 rule, the applicant must submit proof of having obtained a post-secondary degree or diploma from an eligible Canadian institution that requires at least 1 year of full-time study.

Alternatively, the applicant may submit an equivalent foreign credential supported by an educational credential assessment report. The ECA report must be less than 5 years old on the date the application is submitted and must be issued by a designated educational credential assessment organization. It must indicate that the applicant’s foreign educational credentials are authentic and equivalent to completed Canadian educational credentials.

Education exception for licensed applicants

The regulation creates an important exception.

The work-experience requirement and the post-secondary education requirement do not apply to an applicant who meets the requirement to have a licence or other authorization for the employment position.

This means that where a licence or authorization is legally required for the job,b and the applicant has obtained it, the applicant may be exempt from both the general work experience and general education requirements.

Special education exception for NOC 33102

There is another specific exception for NOC 33102, Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates.

The general post-secondary education requirement does not apply if the applicant has an approved job offer in NOC 33102 and has obtained an Ontario college certificate from an eligible Canadian institution that requires at least one year of full-time study.

This is a narrow exception. It applies only to the specific NOC and the specific type of certificate described in the regulation.

Language requirements

Under the general TEER 0-3 rule, an applicant who is not a recent Ontario graduate must demonstrate English or French language proficiency at Canadian Language Benchmark 6 or higher in all four abilities. The test must have been completed within two years before the application date.

The test must be administered by an institution listed on the federal immigration department’s website as approved to conduct language testing.

The language rule is worded as applying to applicants who are not recent Ontario graduates. Therefore, recent Ontario graduates receive different treatment under this paragraph.

Who is a recent Ontario graduate?

A recent Ontario graduate is a person who obtained an Ontario post-secondary credential from an eligible Ontario institution in the last three years.

The credential must be one of the following:

• a degree or diploma that takes at least two years to complete on a full-time basis;
• a master’s degree;
• a PhD degree; or
• An Ontario college graduate certificate.

This definition is important because recent Ontario graduates may benefit from special rules, including the lower wage threshold, shorter work-experience route, and different treatment under the general language rule.

Equity in the employer’s business

The applicant and their family members must not hold, and must not have held, equity in the employer’s business, directly or indirectly.

There is a limited exception. Equity is acceptable if it was obtained as part of the applicant’s remuneration as an employee, and the total amount of equity held by the applicant and family members is less than 10 percent of the equity in the employer’s business.

This rule is important in family businesses, start-ups, shareholder employment arrangements, and situations where the worker has any direct or indirect ownership interest.

Special rules for truck drivers and transit operators

The regulation creates a specific rule set for applicants with approved job offers in:

• NOC 73300, Transport truck drivers
• NOC 73301, Bus drivers, subway operators and other transit operators

For these applicants, the following rules apply:

• invitation to apply;
• proof of attested qualifications;
• approved TEER 0-3 employment position;
• licence or authorization, if required;
• the six-month Ontario work experience route in the offered position;
• education requirement;
• language requirement;
• equity restriction.

The key point is that these applicants are limited to the six-month work-experience route for the position in question. The recent-graduate three-month route and the two-year same-or-related occupation route are not listed for this special rule set.

In addition, as noted above, the employer must meet the special CVOR and safety-rating rules for these occupations.

Special rules for trades, natural resources, cooks, butchers, bakers, and chefs

The regulation also establishes a special set of rules for certain TEER 0-3 occupation groups.

This special rule set applies to applicants with an approved job offer in one of the following groups:

• Major Group 72, Technical trades and transportation officers and controllers, excluding occupations under Sub-Major Group 726;
• Major Group 73, General trades;
• Major Group 82, Supervisors in natural resources, agriculture and related production;
• Major Group 83, Occupations in natural resources and related production;
• Major Group 93, Central control and process operators and aircraft assembly assemblers and inspectors, excluding aircraft assemblers and aircraft assembly inspectors under Sub-Major Group 932;
• Minor Group 6320, Cooks, Butchers, Bakers;
• Unit Group 62200, Chefs.

For these applicants, the regulation modifies the general TEER 0-3 requirements.

They must still meet the rules regarding invitations, attested qualifications, approved job offers, licensing where required, work experience, and equity restrictions. However, the educational and language requirements differ.

Lower education threshold

Instead of the general post-secondary education requirement, these applicants must submit proof of a Canadian secondary school diploma or an equivalent foreign credential, accompanied by an ECA report dated within the past 5 years.

Lower language threshold

An applicant in these occupation groups who is not a recent Ontario graduate must demonstrate English or French language proficiency at CLB 5 or higher in all four abilities. The test must have been completed within two years before the application date.

This is lower than the general TEER 0-3 language threshold of CLB 6.

Licensing exception still matters.

For these special occupation groups, the work-experience and secondary-education requirements do not apply if the applicant meets the licence or authorization requirement for the position.

Comparing the main TEER 0-3 rule sets

Practical application checklist

Before applying under the OINP TEER 0-3 category, the applicant and employer should confirm the following:

• The applicant is a foreign national;
• The applicant intends to reside in Ontario;
• If applying from inside Canada, the applicant has temporary resident status;
• Ontario has invited you to apply;
• The applicant can prove the qualifications claimed in the expression of interest;
• The job offer is in a TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3 occupation;
• The employer qualifies under the OINP employer rules;
• The employment position is full-time and indeterminate;
• The position is urgently necessary to the employer’s business;
• The wage meets the applicable Job Bank or collective agreement requirement;
• The applicant meets the required work-experience pathway, unless an exception applies;
• The applicant meets the education requirement, unless an exception applies;
• The applicant meets the language requirement, unless different treatment applies;
• any required licence or authorization has been obtained;
• Neither the applicant nor family members have a prohibited equity interest in the employer’s business;
• The employer has no outstanding ESA or OHSA orders;
• The position does not interfere with a labour dispute;
• Recruitment evidence is available upon request from the director.

Frequently asked questions

Does every TEER 0-3 applicant need a job offer?

Yes. The applicant must have a job offer for an employment position approved by the director. The position must be in a TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3 NOC occupation.

Is an invitation to apply required?

Yes. The applicant must receive an invitation to apply from the Government of Ontario and submit an application by the deadline set by the director.

Does the employer have to qualify?

Yes. The employer and the position must meet the approval requirements outlined in the regulation. This includes business history, Ontario presence, revenue, employee count, wage, compliance, and other requirements.

Can recent Ontario graduates qualify more easily?

In some ways, yes. Recent Ontario graduates may benefit from a three-month work-experience route in the offered position, possible use of the low wage level instead of the median wage level, and different treatment under the general CLB 6 language rule.

Does a licence help?

It may. If a licence or authorization is required for the job and the applicant has obtained it, the regulation may waive certain work experience and education requirements. However, the applicant must still meet the other applicable requirements.

Are truck drivers treated differently?

Yes. Transport truck drivers and bus drivers, subway operators and other transit operators have a special set of rules. They must use the six-month work-experience route in the offered position, and the employer must meet specific CVOR and safety-rating requirements.

Do trades occupations have different rules?

Some do. Certain trades, natural resources, cooks, butchers, bakers, and chefs fall under a special rule set with a secondary school education threshold and CLB 5 language requirement for applicants who are not recent Ontario graduates.

Final thoughts

The OINP TEER 0-3 category is not a simple job-offer stream. It is a detailed regulatory pathway with several layers of eligibility. The applicant must qualify, the employer must qualify, the job offer must be approved, and the position must satisfy wage, location, business, and compliance requirements.

The most important point is that not all TEER 0-3 applicants are assessed under identical rules. Recent Ontario graduates, licensed applicants, truck and transit workers, and applicants in certain trades and related occupations may face different requirements or benefit from specific exceptions.

For this reason, an OINP TEER 0-3 assessment should always start with four questions:

1. What is the correct NOC and TEER level?
2. Does the employer qualify?
3. Which TEER 0-3 rule set applies?
4. Do any exceptions modify the work experience, education, language, wage, or employer requirements?

A careful answer to those questions can prevent avoidable refusals and help applicants and employers understand whether the Ontario Workforce Priority TEER 0-3 category is a realistic immigration option.

Ontario Workforce Priorities Assessment Form

Sources

• Ontario Regulation 422/17, General, under the Ontario Immigration Act, 2015.
• Ontario Regulation 421/17, Approvals Under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program and Other Matters, referenced by O. Reg. 422/17 for expression of interest qualifications.