Immigration to Ontario for in-demand workers
The In-Demand Skills stream gives foreigners working in in-demand occupations the opportunity to get permanent residency.
The In-Demand Skills stream of Ontario’s provincial program is designed for in-demand professionals who have found a job in the province and have worked for a local employer for 9 months.
Eligibility
To apply for the In-Demand Skills stream, you must meet the following requirements:
- get a job offer in Ontario in one of the occupations in demand (see below);
- have worked in the province for at least 9 months within the last 3 years in the same occupation as the job offer;
- demonstrate proficiency in English or French at level 4 on the CLB scale;
- have at least a high school education.
An additional requirement for truckers: the job offer must be only from an employer who has obtained a commercial vehicle operator registration and a carrier safety rating of "Excellent" or "Satisfactory."
Suitable occupations
The following professions are eligible to apply for the stream.
A job in one of the following occupations can be anywhere in Ontario:
- nurse assistants, orderlies;
- home support workers;
- residential and commercial installers and servicers;
- transport truck drivers;
- heavy equipment operators;
- construction trades helpers and labourers;
- general farm workers;
- nursery and greenhouse workers;
- harvesting labourers;
- industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers.
A job in one of the following occupations must be outside of Toronto only:
- machine operators, mineral and metal processing;
- metalworking and forging machine operators;
- machining tool operators;
- other metal products machine operators;
- chemical plant machine operators;
- plastics processing machine operators;
- woodworking machine operators;
- industrial sewing machine operators;
- process control and machine operators, food and beverage;
- electronics assemblers, fabricators, inspectors, and testers;
- mechanical assemblers and inspectors;
- industrial painters, coaters, and metal finishing process operators;
- other products assemblers, finishers, and inspectors.
Candidate evaluation
Ontario uses the Expression of Interest system, in which candidates are awarded points based on criteria such as work experience, level and field of education, specialty, etc. This is done as follows:
| Criterion | Points |
| JOB OFFER | |
| NOC skill level | |
| Level A | 10 |
| Level B | 8 |
| Level C or D | 0 |
| NOC skill type | |
| Types 0, 1, 2, 3, 9 | 10 |
| Types 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 | 5 |
| Suggested hourly wage | |
| $40 CAD or more | 10 |
| $20 to $39.99 CAD | 5 |
| Less than $20 CAD | 0 |
| WORK EXPERIENCE IN CANADA | |
| Duration | |
| From 12 months | 4 |
| Less than 12 months | 0 |
| NOC level | |
| The experience was at level A | 3 |
| The experience was at level B, C, or D | 0 |
| Earnings history | |
| Earnings from $40,000 CAD per year | 3 |
| Earning less than $40,000 CAD per year | 0 |
| REGIONAL IMMIGRATION | |
| Location of employer | |
| Outside Toronto | 10 |
| Within Toronto | 6 |
| LABOUR MARKET PRIORITIES | |
| This criterion is designed to meet the current labour market needs of the province or its particular area. Ontario's immigration program determines the needs. At the time the candidate applies, there may be priority occupations identified, but there may not be any. | |
| The candidate's profession is in demand in the labour market (if there is currently a demand) | 10 |
How to apply
If you qualify for the In-Demand Skills stream, you can create an Expression of Interest account on Ontario's official website.
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To learn about other Ontario provincial program streams, see the article "Immigration to Ontario — Canada's provincial program".