The Ontario Immigrant Nominees Program (OINP)’s International Masters Graduate Stream, International PhD Graduate Stream and Express Entry Human Capital Priority Stream have re-opened as of Tuesday February 21, 2017.
Both the Masters and PhD streams have been closed since May 9, 2016, while the Human Capital Priority Stream has been closed since February 16, 2016.
Through OINP, prospective immigrants with skills and experience of interest in Ontario may receive an Ontario Provincial Nomination Certificate. This certificate allows the selected foreign national to apply for Canadian Permanent Residence with processing times that are faster than other Canadian immigration classes. In attracting skilled immigrants, OINP aims to help Ontario businesses remain competitive on a global scale.
OINP has moved to accept more skilled newcomers than ever before. Acknowledging the success of OINP and its significant positive impact on Ontario’s economy, the federal government has announced an increase in the 2017 quota by 500 nominees. The announced adjustment will mean that Ontario’s federal nomination allocation has increased from 2,500 in 2014, to 6,000 in 2017.
In expanding the program upon its return with these three streams, OINP is modernizing its application process with an entirely online system. While the paperless system aims to improve efficiency and ease of the application process, it presents certain drawbacks as well.
Within the first four days of going online, the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration announced its website had received upwards of 117,000 visits. This significant demand led to continual website crashes, starting almost immediately after opening the online applications.
Even those able to get a confirmation number, and were therefore invited to complete the online application within seven days, reported difficulty logging onto the website to submit. In an attempt to accommodate these issues, the deadline has now been extended to a fourteen-day window.
Before the end of the first week of reopening online, all three streams had reached their registration intake limits. The International Masters stream was the first to hit capacity, closing on February 23, 2017 only 48 hours after opening online. The International PhD and Human Capital Priority streams then followed suit, closing on February 24, 2017 when they reached their respective registration quotas.
OINP will be providing an update on May 1, 2017 when these streams are expected to reopen.