Canada | Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program updates selection factors under the Expression of Interest system

On 22 November 2022, Ontario reopened the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) e-filing system following the introduction of the new TEER 2021 classification system. TEER 2021 is a major structural change to the NOC system as it includes the introduction of the Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) category, instead of the previous NOC 0, A, B, C or D, the TEER system classifies occupations based on 5 TEER categories. Under the new TEER system, occupations are classified based on a new 5-digit format (instead of the previous 4-digit format) and some occupations under the previous skill level B have been split into TEER 2 or 3.

Foreign nationals looking to immigrate via an OINP stream can now submit their profile. Those who have previously submitted a profile prior to the re-opening of the e-filing system will need to re-submit a new profile given changes to overall scoring factors and points allocation. With the re-opening of the OINP e-filing system for profiles under the Expression of Interest (EOI), there have been notable changes to the scoring factors. The EOI scoring is comprised of two components: self-declared score – which includes human capital factors and investment factors - (max 126 points), and business concept score (max 74 points). The new maximum of points is 200 points and is an increase from the previous maximum of 120 points. Profiles will need to have at least 37 points for business concept to be placed in the EOI selection pool.

A Tax Alert prepared by EY Law LLP, and attached below, provides additional details.