Ontario Unveils New 130-Point OINP Scoring System for Permanent Residence

Last updated: July 26, 2026

Ontario has published the new scoring system it will use to rank candidates under the redesigned Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program.

The scoring grid applies to the Ontario Workforce Priority Stream, which replaces Ontario’s previous eight-stream structure with a broader pathway covering workers in National Occupational Classification occupations from TEER 0 through TEER 5. Eligible self-employed physicians can also apply without a traditional employer job offer.

Candidates applying with an Ontario job offer can receive up to 130 points. The highest-weighted factors include Ontario work experience, hourly wage, language ability and employment outside Toronto.

The new stream and its rules are now published, but candidates cannot yet submit a new Expression of Interest. Ontario says the updated system is expected to reopen later in summer 2026, with no exact reopening date or first invitation score announced as of July 26.

OINP Scoring System: What Ontario changed

Ontario began its OINP redesign on June 26, 2026.

The province removed its former eight immigration streams and launched the Ontario Workforce Priority Stream as the first stream under the new programme. Applications already submitted under the former structure will continue to be assessed using the rules in effect when they were submitted.

The new stream has three application routes:

Pathway	Who it covers	Job offer required?
TEER 0–3 job-offer pathway	Managers, professionals, technicians, skilled trades and other higher-skilled workers	Yes
TEER 4–5 job-offer pathway	Intermediate and entry-level workers	Yes
Self-employed physician pathway	Eligible Ontario physicians with the required registration and OHIP billing number	No

A job offer does not guarantee selection. Candidates must first meet the stream’s mandatory requirements and then compete for an invitation through the Expression of Interest scoring system.

The redesigned programme will also operate within Ontario’s annual nomination capacity. Read our guide to the Ontario 2026 nomination allocation for more context.

New OINP scoring system at a glance

The maximum score is:

• 130 points for applicants with an Ontario job offer
• 115 points for eligible self-employed physicians, because the hourly-wage factor does not apply to them

The complete system contains 11 factors:

Scoring factor	Maximum points
NOC TEER category	9
Broad occupational category	10
Hourly wage	15
Ontario work experience	18
Canadian earnings history	8
Legal status in Canada	10
Highest education level	10
Canadian education credentials	10
Official language ability	15
Knowledge of both official languages	10
Ontario work location	15
Maximum total	130

Employment and labour-market points

NOC TEER category

Job-offer TEER category	Points
TEER 0 or 1	9
TEER 2 or 3	6
TEER 4 or 5	0

TEER 4 and 5 applicants can still qualify for the programme. They simply receive no points under this individual factor.

Broad occupational category

Ontario also awards points based on the first digit of the candidate’s NOC code.

NOC broad category	General occupation group	Points
Category 3	Health occupations	10
Category 7	Trades, transport and equipment operations	8
Category 2	Natural and applied sciences	6
Categories 0, 1, 4, 8 and 9	Management, business, education, government, natural resources and manufacturing	4
Categories 5 and 6	Art, culture, recreation, sport, sales and service	2

This gives healthcare occupations the highest occupational score, followed by trades and transportation.

Hourly wage

Hourly wage	Points
$40 per hour or more	15
$35–$39.99	12
$30–$34.99	10
$25–$29.99	8
$20–$24.99	5
Less than $20	0

The wage is taken from the employer’s job-offer information. It must still satisfy the applicable programme wage requirement for the occupation and region.

Receiving wage points does not make an otherwise ineligible job offer acceptable. Self-employed physicians are not assessed under this factor.

Ontario work experience

Applicants already working in the position covered by their job offer receive:

Time in the offered position	Points
More than 24 months	18
13–24 months	15
6–12 months	12
Less than six months, or not currently working in the position	0

When an applicant has less than six months in the offered position, Ontario can instead consider other Ontario work experience:

Other Ontario work experience	Points
More than 24 months	12
13–24 months	9
6–12 months	6
Less than six months	0

The higher scoring available for time in the exact offered position rewards candidates who already have an established relationship with the supporting employer.

Canadian earnings history

Candidates can claim points using one Canada Revenue Agency Notice of Assessment issued during the previous five years.

Highest qualifying earnings in one year	Points
$70,000 or more	8
$50,000–$69,999	6
$30,000–$49,999	4
Less than $30,000	0

The earnings must come from a single calendar year. T4 slips alone are not accepted for this scoring factor, and income from multiple years cannot be combined.

Legal status in Canada

Current status	Points
Valid work permit	10
Valid study permit	5
No valid work or study permit	0

The permit must provide valid legal status in Canada.

Education points

Highest completed education

Education level	Points
Doctorate or professional degree in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine or optometry	10
Master’s degree	8
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent	6
University credential above a bachelor’s degree	6
Ontario College Graduate Certificate	5
Other university, college or non-university credential	5
Apprenticeship or trades credential	5
Less than a college or trade credential	0

Foreign education generally requires a valid Educational Credential Assessment to establish its Canadian equivalency.

Number of Canadian credentials

Eligible Canadian postsecondary credentials	Points
More than one	10
One	5
None	0

Each credential must normally be from an eligible Canadian institution and require at least one year of full-time study.

Canadian education can therefore help in two places: through the candidate’s highest education level and through the separate Canadian-credential factor.

Language points

English or French ability

Ontario uses the candidate’s lowest score across reading, writing, listening and speaking.

Lowest CLB or NCLC level	Points
CLB/NCLC 9 or higher	15
CLB/NCLC 8	12
CLB/NCLC 7	8
CLB/NCLC 6	4
CLB/NCLC 5 or lower	0

This makes balanced language results important. A candidate with CLB 9 in three abilities but CLB 6 in one ability receives the CLB 6 score for this factor.

Ontario accepts approved immigration tests such as IELTS General Training, CELPIP General, PTE Core, TEF Canada and TCF Canada. Test results must be no more than two years old when the application is submitted.

Knowledge of both official languages

Language results submitted	Points
English and French, with at least CLB/NCLC 6 in every ability for both	10
One official language	5

A candidate who proves qualifying ability in both English and French can receive five more points than someone relying on only one official language.

Regional employment points

Ontario gives candidates more points when the job or medical practice is outside Toronto.

Work or practice location	Points
Northern Ontario	15
Eastern Ontario	10
Central Ontario outside the GTA	10
Southwestern Ontario	10
GTA outside Toronto	5
City of Toronto	0

For applicants with a job offer, the score is based on the work location entered by the employer—not the candidate’s home address.

For self-employed physicians, Ontario uses the practice address connected to the physician’s OHIP billing registration.

Eligibility and scoring are different

This is the most important part of the new system.

Eligibility requirements determine whether a person is allowed to apply under the stream. These can include work experience, education, language ability, licensing, legal status and a qualifying job offer.

Scoring factors determine how the eligible profile ranks against other candidates in the Expression of Interest pool.

For example, a TEER 4 or 5 worker receives zero points for the TEER factor but may still qualify for the pathway by meeting its mandatory requirements, including:

• A qualifying full-time and permanent Ontario job offer
• At least nine months of eligible experience in the offered position
• A Canadian secondary school diploma or equivalent
• At least CLB 4 in English or French

Similarly, a candidate may calculate a high score but remain ineligible if the job offer, employer, work experience or supporting documents fail to meet the programme rules.

Ontario specifically warns that scoring factors are not the same as stream criteria.

Who gains the most—and where points are harder to earn

Profile factor	Effect on score
Healthcare occupation	Receives the maximum 10 occupational-category points
Trades or transportation occupation	Receives eight occupational-category points
More than two years in the offered position	Receives the maximum 18 Ontario-experience points
Wage of at least $40 per hour	Receives the maximum 15 wage points
Job in Northern Ontario	Receives 15 regional points
Job in Eastern, Southwestern or Central Ontario outside the GTA	Receives 10 regional points
CLB 9 or higher in every ability	Receives 15 language points
Qualifying English and French results	Receives 10 official-language points
Valid work permit	Receives 10 status points
Job in Toronto	Receives no regional points
TEER 4 or 5 occupation	Receives no TEER points
Sales or service occupation	Receives two occupational-category points
Wage below $20 per hour	Receives no wage points
Less than six months of Ontario experience	Receives no Ontario-experience points

The grid clearly favours candidates with an established Ontario work history, stronger wages, high language results and employment outside Toronto.

That does not mean every invitation round will use one province-wide cut-off. Ontario can run targeted selections based on occupations, locations or other labour-market priorities. A candidate with a lower total could therefore be selected in a targeted draw while a higher-scoring candidate outside the target group is not invited.

People planning to build Ontario experience in the trades can also review our Ontario apprenticeship guide for skilled trades

A quick scoring example

Consider a registered nurse with the following profile:

• TEER 1 occupation: 9 points
• Health occupational category: 10 points
• Wage of $40 or more per hour: 15 points
• Fourteen months in the offered position: 15 points
• Canadian earnings between $50,000 and $69,999: 6 points
• Valid work permit: 10 points
• Bachelor’s degree: 6 points
• One eligible Canadian credential: 5 points
• CLB 9 in every ability: 15 points
• One official language: 5 points
• Northern Ontario job: 15 points

Estimated score: 111 out of 130.

This is only a calculation example. It is not a predicted invitation threshold, and the applicant and employer would still need to satisfy every mandatory programme requirement.

Critical application deadlines

The new process is employer-led for candidates applying with a job offer.

Deadline notice

Once Ontario issues an Invitation to Apply:

• The employer has 14 calendar days to submit the application for approval of the employment position.
• The candidate has 17 calendar days from the invitation date to submit the nomination application and pay the fee.
• The candidate can prepare the application during that period but cannot submit it until the employer has submitted its portion.
• When the employer misses the 14-day deadline, the job offer is withdrawn and the candidate’s Expression of Interest is removed from the pool.

Before reaching the invitation stage, the employer must submit the job offer through the Employer Portal. The candidate then has 30 calendar days to use the Job Offer ID and register an Expression of Interest.

Is the new OINP portal open?

No.

As of July 26, 2026, the Expression of Interest system is closed to new registrations while Ontario updates the e-filing system.

Ontario expects the portal to reopen later in summer 2026, but it has not announced:

• An exact reopening date
• A date for the first Ontario Workforce Priority draw
• A minimum invitation score
• The occupations or regions that may be targeted first

Applicants should be cautious about websites or social posts claiming to know a guaranteed opening date or cut-off score.

Candidates familiar with the previous system can review how the former Ontario Express Entry Skilled Trades Stream worked before the 2026 OINP redesign.

What applicants should prepare now

Confirm the correct NOC code

Do not choose a NOC code based only on the job title.

The occupation should reflect the applicant’s actual duties. The NOC affects the TEER score, occupational-category points, language requirements, education requirements and minimum work-experience rules.

Review the job offer and wage

The employer should confirm that the position is permanent, full-time and located in Ontario.

The offered wage must also meet the applicable low or median wage requirement for the occupation and region, depending on the candidate’s circumstances.

Collect proof for every point claimed

Documents may include:

• Passport and Canadian status documents
• Work and study permits
• Employer reference letters
• Pay statements
• CRA Notices of Assessment
• Canadian educational credentials and transcripts
• Educational Credential Assessment reports
• Language-test results
• Professional licences
• Documents confirming Ontario work experience

Candidates must be able to prove the information used to calculate their Expression of Interest score. Unsupported points can place the application at risk.

Consider retaking a language test strategically

Because Ontario scores the lowest of the four language abilities, candidates should first identify their weakest result.

Improving a strong speaking score from CLB 9 to CLB 10 does not increase the OINP score. Raising a weaker writing result from CLB 6 to CLB 7 may increase the score across the entire language factor.

Make sure the employer understands its role

The employer must register through the Employer Portal, create the job offer and—if the candidate is invited—submit the employment-position application before the candidate can finalize their own submission.

This is no longer a process the employee can complete independently.

What about Ontario’s other planned immigration streams?

Ontario says the redesigned OINP will eventually contain four streams. The Ontario Workforce Priority Stream is the first, with the remaining three expected later in 2026. The official June 26 announcement does not provide their names, eligibility requirements or launch dates.

Several immigration publications have identified the planned streams as:

• Priority Healthcare
• Entrepreneur
• Exceptional Talent

Those reported pathways may eventually create options for candidates who do not fit the employer-led Workforce Priority model. However, applicants should treat the names and expected features as planned rather than open until Ontario publishes official stream pages and regulations.

A healthcare worker should not assume that a future healthcare pathway will remove the need for a job offer, and an entrepreneur should not make an investment based only on an unofficial description.

Frequently asked questions