New Immigration Agreement for Ontario

New Immigration Agreement Implemented for Ontario

Canada, as well as its provinces and territories, highly value skilled immigrants who desire to come to Canada to contribute to the Canadian economy and reside permanently. The Canadian government and the government of Ontario have collaborated together to create a new agreement that is designed to enhance the efforts to recruit skilled immigrants. In addition to enhancing recruitment, the government has also made efforts to get the immigrants the proper training they need in order to meet the province’s occupational requirements within their professions. Therefore, in this article, I will explain the new immigration agreement for Ontario that was implemented by the government of Canada and the government of Ontario.

Details of the New Immigration Agreement

The new immigration agreement is specifically called the Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement (COIA). This new agreement includes up to $91 million worth of funding to assist bridge training programs over a three-year time period in order to help new immigrants bring and utilize their skills in relation to Ontario’s professional standards. This new agreement was implemented as of November 24, 2017, through a signing ceremony with included Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Ahmed Hussen as well as the Ontario Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Laura Albanese.

Due to Ontario being one of the most prosperous provinces in Canada, the government of Canada as well as the government of Ontario has established that the COIA implements a foundation to strengthen the joint efforts of both governments to welcome and settle new immigrants to Ontario in order to boost the Canadian economy as well as the economy of Ontario. It is stated that the new agreement will also enhance shared humanitarian responsibilities from the province and the country as well as attracting more Francophone immigrants to Ontario.

The Ontario Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Laura Albanese, is very enthusiastic about the new immigration agreement coming into effect. She had stated that this was essentially a win-win for both the province of Ontario as well as Canada as a whole. She truly believes that the new agreement will enhance the benefits of both parties. Similarly, Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Ahmed Hussen, discussed that the new agreement will help contribute to the targets set out in Canada’s new multi-year Immigration Levels Plan. The multi-year Immigration Levels Plan is an ambitious plan for nearly one million new immigrants to enter and settle within Canada between the years of 2018 and 2020. If you would like further information about the multi-year Immigration Levels Plan, please read our article “Canada Estimated to Welcome 1 million+ Migrants through 2020.”

Mr. Hussen also mentioned that Ontario is a very popular destination for foreign nationals to immigrate permanently; he stated that Ontario “typically [exceeds] 100,000 newcomers” each year. Therefore, because of this, he believes that this new agreement came just in time to define how both Canada and Ontario will work together in the future to achieve their mutual goals. For instance, in the year 2017, Ontario has issued approximately six thousand provincial nominations to candidates for permanent residency in Canada through its Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP).

How to Obtain Permanent Residency in Ontario, Canada

As previously mentioned, Ontario consistently uses its Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) to select qualified candidates for permanent residency in Ontario, Canada. Therefore, if you are a foreign national with skilled work experience and you would like to immigrate to Ontario permanently, then it is important to determine whether you qualify to apply under this program. The first step in order to qualify under the OINP is to be recruited by a Canadian employer and proceeding to meet all of the requirements under this program in order to be nominated. It is important to note that there are also several other different options in order to qualify under this program, such as the International Students category or the Master’s Graduate or PhD graduates streams.

In order to qualify under the OINP, the candidate must have:

• A valid job offer for a full-time permanent skilled position from a Canadian employer, specifically within Ontario – This valid job offer must also be approved by the province of Ontario – The wage that is offered must also coincide with the prevailing wage for the position and location
• A minimum of two years of work experience within the five years prior to applying – If applicable, they must also have the proper registration to practice their occupation
• An “Approved Position Form” in addition to a Joint Verification form that must have been submitted by the Ontario employer in the pre-screening process
• An approval letter provided to the Ontario employer by the province of Ontario
• If the candidate is already within Canada, they must also have proper authorization status to be within Canada – An example would be a visitor visa, work permit or study permit

Contact Akrami & Associates

It is essential that you have taken all of the aforementioned information into consideration before attempting to apply for the OINP or for permanent residency in Canada in general. If you believe you have the skills requested and are able to reside within Ontario, it is best to determine whether you have met all of the eligibility requirements before applying. Additionally, it is extremely important to note that immigration applications are difficult applications to pursue on your own; therefore, it is highly recommended that you seek out professional and experienced help before attempting to submit the application. Here, at Akrami & Associates, we work and have experience with many different immigration issues. We have helped many of our clients permanently immigrate to Ontario. If you believe that you may be eligible to immigrate to Canada permanently, please feel free to contact Akrami & Associates at our office at 416-477-2545 for more information or if you would like to book a consultation with an immigration professional for more advice.

With Akrami & Associates, there is always a way!