BREAKING: Ontario launches three new pathways to permanent residence

Ontario has launched the first set of pathways to permanent residence as part of its overhaul of its provincial immigration program.

According to an announcement published on its webpage, on June 26, 2026, Ontario dropped regulatory amendments detailing how foreign nationals can qualify for provincial nomination for permanent residence under the newly launched Ontario Workforce Priority Stream, which includes three pathways:

*TEER 0-3 pathway – for workers in higher-skilled occupations.
TEER 4-5 pathway – for workers in lower-skilled occupations.
Self-employed physicians – for registered physicians eligible to bill through the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP).

Assess your eligibility for enhanced PNP streams

The streams have come into effect immediately, but to be considered, foreign nationals must wait until the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) re-launches its Expression of Interest (EOI) system.

The province did not provide an anticipated date for the re-opening of its EOI system.

Foreign nationals who have already applied for provincial nomination under the old pathways will continue to have their applications processed by the OINP under the requirements that were in place at the time their applications were received.

This is a breaking news article. CIC News will update this article as details emerge.

*The Canadian government categorizes occupations using the National Occupation Classification (NOC) system, which ranks the skill level of occupations based on their Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) level, with TEER 0 being the highest-skilled occupations, and TEER 5 the lowest-skilled occupations.

TEER 0-3 pathway requirements

This pathway is for foreign nationals who have job offers in occupations that typically require at least some level of post-secondary education or training.

To qualify for this pathway, a foreign national must meet the following requirements:

Job offer: Have a full-time, permanent job offer with an eligible Ontario employer in a TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3 occupation.
Education: Have a post-secondary credential.
Language: Meet the minimum language proficiency requirement associated with their occupation: Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 6 or CLB 5 in English or French.

A foreign national must also meet one of the following three requirements:

Licensing: Be licensed to work in a regulated profession in Ontario.
Occupational work experience minimum: Have at least two years cumulative work experience within the past five years in the same occupation as their job offer.
Job offer work experience minimum: Meet the minimum consecutive work experience requirement within the past 12 months in the same job, with the same employer as their qualifying Ontario job offer:
- Six months consecutive work experience; or
- Three months consecutive work experience, for recent graduates from Ontario postsecondary institutions.

TEER 4-5 pathway requirements

To qualify for this pathway, a foreign national must meet the following requirements:

Job offer: Have a full-time, permanent job offer from an eligible Ontario employer in a TEER 4 or 5 occupation, paying at least the occupation’s median wage.
Job offer work experience: Have at least nine months cumulative work experience within the past two years in the same job, with the same employer as their qualifying Ontario job offer.
Education: Have a secondary school diploma, or equivalent.
Language: Have at least CLB 4 in English or French.

Self-Employed Physicians pathway requirements

To qualify for this pathway, a foreign national must meet the following requirements:

Be licensed and in good standing as a physician in Ontario, with a valid certificate of registration as an independent, academic, or provisional practitioner.
Be eligible to bill through OHIP.

Licensing requirements are established by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, and are available on its website.

Ontario publishes the requirements to bill through OHIP on its website.

First phase of provincial immigration overhaul

The launch of the Ontario Workforce Priority Stream and its three pathways on June 26 marks the first phase of implementing Ontario's overhaul of its provincial immigration program.

The province had retired all its previous permanent residence pathways on May 30, 2026.

Employer requirements

Employers in rural communities, defined as communities located in census divisions with populations under 150,000, are subject to lower gross annual revenue requirements to qualify under this stream.

Getting permanent residence through a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)

To get permanent residence through a PNP, a foreign national must have an intent to reside in a province or territory outside Quebec, and must first receive a nomination from the province or territory they intend to settle in, and then apply to the federal government for permanent residence as a provincial nominee.

In the case of the OINP, the overall process would look like this:

Meet all the requirements of at least one OINP permanent residence pathway.
Work together with your employer to have submitted an eligible expression of interest (EOI) profile in the OINP online EOI system.
Be selected by the OINP and receive an invitation to apply to the OINP for provincial nomination.
Submit an application for provincial nomination to the OINP.
Upon success, receive a nomination from the OINP, becoming a provincial nominee.
Apply to Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for permanent residence under the provincial nominee class.
Upon success, receive a confirmation of permanent residence (COPR) from IRCC.
Complete the landing process in Canada to receive PR.

For step 6, the process will vary depending on whether you apply through an enhanced PNP stream, which is integrated with the federal government's Express Entry system, or through the base PNP.

For step 8, the process will vary depending on whether you are already in Canada during the period of time in which the immigration officer is finalizing their decision on your application for permanent residence, or whether you will be arriving from outside Canada to land.

Occupation TEERs

TEER Level	TEER definition
0	Management position.
1	Typically requires a university degree.
2	Supervisory occupation, or typically requires a college diploma or two-year apprenticeship.
3	Typically requires a college diploma, an apprenticeship of less than two years, or at least six months of on-the-job training.
4	Typically requires at least a secondary school diploma, or at least several weeks of on-the-job training.
5	Typically requires only short-term work demonstration.

Assess your eligibility for enhanced PNP streams