Ontario issues more than 1,800 invitations to foreign workers and students in latest immigration draw

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) held four draws on April 8, 2026, issuing a total of 1,828 invitations to apply (ITAs) to candidates across healthcare, Francophone, physician, and regional streams.

The draws targeted candidates under the province's Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker (FW), International Student (IS), and In-Demand Skills (IDS) streams. To have been invited, candidates must have declared that they currently reside in Canada with a valid work or study permit.

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This is the province's sixth set of invitation rounds in 2026, following draws held on February 2, February 18, March 18, March 25, and April 1.

Draw details

The OINP issued ITAs across four separate draws. The healthcare and early childhood education draw accounted for the vast majority of invitations:

Draw	Streams	Total invitations	Foreign Worker min. score	International Student min. score	In-Demand Skills min. score
Healthcare and early childhood education	FW, IS	1,635	20	46	—
Francophone candidates	FW, IS, IDS	146	35	63	25
REDI pilot (Lanark, Leeds and Grenville)	FW, IS, IDS	32	46	57	33
Physicians	FW	15	43	—	—

Eligible profiles must have been created and attested to (supported by a job offer from an eligible employer) by April 6, 2026 (11:59 p.m.).

Healthcare and early childhood education draw

The largest draw of the round issued 1,635 ITAs to candidates with job offers in nursing, healthcare support, and early childhood education roles.

The minimum score for the Foreign Worker stream dropped to 20 — down from 36 in the February 2 healthcare draw.

The International Student minimum also fell, from 56 to 46. The lower thresholds suggest the OINP is casting a wider net to fill critical staffing gaps in these sectors.

The April 8 draw also narrowed its eligible occupations slightly compared to February 2, removing physician assistants, midwives, and allied health professionals (National Occupation Classification (NOC) 31303) from the list.

Foreign Worker stream (score of 20 and above)

NOC 31300 – Nursing co-ordinators and supervisors
NOC 31301 – Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses
NOC 31302 – Nurse practitioners
NOC 32101 – Licensed practical nurses
NOC 33102 – Nurse aides, orderlies, and patient service associates
NOC 42202 – Early childhood educators and assistants

International Student stream (score of 46 and above)

NOC 31300 – Nursing co-ordinators and supervisors
NOC 31301 – Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses
NOC 32101 – Licensed practical nurses
NOC 33102 – Nurse aides, orderlies, and patient service associates
NOC 42202 – Early childhood educators and assistants

Francophone draw

The OINP issued 146 ITAs to Francophone candidates across all three Employer Job Offer streams. The draw covered a wide range of occupations spanning business, technology, healthcare, education, trades, and manufacturing.

The Foreign Worker stream targeted 46 occupations with a minimum score of 35, while the International Student stream targeted 29 occupations at a score of 63.

The In-Demand Skills stream invited candidates at a score of 25 with job offers in 11 occupations, including home support workers, shippers and receivers, construction labourers, and food processing workers.

Foreign Worker stream (score of 35 and above)

NOC 00015 – Senior managers — construction, transportation, production and utilities
NOC 10019 – Other administrative services managers
NOC 10029 – Other business services managers
NOC 11101 – Financial and investment analysts
NOC 11103 – Securities agents, investment dealers and brokers
NOC 11201 – Professional occupations in business management consulting
NOC 11202 – Professional occupations in advertising, marketing and public relations
NOC 12013 – Supervisors, supply chain, tracking and scheduling coordination occupations
NOC 12100 – Executive assistants
NOC 12102 – Procurement and purchasing agents and officers
NOC 12200 – Accounting technicians and bookkeepers
NOC 12201 – Insurance adjusters and claims examiners
NOC 13100 – Administrative officers
NOC 13101 – Property administrators
NOC 13110 – Administrative assistants
NOC 13201 – Production and transportation logistics coordinators
NOC 21221 – Business system specialists
NOC 21222 – Information systems specialists
NOC 21231 – Software engineers and designers
NOC 21232 – Software developers and programmers
NOC 21321 – Industrial and manufacturing engineers
NOC 22210 – Architectural technologists and technicians
NOC 22212 – Drafting technologists and technicians
NOC 22221 – User support technicians
NOC 22300 – Civil engineering technologists and technicians
NOC 22311 – Electronic service technicians (household and business equipment)
NOC 32111 – Dental hygienists and dental therapists
NOC 33102 – Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates
NOC 40021 – School principals and administrators of elementary and secondary education
NOC 41201 – Post-secondary teaching and research assistants
NOC 41221 – Elementary school and kindergarten teachers
NOC 41302 – Ecclesiastical occupations
NOC 41404 – Health policy researchers, consultants and program officers
NOC 42200 – Paralegal and related occupations
NOC 42201 – Social and community service workers
NOC 42202 – Early childhood educators and assistants
NOC 52120 – Graphic designers and illustrators
NOC 72014 – Contractors and supervisors, other construction trades, installers, repairers and servicers
NOC 72106 – Welders and related machine operators
NOC 72311 – Cabinetmakers
NOC 72401 – Heavy-duty equipment mechanics
NOC 72410 – Automotive service technicians, truck and bus mechanics and mechanical repairers
NOC 72411 – Auto body collision, refinishing and glass technicians and damage repair estimators
NOC 72421 – Appliance servicers and repairers
NOC 92012 – Supervisors, food and beverage processing
NOC 93100 – Central control and process operators, mineral and metal processing

International Student stream (score of 63 and above)

NOC 00013 – Senior managers — health, education, social and community services and membership organizations
NOC 11101 – Financial and investment analysts
NOC 11102 – Financial advisors
NOC 11201 – Professional occupations in business management consulting
NOC 11202 – Professional occupations in advertising, marketing and public relations
NOC 12013 – Supervisors, supply chain, tracking and scheduling coordination occupations
NOC 12200 – Accounting technicians and bookkeepers
NOC 12201 – Insurance adjusters and claims examiners
NOC 13100 – Administrative officers
NOC 13110 – Administrative assistants
NOC 13201 – Production and transportation logistics coordinators
NOC 21211 – Data scientists
NOC 21221 – Business system specialists
NOC 21231 – Software engineers and designers
NOC 21233 – Web designers
NOC 21300 – Civil engineers
NOC 21321 – Industrial and manufacturing engineers
NOC 22214 – Technical occupations in geomatics and meteorology
NOC 22221 – User support technicians
NOC 22303 – Construction estimators
NOC 33109 – Other assisting occupations in support of health services
NOC 41321 – Career development practitioners and career counsellors (except education)
NOC 42201 – Social and community service workers
NOC 42202 – Early childhood educators and assistants
NOC 51114 – Translators, terminologists and interpreters
NOC 52113 – Audio and video recording technicians
NOC 70010 – Construction managers
NOC 70020 – Managers in transportation
NOC 73301 – Bus drivers, subway operators and other transit operators

In-Demand Skills stream (score of 25 and above)

NOC 14400 – Shippers and receivers
NOC 44101 – Home support workers, housekeepers and related occupations
NOC 74205 – Public works maintenance equipment operators and related workers
NOC 75110 – Construction trades helpers and labourers
NOC 75119 – Other trades helpers and labourers
NOC 85103 – Nursery and greenhouse labourers
NOC 94132 – Industrial sewing machine operators
NOC 94141 – Industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers and related workers
NOC 94143 – Testers and graders, food and beverage processing
NOC 95101 – Labourers in metal fabrication
NOC 95106 – Labourers in food and beverage processing

REDI pilot draw

The OINP issued 32 ITAs under its Regional Economic Development through Immigration (REDI) pilot, which targets candidates with job offers in Lanark or Leeds and Grenville counties in Eastern Ontario. The pilot is designed to help smaller communities outside major urban centres attract and retain newcomers.

Foreign Worker stream (score of 46 and above)

NOC 10029 – Other business services managers
NOC 11101 – Financial and investment analysts
NOC 33102 – Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates
NOC 72422 – Electrical mechanics
NOC 72423 – Motorcycle, all-terrain vehicle and other related mechanics

International Student stream (score of 57 and above)

NOC 22114 – Landscape and horticulture technicians and specialists
NOC 32101 – Licensed practical nurses
NOC 32109 – Other technical occupations in therapy and assessment
NOC 33102 – Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates
NOC 42201 – Social and community service workers
NOC 42202 – Early childhood educators and assistants

In-Demand Skills stream (score of 33 and above)

NOC 44101 – Home support workers, housekeepers and related occupations
NOC 94100 – Machine operators, mineral and metal processing
NOC 94111 – Plastics processing machine operators
NOC 95106 – Labourers in food and beverage processing

Physicians draw

The OINP issued 15 ITAs to physicians under the Foreign Worker stream, with a minimum score of 43. Eligible candidates must have a job offer as a specialist in clinical and laboratory medicine (NOC 31100), specialist in surgery (NOC 31101), or a general practitioner and family physician (NOC 31102).

For more details on physician eligibility, including changes to self-employed physician requirements, see the OINP's January 5 program update.

Next steps

Employers of selected candidates must review the employer guide and submit a complete application for approval of an employment position within 14 calendar days from the date of invitation.

Invited candidates must then submit their OINP application within 17 calendar days of receiving the ITA.

After receiving a provincial nomination from Ontario, successful nominees can then apply to the federal government for permanent residence (PR).

Changes coming to the OINP

These draws come as Ontario prepares for a complete overhaul of its immigration streams. Legal changes to the Ontario Immigration Act are set to take effect on May 30, 2026, revoking all existing categories of applicants eligible for a certificate of nomination — including the Foreign Worker, International Student, and In-Demand Skills categories used in these draws.

The OINP has not yet confirmed when replacement streams will launch or whether existing candidates will be transitioned.

Assess your eligibility for enhanced PNP streams