Ontario rebuilt the door on immigration. Let’s fill you in

You may have heard that Ontario shut down its immigration nominee program this summer. That is not quite accurate. Ontario closed eight old streams on June 25 and opened one new stream in their place. The door changed shape, and applications are not open yet, so nothing needs to be filed today.

Here are six quick questions and answers about what changed.

1. What happened to Ontario's old immigration nominee program? Ontario used to run eight separate streams under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program, or OINP. All eight closed on June 25. One new stream took their place, called the Workforce Priority Stream.

2. What are the three pathways inside the new stream? The new stream holds three pathways. One is for higher-skilled jobs, known as TEER 0 to 3. One is for lower-skilled jobs, known as TEER 4 to 5, like personal support work or food processing. One is for self-employed physicians.

TEER is simply a scale Canada uses to group jobs by the skill and training they need. A lower number usually means more schooling or training is required.

3. What changed about language and education rules? The language and education rules got stricter across the board. The biggest change hits TEER 4-5 jobs directly: workers now need to prove English or French at CLB 4 in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Many of these jobs had no language requirement at all before this change.

CLB stands for Canadian Language Benchmark, Canada's scale for measuring English or French ability.

4. Does this affect applications already submitted? If you applied under one of the old streams before June 25, your application should still follow the old rules. Confirm your specific case with the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program or an authorized immigration consultant, since rules can differ from person to person.

5. When can new applicants apply? Ontario has not confirmed an exact date yet. A new online system, called the Expression of Interest, or EOI, system, is expected to open sometime this summer. We will share the date here as soon as Ontario confirms it.

6. What should someone do right now? Nothing needs to be filed today, but this is a good time to get ready. Check the job's TEER level and start gathering education documents. If it is a TEER 4-5 job, look into booking a CLB 4 language test soon, since that requirement did not exist a month ago.

Employers in Middlesex County and other smaller communities have one thing working in their favor: Ontario lowered the revenue requirement for rural employers, so nominating a worker is easier for them now than it was before.

This is general information, not legal advice. Talk to a settlement caseworker or an authorized immigration consultant about your own situation. We will follow up here the moment the door reopens.