Ontario Revokes ALL OINP Immigration Pathways — What Comes Next

By Alisa Osipovich, RCIC-IRB R1055424  |  June 2, 2026  |  Ontario Immigration

Ontario has revoked every provincial pathway to permanent residence through the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP), effective May 30, 2026 — without putting any replacement streams into place. This is a significant development that affects foreign workers, international students, and skilled professionals who were counting on OINP as a route to Canadian permanent residence through Ontario.

Legislative changes to Ontario's provincial regulations took effect on that date, invalidating all nine immigration streams that had previously allowed foreign nationals to qualify for provincial nomination. The province has given no confirmed launch date for new pathways, though detailed proposals were shared with stakeholders in December 2025.

What Exactly Happened on May 30, 2026?

The scheduled regulatory changes gave Ontario's immigration minister broader authority to establish new immigration streams without going through the full regulatory amendment process required under the previous framework. As a direct consequence, each of the nine OINP nomination streams — including the Human Capital Priorities Stream, the Employer Job Offer streams, the International Student stream, and the In-Demand Skills stream — was simultaneously invalidated.

Ontario directed interested candidates to "stay tuned to the program updates page for any further announcements" on its website on May 29, 2026 — one day before the closures took effect.

What Happens to Applications Already Submitted?

Ontario has confirmed that all applications received under the now-closed streams will be assessed in accordance with the eligibility requirements that were in place at the time of application. If you submitted an OINP application before May 30, 2026, it will continue to be processed. You do not need to take any action, but monitoring your application status through your OINP portal is advisable.

The Four Proposed Replacement Streams

Ontario shared detailed proposals for its new immigration framework in December 2025 during a stakeholder consultation. The province has proposed replacing the existing nine streams with the following four nomination pathways — though none have been formally confirmed or launched:

• Employer Job Offer stream (TEER 0-3 track) — Targeting skilled workers in occupations at TEER levels 0 to 3. Candidates would need a qualifying job offer meeting Ontario's median wage, plus six months of Ontario work experience with the same employer or two years of relevant experience in the past five years. Recent graduates from Ontario institutions would also be eligible with a qualifying offer.
• Employer Job Offer stream (TEER 4-5 track) — Supporting workers in semi-skilled occupations, requiring at least nine months of work experience with the same Ontario employer and a minimum language score. Targeted draws focused on occupations with labour shortages are proposed.
• Priority Healthcare stream — Creating a dedicated pathway for regulated high-skilled healthcare professionals without requiring a job offer. Candidates would need valid professional registration with an Ontario regulatory body.
• Entrepreneur stream — Replacing the previously closed OINP Entrepreneur category, targeting candidates who have established a new business or purchased an existing Ontario business and are actively operating it.
• Exceptional Talent stream — For candidates in academia, innovation, science, technology, and creative sectors who have demonstrated significant achievements such as major publications, prestigious awards, recognized innovations, or notable artistic works.

These are proposed streams only. As of June 2, 2026, Ontario has not confirmed which of these streams will be launched, what the final eligibility criteria will be, or when they will open. The new regulatory framework does, however, allow Ontario to announce streams quickly — potentially with very short advance notice.

What This Means for You

If you had an OINP application pending before May 30, your application remains in process and will be assessed under the rules that applied when you submitted it. You should not need to refile or take urgent action.

If you were planning to apply through an OINP stream but had not yet submitted, you are currently in a waiting period. There is no OINP stream you can apply to today. The most constructive steps right now are to strengthen your federal Express Entry profile, explore other provincial nominee programs across Canada, and stay closely informed so you can act quickly when Ontario announces its new streams — which could happen on short notice.

For skilled workers, the federal Canadian Experience Class (CEC) within Express Entry remains active, with the most recent CEC draw on May 27, 2026 issuing 3,000 invitations at a CRS cut-off of 518.

FAQ

Related: Express Entry & PNP services