Starting July 2, 2025, the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development of Ontario will officially launch a new digital platform — the OINP Employer Portal. This platform is designed for employers who wish to support immigration applications under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP). The introduction of the portal marks a significant administrative shift, aimed at digitalization, enhanced transparency, and improved efficiency in the approval process of employment positions for immigrant candidates.
Nature of the Changes: Elimination of Paper Forms and a New Application Procedure
The new system will completely eliminate the use of the Application for Approval of an Employment Position (commonly known as the Employer Form), which was previously submitted in paper format. Moving forward, employers will be required to create an account in the new portal and initiate the submission of the job position application. Only after this step is completed will a potential candidate be able to submit their Expression of Interest (EOI) under one of the OINP streams.
Key Features and Benefits of the New OINP Employer Portal
- Integration with My Ontario — enables seamless and centralized access to provincial digital services.
- Online submission and application management — complete shift from paper to digital submissions.
- Direct communication with OINP — allows employers to engage directly with OINP regarding the status of their submissions.
- Secure document uploads — the portal complies with provincial security standards for sensitive document transmission.
- Auto-population of application fields — reduces administrative workload and risk of human error.
- Ability to assign employer representatives — organizations may authorize multiple users to manage their account.
- Real-time application status tracking — each stage of the application process is visible and updated promptly.
Critical Dates for Employers and Applicants
- June 20, 2025: After this date, it will no longer be possible to create new EOIs in the Employer Job Offer streams.
- June 21–22, 2025: All existing EOIs submitted in these streams will be automatically cancelled.
- June 27 (end of business day) to June 29, 2025: The OINP system will be completely unavailable due to system upgrades.
- July 2, 2025: The new OINP Employer Portal officially launches. Employers will be able to create accounts and submit job offer information.
- Once a job offer is approved, candidates will be able to resubmit their EOI, which will remain valid for 12 months and will be considered in future draws.
Who Will Be Affected by the Automatic EOI Cancellation
Automatic cancellation of Expressions of Interest (EOIs) will apply to the following three streams under the Employer Job Offer category:
- Foreign Worker stream
- International Student stream
- In-Demand Skills stream
Applicants who submitted their EOIs before June 20, 2025, should be aware that their EOIs will be cancelled, regardless of their current status, and they will need to submit a new EOI once the employer has registered the job offer through the new portal.
Conclusion and Recommended Next Steps
The implementation of the new OINP Employer Portal is part of Ontario’s broader strategy to modernize its immigration system. This change aims to improve communication between employers and the provincial government, accelerate administrative procedures, and reduce technical barriers for candidates.
All employers planning to support foreign workers or graduates of Canadian educational institutions are strongly advised to prepare for the new submission process and register their job offers promptly after the portal opens on July 2, 2025.
Candidates should monitor the official OINP website for further updates and act in accordance with the new procedures to ensure continued eligibility and participation in the updated Employer Job Offer streams.
