Ontario’s Express Entry Human Capital Priorities stream

Ontario’s Human Capital Priorities Stream is an Express Entry aligned provincial nomination program.

Applicants cannot apply directly to the Human Capital Priorities Stream, they have to wait to receive a Notification of Interest (NOI) first. If an applicant has not received a NOI, then they cannot apply for a provincial nomination. If selected, applicants receive a NOI through their Express Entry profile. After receiving a NOI, applicants submit a complete application to the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP). After their application is assessed, if it is approved, they are issued with a Provincial Nomination from the province of Ontario. This adds 600 points to their Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score in Express entry.  To be considered under Ontario’s Human Capital Priorities Stream, applicants need to meet all the following criteria.

Human Capital Priorities Stream Express Entry requirements

If you want to be considered for Ontario’s Human Capital Priorities Stream, you must have a valid Express Entry Profile and Job Seeker Validation code. Depending on which program you qualify under in Express Entry, the Canadian Experience Class, or the Federal Skilled Worker Program, you need to meet the following criteria:

Federal Skilled Worker

• Meet the 67 point cut-off for the Federal Skilled Worker Program.
• Have at least one year of continuous paid full-time work experience (or the equivalent in paid part-time work) in TEER Category 0, 1, 2 or 3 of the National Occupational Classification (NOC).
• Your work experience must have been:
  • obtained within the last five years from the date of submitting your application to the OINP.
  • in the same primary occupation as you identified in your Express Entry profile.
• If you are in Canada when you apply, you need to be on legal status in Canada.

Canadian Experience Class

• If you are in Canada when you apply, you need to be on legal status in Canada.
• Have at least one year of cumulative paid full-time work experience (or the equivalent in paid part-time work) in Canada in TEER Category 0, 1, 2 or 3 of the NOC.
• If you received a notification of interest as part of a targeted draw, you must demonstrate that at least six months of your one year of eligible work experience is in your primary NOC.
• Your work experience must have been:
  • obtained within the last three years from the date of submitting your application to the OINP
  • in one or more of the occupations that you identified in your Express Entry profile
  • in Canada while maintaining legal status in Canada
• Paid work experience gained while studying full-time at a post-secondary institution (for example, on a co-op work term) is not eligible under the Canadian Experience Class. Self-employed work experience is also not eligible under Canadian Experience Class, except for physicians with experience in the following NOCs:
  • NOC 31100 – Specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine
  • NOC 31101 – Specialists in surgery
  • NOC 31102 – General practitioners and family physicians

Human Capital Priorities Stream work experience requirements

• Your work experience must have been obtained over a period of at least one year – work experience totaling 1,560 hours obtained in less than one year period does not qualify
• Full-time work experience means working in a job with at least 30 hours of paid work in a week that amounts to at least 1,560 hours of paid work in one year
• Part-time equivalent work experience means:
  • working in one job for at least 15 hours per week, for two years that amounts to at least 1,560 hours in that two-year period, or
  • working in more than one job for at least 30 hours per week, for one year, that amounts to at least 1,560 hours of paid work in that one year period
• If your work experience was obtained in Ontario in an occupation that requires a licence or other authorization, only work experience acquired after becoming qualified to practice that occupation in Ontario will qualify
• Volunteer work and unpaid internships do not count as work experience

Vacation periods, regular sick leave and other standard paid leave entitlements as provided for in collective agreements, workplace legislation and/or individual employer policies are not considered interruptions to full-time employment and do not cause a break in employment. Extended periods of leave would be considered a break in full-time employment and are not to be included in the calculation of work experience.

To qualify for the Human Capital Priorities Stream applicants need to have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree (three-year diplomas will not qualify), master’s degree or, PhD degree. If your degree was not completed in Canada, you will need to obtain an Education Credential Assessment (ECA). Your ECA must show that your degree is the Canadian equivalent of a bachelor’s degree (three-year diplomas will not qualify), master’s degree or, PhD degree.

You must authorize the organization to share the results with the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program. You must do this by:

• Comparative Education Service-  submit an online request form
• Medical Council of Canada – request the report. Once it is available, request a file transfer by logging into your physiciansapply.ca account, then click on “Other service requests” in the left panel and follow the steps. Please enter ontarionominee@ontario.ca as the third party’s exact email address.
• World Education Services - order a copy of your Educational Credential Assessment report online and indicate the “Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program” as the recipient of the report
• International Credential Assessment Service of Canada – No additional steps are required.
• International Credential Evaluation Service  – No additional steps are required.
• International Qualifications Assessment Service – No additional steps are required.
• Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada  – No additional steps are required.

Applicants must have achieved a minimum score of CLB 7 in listening, reading, writing, and speaking on an approved language test in English or French test, regardless of whether they are in Express Entry under the Federal Skilled Worker stream or Canadian Experience Class.

To qualify for the Human Capital Priorities Stream applicants need to have a minimum amount of settlement funds required for their family size. Family size would include the main applicant, their spouse or common-law partner, and any dependent children of the main applicant or their spouse/common-law partner twho are under the age of 22.

This financial requirement applies to all applicants, including those who chose to be assessed under the Canadian Experience Class and the Federal Skilled Worker Program. This is different than the Federal requirements, where the Canadian Experience Class is exempt from showing proof of funds. The settlement funds requirements are as follows:

You can meet this requirement through one or a combination of one, of the following:

• funds as demonstrated by the balance listed in bank statements, or statements of accounts showing other investments such as non-locked in, fixed term deposits, mutual funds, etc.
• annual earnings from ongoing employment in Ontario
• a job offer in Ontario

Example: Based on your family size, you must have $38,875 (CAD). You have a job offer in Ontario with an annual wage of $35,000 and you have a balance of $5,000 in your savings account for a total of $40,000. By using a combination of your job offer and bank statement, you would meet the settlement fund requirement.

If the reviewing officer notices that your bank statements show a large one-time deposit, they may ask you to provide additional documentation to support that your funds are free of debt or liability.

When selecting individuals the OINP looks at both the applicant’s main NOC code on their Express Entry profile and their Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score. The OINP conducts Human Capital Priorities Stream draws which can be general or targeted.

In 2024, the Human Capital Priorities draws, predominantly targeted the following NOC codes:

• NOC 30010 – Managers in health care
• NOC 31100 – Specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine
• NOC 31101 – Specialists in surgery
• NOC 31102 – General practitioners and family physician
• NOC 31103 – Veterinarians
• NOC 31110 – Dentists
• NOC 31111 – Optometrists
• NOC 31112 – Audiologists and speech-language pathologists
• NOC 31120 – Pharmacists
• NOC 31121 – Dietitians and nutritionists
• NOC 31200 – Psychologists
• NOC 31201 – Chiropractors
• NOC 31202 – Physiotherapists
• NOC 31203 – Occupational therapists
• NOC 31204 – Kinesiologists and other professional occupations in therapy and assessment
• NOC 31209 – Other professional occupations in health diagnosing and treating
• NOC 31300 – Nursing coordinators and supervisors
• NOC 31301 – Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses
• NOC 31302 – Nurse practitioners
• NOC 31303 – Physician assistants, midwives and allied health professionals
• NOC 32100 – Opticians
• NOC 32101 – Licensed practical nurses
• NOC 32102 – Paramedical occupations
• NOC 32103 – Respiratory therapists, clinical perfusionists and cardiopulmonary technologists
• NOC 32104 – Animal health technologists and veterinary technicians
• NOC 32109 – Other technical occupations in therapy and assessment
• NOC 32110 – Denturists
• NOC 32111 – Dental hygienists and dental therapists
• NOC 32112 – Dental technologists and technicians
• NOC 32120 – Medical laboratory technologists
• NOC 32121 – Medical radiation technologists
• NOC 32122 – Medical sonographers
• NOC 32123 – Cardiology technologists and electrophysiological diagnostic technologists
• NOC 32124 – Pharmacy technicians
• NOC 32129 – Other medical technologists and technicians
• NOC 32200 – Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and acupuncturists
• NOC 32201 – Massage therapists
• NOC 32209 – Other practitioners of natural healing
• NOC 33100 – Dental assistants and dental laboratory assistants
• NOC 33101 – Medical laboratory assistants and related technical occupations
• NOC 33102 – Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates
• NOC 33103 – Pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants
• NOC 33109 – Other assisting occupations in support of health services
• NOC 20012 – Computer and information systems managers
• NOC 21211 – Data Scientists
• NOC 21220 – Cybersecurity specialists
• NOC 21221 – Business systems specialists
• NOC 21222 – Information systems specialists
• NOC 21223 – Database analysts and data administrators
• NOC 21230 – Computer systems developers and programmers
• NOC 21231 – Software engineers and designers
• NOC 21232 – Software developers and programmers
• NOC 21233 – Web designers
• NOC 21234 – Web developers and programmers
• NOC 21311 – Computer engineers (except software engineers and designers)
• NOC 22220 – Computer network technicians
• NOC 22221 – User support technicians
• NOC 22222 – Information systems testing technicians

Please note that if you are invited to submit an application to the OINP, you will need to review the full program guidelines to make sure that you meet all of the OINP’s specific requirements. If you need assistance with this, you can book a consultation with one of our Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants. 

Human Capital Priorities Stream Checklist

If you are invited to submit an application under the Human Capital Priorities Stream, you will need to submit a complete application to the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program within 45 calendar days of receiving your NOI. The application fee for the Human Capital Priorities Stream is $1,500.00. When applying, you will require the following documents. All must be scanned and uploaded with your application. Documents not in English or French must be accompanied by a certified or notarized translation.