Author: Simon WU, Head of Newstars’ Beijing office and a licensed Australian migration agent, writing under the pen name “The Ordinary Road”. With more than 10 years’ experience living and working in Australia, he specialises in overseas skilled migration and investor migration. Having once been a skilled migrant himself, he now guides countless overseas migrants along their own “extraordinary road”.
Thanks to Canada’s high quality of life, excellent education system, and its vast territory with a relatively small population, it has become a top choice for many Chinese families seeking better education for their children and a higher quality of life. Along with the United States and Australia, it ranks among the world’s leading migration destinations.
However, I’m often asked by friends with weak English test scores whether there’s a suitable migration pathway to Canada.
The Ontario Employer Nomination Program
Since the policy change in July 2017, Canada’s Ontario Employer Nomination Program has attracted strong interest and popularity among Chinese applicants, as it doesn’t require applicants to provide an English test score. Based on our research, the advantages of this migration programme include:
1) No language requirement — no IELTS score needed; applicants only need a diploma or higher and two years of work experience within the past five years;
2) Simple application documents, unlike the complex tax records and proof-of-funds documentation required for business migration categories.
3) Employers are all large enterprises.
4) Fast application processing with a short turnaround time
5) No interview required
6) A direct pathway to the Maple Leaf Card (permanent residency)
This programme suits a broad range of applicants — blue-collar workers, white-collar professionals and business owners with at least two years of work experience can all apply, making it currently the most popular migration programme in Canada.
IELTS Exemption
In this article, we’ll look at the background of the Ontario Employer Nomination Program and its requirements for employers, to understand why it doesn’t require IELTS:
Background of the Ontario Employer Nomination Program
Let’s first look at the background of the Ontario Employer Nomination Program:
The Ontario Employer Nomination Program (the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program, or ONIP) is a migration programme for overseas workers who have secured employment with an Ontario business, allowing them to settle and build a long-term life and career in Ontario.
The ONIP programme helps overseas workers with qualifying work experience successfully integrate into Ontario’s workplaces and communities. If an applicant’s occupation meets the requirements, they can apply for migration once they’ve secured a permanent, full-time job offer from an Ontario business and the employer has completed the relevant employer form.
5 July 2017 — the Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker stream came into effect
8 September 2020 — amendment proposed to introduce an EOI system
28 April 2021 — the EOI system officially launched
After the system launched, the original IELTS-exempt basic requirement remained unchanged, while a fairer high-score selection system was introduced — putting an end to the frustrating “race for quota spots” era.
Employer Requirements
Next, let’s look at the requirements the programme places on employers:
1. The employer must have been in business for at least 3 years.
2. The employer must have a physical place of business in Ontario.
3. The employer must comply with all provincial labour laws, including but not limited to employment standards, health and safety, and labour relations legislation.
4. Employers within the Greater Toronto Area (including Toronto, Durham, Halton, York and Peel) must have: gross revenue of at least $1,000,000 per year (excluding HST/GST) in the most recent fiscal year, and more than five full-time Canadian citizen or permanent resident employees (positions held per calendar year).
5. Employers outside the Greater Toronto Area must have: gross revenue of at least $500,000 per year (excluding HST/GST) in the most recent fiscal year, three permanent full-time employees at the applicant’s intended place of work, and more than three full-time Canadian citizen or permanent resident employees (positions held per calendar year).
Applicant Requirements
Finally, let’s look at the requirements for applicants:
1. The applicant must have secured a permanent, full-time job offer in an eligible occupation category (NOC 0, A or B);
2. The applicant’s wage must meet the prevailing wage standard for that occupation in Ontario.
Note: information on wage levels for different occupations can be found on the Canadian government’s Job Bank by searching Occupation: Wages. The Job Bank defines the “prevailing wage” as the “median wage”. The programme doesn’t count piece-rate pay, bonuses, commissions, holiday pay or non-financial compensation as part of the applicant’s wage. Employers may offer piece-rate pay, bonuses, commissions or non-financial compensation on top of the base wage — but these won’t be considered part of the base hourly wage.
3. The applicant must have two years of work experience in the target occupation within the five years before the application date. The work experience may be cumulative and must fall under the same NOC category as the target occupation.
4. A diploma or higher qualification
In Summary
The reason the Ontario Employer Nomination Program is IELTS-exempt is that the programme focuses on assessing the employer’s scale and whether the employer genuinely needs to hire the applicant.
As a result, an applicant’s language ability isn’t treated as a mandatory migration requirement — that judgement is instead delegated to the employer, who simply needs to consider the applicant capable of doing the job and able to solve the business’s staffing needs. Reliable employer resources, professional programme guidance and extensive hands-on experience are the real keys to success with Canadian migration.
The above is our take on why this programme is IELTS-exempt. If you’re interested in learning more about the specific process and requirements of the Ontario Employer Nomination Program, feel free to send us a direct message. My partners at our company and I firmly believe in objectively analysing the pros and cons of each programme and presenting the most accurate picture to our clients — without bias and without steering anyone in a particular direction, rather than glossing over drawbacks to push a recommendation. What we value is objectivity: the right programme for you is the best one.
