What this pathway is
The main route into Ontario for skilled and professional occupations, and the only pathway with more than one way to satisfy the work experience requirement. Two of those ways require Ontario experience and one does not, which is the distinction that decides whether this pathway is open to you from abroad.
No round has been held under this stream yet
The Expression of Interest portal opened on 4 August 2026 and Ontario has issued no invitations under the new stream. There is no cut off score, no draw frequency and no invitation volume to plan against, and anyone quoting one is describing the former streams, which closed on 30 May 2026.
Ontario has also published that three further streams are expected later this year, without saying what they are. That is worth knowing before you build a plan on this one.
- A nomination here can be used in federal Express Entry. Which makes it worth 600 points on your federal ranking score. That is true of this pathway and of self employed physicians, and not of TEER 4 to 5.
- There is no occupation list. Any occupation at TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 can carry an application. Ontario may still run targeted rounds by occupation or region.
- A licence removes two requirements, not one. Both work experience and education, on the wording of the regulation. Drivers are excluded from this.
- Recent Ontario graduates get three concessions. A three month experience route instead of six, exemption from the language test, and a low wage rather than median wage threshold. All three turn on a credential of at least two years, or a master's, doctorate or Ontario college graduate certificate.
- The experience must be in the position your employer is seeking approval for. On the six month and three month routes, meaning the same occupation, employer and location. This is not experience in your field generally.
Every pathway in this stream also requires an invitation to apply and an application filed within the published deadline, the qualifications you attested to when you registered your Expression of Interest, any licence or authorisation the work requires by Ontario or federal law, and that neither you nor your family members hold ten per cent or more of the equity in the employer's business unless it came to you as employee remuneration. You must be a foreign national, show on a reasonable basis that you intend to reside in Ontario, hold temporary resident status if you are applying from inside Canada, and attend any interview the director requests. The deadlines, the employer requirements and the scoring factors are on the province overview.
The four ways to satisfy work experience
| Route | How much | Where and when | Full time means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Six months | At least 6 consecutive months of paid full time work in the position your employer is seeking approval for | Within 12 months before the date you apply, and while lawfully residing and working in Ontario | At least 780 hours of paid work in a 12 month period and at least 30 hours a week |
| Three months, recent Ontario graduates | At least 3 consecutive months of paid full time work in that same position | Within 12 months before the date you apply, and while lawfully residing and working in Ontario | At least 390 hours of paid work in a 12 month period and at least 30 hours a week |
| Two years | At least 2 years of paid full time work, or the part time equivalent, in the same occupation code as the offer | Within 5 years before the date you apply. No Ontario condition, so this is the route that works from outside Canada | At least 3,120 hours over two years at 30 hours a week or more |
| A mandatory licence | No experience evidence at all | You hold the licence or other authorisation Ontario or federal law requires for the position | Not applicable. This route also removes the education requirement |
Ontario publishes these hours figures separately for each route. They are not a pro rated version of one another, and they are a different test from the 1,560 hours a year that defines a full time employment position on the employer's side. Both tests must be satisfied.
- The part time equivalent exists on the two year route only. Either one job of at least 15 hours a week amounting to 3,120 hours over four years, or more than one job held concurrently totalling at least 30 hours a week for two years and 3,120 hours.
- The two year route accepts three occupation substitutions. Professional engineering experience for a technical engineering offer, pharmacist experience for a pharmacy assistant offer, and licensed practical nurse or registered nurse experience for a nurse aide offer.
- Nurse aides have a lower education bar. For occupation code 33102 an Ontario college certificate from an eligible Canadian institution requiring at least one year of full time study satisfies education, rather than a degree or diploma.
- Listed trades groups have both a lower education bar and a lower language floor. A Canadian secondary school diploma or assessed equivalent, and CLB 5 rather than 6. The groups are the technical trades and transportation officers and general trades major groups, supervisors and occupations in natural resources and agriculture, central control and process operators, cooks, butchers and bakers, and chefs, with two sub groups excluded.
Transport truck drivers and bus and transit operators are restricted more tightly than Ontario's summary says. The stream page tells drivers they must meet the six month route even if licensed or a recent graduate. The regulation goes further. It applies only the six month route to occupation codes 73300 and 73301, so the graduate route and the two year route are unavailable, the licence waiver does not apply, and the education requirement stands and cannot be met by the licence. Their employer also needs a valid commercial vehicle operator registration rated Excellent or Satisfactory.
What else the pathway requires
| Requirement | What Ontario asks for |
|---|---|
| Job offer | Full time and permanent, meaning no end date, at least 1,560 hours a year and 30 hours a week, in an occupation at TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3, with activities occurring primarily in Ontario, urgently necessary to the business, and not affecting the settlement of a labour dispute. |
| Wage | At or above the median wage level for the occupation and region on the federal Job Bank on the day you apply. Recent Ontario graduates need only meet the low wage level. If you already hold the position, the wage must also be at least what the employer currently pays you in it. Collective agreement wage levels govern where they apply. |
| Education | A post secondary degree or diploma from an eligible Canadian institution requiring at least one year of full time study, meaning at least 15 hours of instruction a week during the academic year, or an equivalent foreign credential supported by an educational credential assessment less than five years old from a designated organisation. Removed entirely by a mandatory licence, except for drivers. Lower requirements apply to nurse aides and to the listed trades groups. |
| Language | CLB 6 in all four abilities, or CLB 5 for the listed trades groups, tested within two years before you apply by an approved institution. Recent Ontario graduates are exempt. Ontario accepts IELTS General Training, CELPIP General, PTE Core, TEF Canada and TCF Canada, and does not accept academic or one skill retake versions. |
| Licence | If Ontario or federal law requires a licence or other authorisation to do the work, you must hold it. |
| Equity | Neither you nor any family member may hold equity in the employer's business, directly or indirectly, unless it was obtained as remuneration as an employee and the total held is less than ten per cent. |
| Express Entry | Available. You may choose to be nominated through the federal system, which requires you to meet a federal program's criteria and hold a valid profile from application until nomination, and adds 600 points. |
| Fee | $1,500 outside the Greater Toronto Area, $2,000 inside it. Refunded if the application is returned incomplete or withdrawn before processing begins, and not refunded once processing starts or if it is refused. |
Settlement funds are not required. The regulation lists the criteria for this pathway exhaustively and does not include them.
Requirements checker
A structured way to see where you stand against the published criteria. It returns an indication only, not an eligibility decision, not legal advice, and not a prediction that you will be invited.
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