Application Guide: Masters Graduate Stream

1 Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Application guide : Masters Graduate Stream Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program Disponible en fran ais Effective: July 9, 2018 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION: Masters Graduate Stream .. 1 What is the Masters Graduate Stream ? .. 1 OINP e-Filing Portal .. 1 ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA .. 2 Education .. 2 Language Proficiency .. 2 Residency in Ontario .. 3 Settlement Funds .. 3 Intention to Reside in Ontario .. 5 Residency at Time of 5 Legal Status in Canada (if applicable) .. 5 Application Period .. 6 Who is Not Eligible to Apply .. 6 BEFORE SUBMITTING AN ONLINE Application .. 7 Access the OINP e-Filing Portal .. 7 Authorizing a Representative .. 7 Who is a Representative? .. 8 How to Authorize a Representative Online.

2 9 Cancelling a Representative .. 10 Document Translation and Notarization .. 10 COMPLETING YOUR ONLINE Application .. 11 Saving your Application .. 11 Application Tabs .. 12 General Information .. 12 Assistance with Application .. 12 Applicant Information .. 12 Contact Information .. 13 Residency in Ontario .. 13 Immigration Information .. 13 Education History .. 14 Work History .. 14 Other Activities (excluding education and paid work) .. 14 Language Proficiency .. 15 Intent to Reside in Ontario .. 15 Family Information .. 16 Settlement Funds .. 16 Learning about OINP .. 16 Supporting Documents .. 16 Schedules .. 17 Summary .. 18 Privacy and Confidentiality .. 19 How your Personal Information is used .. 19 Protection of your Personal Information .. 19 Processing Fee.

3 20 AFTER YOU APPLY .. 21 Application Assessment .. 21 Checking Your Status .. 21 Incomplete applications .. 22 Changes in Personal Information .. 22 Restoration of Status in Canada .. 23 Withdrawing your Application .. 23 Internal Review .. 23 AFTER NOMINATION .. 24 Extension of Nomination Certificate .. 24 APPENDIX 1: LANGUAGE TEST SCORE EQUIVALENCY CHARTS .. 26 APPENDIX 2: Masters Graduate Stream DOCUMENT CHECKLIST .. 28 APPENDIX 3: SCHEDULES .. 32 PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS guide IS AN EXPLANATORY DOCUMENT ONLY. PLEASE REFER TO THE ONTARIO IMMIGRATION ACT, 2015 AND ITS REGULATIONS. TO THE EXTENT THAT THERE IS ANY DISCREPANCY BETWEEN THIS guide AND THE ACT OR ITS REGULATIONS, THE ACT AND REGULATIONS GOVERN. This guide is made available free to everyone by the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program and is not to be sold.

4 Queen s Printer for Ontario, 20181 INTRODUCTION: Masters Graduate Stream What is the Masters Graduate Stream ? The Masters Graduate Stream provides international students with master s degrees obtained in Ontario an opportunity to live and work permanently in Ontario. This Stream enables the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) to nominate individuals who have the required education, language ability, and other requirements to help them successfully establish and integrate into Ontario s labour market and communities. Applicants do not need a job offer to apply. Once you receive a nomination from Ontario, you must apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for permanent residence. Regular IRCC Application fees will apply. For more information, please visit the IRCC website. OINP e-Filing Portal All applicants must apply to the Masters Graduate Stream online through the OINP e-Filing Portal.

5 Applicants and representatives must register for a ONe-key account and create a profile in the e-Filing Portal before submitting an Application . The Application will take approximately two hours to complete. It does not have to be completed in one session. You can save your work as you go and return to complete it at another time. However, you must submit your Application to the OINP within 14 calendar days after registering a profile in the OINP e-Filing Portal. Your online Application will only be considered complete if you have: Answered all mandatory fields in the online Application , Uploaded all required supporting documentation, Read and agreed to all declarations and authorizations, and Made an electronic payment of your Application fee. The Application fee for the Masters Graduate Stream is $1,500.

6 Please note that your Application will not be deemed complete until it is reviewed for completeness by the OINP. If your Application is found to be incomplete, it will not be processed and your payment will be refunded. Please see section for more information on how to complete an Application online. 2 ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA To be eligible for nomination under the Masters Graduate Stream , you must meet the criteria outlined in sections to IMPORTANT: Please refer to the Document Checklist in Appendix 2 for a list of supporting documents that you must include with your Application . Education All applicants must have completed the requirements necessary to obtain a master s degree: that is at least one academic year in length if pursued on a full-time basis, and from an eligible Ontario institution.

7 Full-time study requires at least 15 hours of instruction per week during the academic year, including any period of training in the workplace that is part of your studies. Studies completed on a part-time basis may also qualify, if they are equivalent to at least one full-time academic year. The list of eligible Ontario institutions offering master s programs can be found on the OINP website. Language Proficiency All applicants must have high language proficiency in English or in French equivalent to Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7 (or above) in all language competencies (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) as demonstrated through a language test. Acceptable tests include the International English Language Testing (IELTS) (General Training Test only) or the Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP) (General Test only) for English testing and the Test d valuation de Fran ais (TEF) for French testing.

8 Your IELTS, CELPIP or TEF test must have been taken within two years of submitting your Application . You must have the following minimum scores in each of the language competencies: 3 COMPETENCY IELTS CELPIP TEF Listening 6 7 249-279 Reading 6 7 207-232 Writing 6 7 310-348 Speaking 6 7 310-348 Residency in Ontario All applicants must demonstrate at least one year (12 cumulative months) of residence in Ontario in the past two years prior to the Application submission date. You will be required to provide documentation with your full name and address in Ontario to prove that you meet this requirement. Supporting documents may include, but are not limited to: phone bills, car insurance, house/apartment insurance, hydro or energy bills, leasing document demonstrating residence, and/or pay stubs from an Ontario employer, if applicable.

9 Important: The OINP does NOT accept credit card statements to support residency requirements. Settlement Funds You must possess sufficient funds and/or income to cover the settlement costs for yourself and your dependent family members, whether they are accompanying you to Ontario or not. Dependent family members can include your spouse or common-law-partner, your children under the age of 22 and their children. The settlement fund requirement can be met through one or both of the following: 1. Unencumbered funds that are readily transferable in a convertible currency that meet or exceed the required amount for your family size. Unencumbered means that your funds are easily accessible and free of debt or other financial liability. You must be able to use this money to pay the costs of living for you and your dependent family members; and/or 2.

10 A job offer in Ontario with a salary that meets or exceeds the required funds for your family size, or a salary, that when combined with your savings, meets or exceeds the required funds for your family size. To determine the settlement funds required for your family size, please review the chart found on IRCC s website. These amounts are updated every year. 4 Note: If the number of family members in your household changes ( , through marriage, birth of a child, death, divorce, etc.), you must inform OINP. See section on Changes in Personal Information. You must maintain the minimum amount of funds required from the time of Application submission up until the time a decision is made on your Application . To demonstrate that you meet the settlement funds requirement, you must submit copies of six months of your most recent bank statements.