The Ontario Provincial Nominee Program allows Ontario employers recruit overseas skilled workers, as well as lets foreign nationals to live permanently in the province under two categories- General and International Student Categories. Let us discuss a few things about the student category.

The International Student Category is divided into three sub-categories. They are:

• PhD Graduate Stream: Under this stream, Ontario’s PNP allows foreign students who have graduated with PhD degree from an Ontario university to file for permanent residency, however, university must be a public institution! The students who fall under this stream are not required to have a job offer from an Ontario employer. All they need to do is to file the Nominee Application for International Graduates with the Opportunities Ontario. They can apply for the permanent residence status within 2 years of receiving the PhD degree.
• Pilot Masters Graduate Stream: Under this, international students who have earned masters degrees from any of the public universities in Ontario can apply for permanent residency. Like PhD graduates, students with an Ontario masters degree do not need to have a job offer to apply for the permanent residency in Ontario. They are eligible to apply for the same right from their last semester of the course. Else, they can apply within 2 years of receiving their degrees. They are required to fill the same application form as the PhD students.
• With Job Offer Stream: This stream lets Ontario employers to hire international students who have graduated from publicly funded Ontario universities in order to fill a skilled job position. When it comes to Ontario employers, they make use of this stream. Under this, Ontario allows them to hire international skills in order to fill the job positions.

When employers want to recruit international skills in job positions, all they need to do is to file a pre-screen application with Opportunities Ontario requesting positions for which they want international skills. Once, the employers get the approval, the students who have been recruited are required to submit a nominee application to the Opportunities Ontario. At both stages, those applications are processed first that arrive first.

For more information on Canadian Provincial Nominee Programs, seek the help of an ace Immigration and Visa Consultant!