Operational Bulletin 406 – April 19, 2012

Ontario Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) – Open Work Permits for Master’s or PhD Graduates / Nominees

Summary

Henceforth, Opportunities Ontario: Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) will use:

• Its R204 (c) authority under the Canada – Ontario Immigration Agreement and,
• Its Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Annex

It will use these for facilitating the issuance of open Work Permits (WPs) for:

• Master’s graduates and,
• PhD graduates

It will facilitate the issuance of open Work Permits (WPs) for Master’s and PhD graduates who:

• Have received a nomination from the Province and,
• Are awaiting the finalisation of an application for Permanent Residence (PR)

These changes come into effect as of the date of this publication.

Issue

This Operational Bulletin (OB) informs officers of Opportunities Ontario: Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) to use their authority provided by:

• The R204 (c) authority under the Canada – Ontario Immigration Agreement and,
• The Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Annex

These officers would need this authority for facilitating the issuance of open Work Permits (WPs) for Master’s and PhD graduates who:

• Have received a nomination from the Province under the International Student Category of the Ontario Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) and,
• Are awaiting the finalisation of an application for Permanent Residence (PR)

Background

The Canada – Ontario Immigration Agreement states that:

3.2 Canada and Ontario agree that, pursuant to section 204(c) of the IRPR, Canada may issue work permits to TFWs destined to Ontario without requiring a labour market opinion (described in section 203 of the IRPR) when Ontario has provided CIC with a written recommendation to do so.

3.3 In exercising this authority, Ontario may recommend the entry of TFWs whose presence in Ontario will promote economic development priorities in Ontario such as securing significant business or industrial investments, encouraging business competitiveness and productivity, advancing scientific research and development, and encouraging the commercialization of research.

The Ontario Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) aims to provide assistance to certain graduates, who require a means of:

• Maintaining their status in Canada while they transition to Permanent Resident (PR) status in Ontario or,
• Establishing their status in Canada while they transition to Permanent Resident (PR) status in Ontario

The nominees would receive an open Work Permit (WP) issued by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). This would provide a bridge from student to worker for those nominees whose temporary authorising for staying in Canada following their graduation would expire between:

• The province’s nomination and,
• The anticipated finalisation of the student’s Permanent Resident (PR) application

In certain cases, some Ontario nominees might have already lost their status or left Canada. In this scenario, an open Work Permit (WP) would allow these nominees to:

• Return to Ontario and,
• Obtain employment, which would assist their successful establishment as Permanent Residents (PRs)

The authorities will be updating the Foreign Worker Manual (FW 1) with further details concerning this Ontario Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) initiative.

The Eligible Participants

Applicants would need to meet certain criteria for becoming eligible for receiving an open Work Permit (WP) under this initiative. They would need to:

• Be foreign nationals who have a Master’s or a PhD graduate degree
• Be nominees in Ontario under the following streams of the International Student Category:
• Pilot Master’s Graduate Stream or,
• PhD Graduate Stream
• Be residing at present in Ontario (or have the intention of residing in Ontario) for the duration of the Work Permit (WP)
• Be current holders of valid status as Temporary Residents (TRs) or, be eligible to apply for the restoration of Temporary Resident (TR) status, if in Canada
• Apply for their open Work Permit (WP) at:
• A visa office overseases or,
• A Port of Entry (POE)
• However, they would only do so if:
• They are eligible and,
• They have already departed Canada OR,
• R199 does not describe them at all
• Be in possession of a letter of support issued by the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration (refer to the section titled  ‘The Sample Letter’)

Note:

• R199 prescribes that only certain foreign nationals can apply for a Work Permit (WP) at an inland office of the CIC

The Process for the Issuance of Open Work Permits

• Applicants would need to submit their applications to:
• The Case Processing Centre in Vegreville (CPC-V) by mail, if the applicant:
• Is currently in Canada and,
• Is eligible for applying inland
• A visa office overseas or,
• A Port of Entry (POE) directly, if the authorities have given an exemption from the requirement of obtaining a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV)
• The applicants would need to include the following documents with the application:
• The letter of support issued by the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration and,
• A copy of the applicant’s Opportunities Ontario Letter of Nomination
• Officers would need to use the Labour Market Opinion (LMO) exemption code of T13
• They would do so in conjunction with provisions listed in R204 (c) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR)
• The exemption code T10 is no longer in use; therefore, officers would not be able to use the exemption code T10
• The work permit would need to specify that it is only valid for work in the Province of Ontario
• Officers would need to include the text “TFW-PNP / R204(c)” into the Remarks field
• Typically, these open Work Permits (WPs) run for a duration of (whichever is shorter):
• About 18 months or,
• Until the expiry date of the applicant’s travel document
• Applicants would need to pay the customary work permit fee of $155 to the officers

The Sample Letter

Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration

Opportunities Ontario:

Provincial Nominee Program

Ground Floor

400 University Avenue

Toronto, ON  M7A2R9

Tel.: 416-327-0374

Fax: 416-327-0860

[Date]

RE: [Name]

D.O.B. [DOB]

Opportunities Ontario: Provincial Nominee Program Certificate Number: [Nfile]

Date of Issue: IssueDate

Exemption Code: T13

Dear Immigration Officer:

The above-named applicant for permanent residence to Canada, a citizen of [Citizenship], was approved as an Opportunities Ontario: Provincial Nominee Program Nominee. [Name] will be submitting or has already submitted his/her application for permanent residence.

The applicant is nominated under Pilot Master’s Graduate Stream of the International Student Category and is required to reside in Ontario to continue meeting their obligations under the program. To assist this nominee in maintaining his/her temporary authorization in Canada while their permanent resident application is being submitted and processed and to support his/her transition to gainful employment in the province, Opportunities Ontario: Provincial Nominee Program requests that his/her application for an open work permit in Ontario be processed as soon as possible, pursuant to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, R204(c) and section 3.2 and 3.3 of the Temporary Foreign Worker Annex of the Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement. This nominee‘s presence in Ontario will promote economic development priorities and have a positive labour market impact on Ontario.

The nominee was instructed to submit this letter and a copy of his/her Opportunities Ontario Letter of Nomination (approval) with an application for the Temporary Work Permit. Given the processing times for permanent resident applications, we suggest an eighteen month validity period for the temporary work permit, unless there are other factors, such as passport expiry date, which would limit this period.

Yours truly,

[Signature] [Title]

Opportunities Ontario: Provincial Nominee Program

Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration

Government of Ontario

 

Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC)