Ontario OINP Entrepreneur Stream (“ON-ES”).

Program Overview and Timeline

The ON-ES is designed to support individuals from outside of Canada who are looking to implement a new business idea or buy an existing business in Ontario. The ON-ES offers entrepreneurs the opportunity to be nominated for permanent residence once their business has been successfully established in the Province of Ontario.

Under this program, the applicant must have a viable business that is likely to provide material economic benefit to the economy of Ontario as a whole or to the local Ontario economy where the business will be located.

The ON-ES application is a multi-stage process:

1) Client submit an Expression of Interest (“EOI”). The EOI is comprised of two components, for a maximum EOI score of 200 points:

  • Self-Declared Score (126 points)
  • Business Concept Score (74 points) (** note, the business concept must score at least 37 points to be placed in the EOI Selection Pool)

2) The client’s EOI will be placed in a Selection Pool, and ranked according to his/her EOI score. The highest-ranking scores are periodically selected to apply, and those candidates receive an invitation to apply (“ITA”)

3) When the ITA is issued for your client, he needs to submit a full application to the Province of Ontario within 90 days, which includes:

  • government fees of CAD$3,500
  • an assessment of the applicant’s net worth, and legal accumulation of funds, prepared by an authorized third party net worth verifier (accounting firm) in Canada. The charges by the authorized firm will be approximately CAD$5,000. They could be higher though, depending on the complexity of the case.
  • all supporting documents, business plan, and application forms.

4) Once the application has been received by the Province and assessed for completeness, the applicant will be requested to attend an interview in Toronto, Ontario.

5) Once approved, the applicant must sign a Performance Agreement with the Province. At this time, the Province will issue a support letter so that the client can apply for a temporary work permit from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC”).

6) The client will have 20 months to implement his business plan, and submit a final report to the Province. At this point, the Province will issue Nomination Certificates to the client and his family, and he can apply to IRCC for permanent residency.

Program Eligibility Requirements

In order to be eligible to apply, the applicant must:

  • have at least 24 months of full time business experience in the last 60 months, as a business owner, or senior executive. 
  • have a minimum personal net worth of either:
    • CAD$800,000, if intending to settle in the Greater Toronto Area (“GTA”), or
    • CAD$400,000 if intending to settle elsewhere in the Province, or if you are intending to settle in the GTA, but your proposed business is in the information and communications technology/digital communications sector (“ICT Sector”).
  • control at least one-third of the equity in his proposed business in Ontario, and invest:
    • CAD$600,000, if intending to settle in the GTA
    • CAD$200,000, if intending to settle elsewhere in the Province, or if you are intending to settle in the GTA, but your proposed business is in the ICT Sector.
  • be actively involved, on an ongoing basis, in the management of the proposed business.   
  • The business must create jobs for Canadian citizens or permanent residents within the first 20 months.
  • If the business is located in the GTA, it must create two full-time jobs.
  • If the business is located elsewhere in the Province, or is located in the GTA but involved with the ICT Sector, then the business must create at least one-full-time job.

Note: Additional requirements may exist, in a case where the client is acquiring a business.

Please contact us at [email protected] for more information.