Expansion of Ontario PNP great for applicants -David Cohen

Attorney David Cohen of the Campbell Cohen Canadian Immigration Law Firm said that as one of the most popular provinces for immigration in Canada, it’s time Ontario smartens up its Provincial Nominee Program. Recently, the government of Ontario has upgraded the Pilot PNP of the province to the full-fledged Opportunities Ontario Provincial Nominee Program and thus gave it greater versatility along with the ability to welcome more number of immigrants to Ontario.

Attorney David Cohen of the Campbell Cohen Canadian Immigration Law Firm said that as one of the most popular provinces for immigration in Canada, it’s time Ontario smartens up its Provincial Nominee Program. Recently, the government of Ontario has upgraded the Pilot PNP of the province to the full-fledged Opportunities Ontario Provincial Nominee Program and thus gave it greater versatility along with the ability to welcome more number of immigrants to Ontario.

The Ontario Pilot Provincial Nominee Program has been expanded with the purpose of welcoming two times as many applicants in a broader range of qualifying categories. Under the new program named Opportunities Ontario: Provincial Nominee Program, the province plans to intake about 1000 new immigrants during the current year- a target which is double the annual immigrants accepted under the previous program.

Canadian Immigration Attorney David Cohen said that Ontario has always attracted majority of immigrants coming to Canada and is also the most populated province in Canada. He said that it is very encouraging to see that the province is playing such a significant role in its own immigration policy.

Cohen, who has been representing Canadian Immigration Applicants for more than twenty-five years, has seen the successes and failures of many Provincial Nomination Programs over the past many years. In spite of the fact that Ontario was late on getting the job done, the recent organization of the province comes as pleasant news for Canadian immigration applicants who plan to live in Ontario.

Under the new system, there are basically two categories as stated- The General Category for employers and investors who are willing to hire skilled workers for overseas, and the International Student Category, meant for employers who are willing to hire foreign students who have pursued their education at a publicly-funded Canadian university or college.

Earlier, employers in Ontario were not allowed to hire workers from overseas in jobs listed outside the occupation of education, health, manufacturing and construction industries.

Cohen said that the current move will make the qualification of potential Ontario nominees easier.

The most important change for employers who are willing to hire international students is that it is no longer mandatory that job offers to the students have to be in their respective fields of study in Canada. They can now be hired for any of the skilled occupation, i.e. A, B, or 0.