The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) has increased scores for candidates earning at least $80,000 annually, enhancing their chances of being chosen for provincial nomination for Canadian permanent residence.

Ontario recently announced that candidates with higher earnings are now receiving an additional 10 points towards their score under the Ontario Workforce Priority Stream (OWPS).

The adjustment, effective as of October 5, 2026, was detailed in a notice on the provincial website and has been automatically applied to eligible profiles.

The OINP introduced a new scoring category for the ‘Canadian work experience: earnings history’ criterion.

Prior to this update, the top scoring range was set at $70,000 or above, earning candidates a total of 8 points.

Earnings are determined based on a candidate’s Notice of Assessment issued by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) within the last five years.

Following the recent modification, the earnings breakdown is as follows:

Annual earnings	Points
≥$80,000	10
$70,000–$79,999	8
$50,000–$69,999	6
$30,000–$49,999	4
	0

Candidates with higher scores are now more likely to be invited by the OINP to apply for provincial nomination.

Upon nomination by the province, they can proceed to apply for Canadian permanent residence through the federal government.

This article contains breaking news. Updates will be provided by CIC News as more information becomes available.