Amendments to Ontario Regulation 422/17 (General) and Ontario Regulation 421/17 (Approvals under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program and Other Matters) under the Ontario Immigration Act, 2015.
Regulation Number(s):
421/17
422/17
Instrument Type:
Regulation - LGIC
Bill or Act:
Act
Summary of Proposal:
The Ministry is proposing amendments to Ontario Regulation 422/17 (General) and Ontario Regulation 421/17 (Approvals under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program and Other Matters) under the Ontario Immigration Act, 2015, pertaining specifically to the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP)'s Entrepreneur stream.
The Entrepreneur stream is for foreign entrepreneurs interested in starting a new business or buying an existing business in Ontario. It gives that entrepreneur (and up to one foreign national business partner) the opportunity to be nominated for permanent residence once their business has been established in Ontario.
To better support growth in the stream, allow applicants to focus on establishing and/or building their businesses, and to bring the OINP's Entrepreneur stream in line with similar jurisdictions' entrepreneur stream practices, the OINP is proposing enhancements to reduce the burden on applicants and accelerate their arrival in Ontario to begin establishing their businesses. This includes the two following amendments:

(1)Conduct virtual applicant interviews for the OINP Entrepreneur stream on a permanent basis; and
(2)Reduce the reporting requirements during the business establishment process.

The current regulations that govern the OINP Entrepreneur stream includes in-person interviews and extensive quarterly reports. This represents significant administrative and reporting obligations for applicants.

Virtual Interviews

Applicants are required to participate in in-person interviews for application assessment and program integrity purposes.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the OINP temporarily implemented a virtual interview model which was successful. Allowing for virtual interviews on a permanent basis introduces a number of benefits including:
More flexibility in scheduling interviews more quickly;
Applicants save time and money on visitor visas and travel arrangements; and
More efficient processing of applications as the waiting period between application assessment and interview is shortened.

Implementation of virtual interviews will enable applicants to arrive in Ontario sooner after their application is received and processed by the OINP. In-person interviews often took 4-6 months to schedule. Following this change, virtual interviews are anticipated to be completed in as little as 2-4 weeks.

Application Monitoring

Under the current regulations, an OINP Entrepreneur stream applicant is required to submit six (6) quarterly reports and one (1) final report, for a total of seven (7) reports, over an 18-20-month monitoring period that begins on the day they arrive in Ontario to begin operating their business.

Reducing the reporting frequency to one report every six (6) months instead of quarterly would ease the reporting burden on applicants. Under the proposed changes, the stream would only require that an applicant submit three (3) progress reports and one (1) final report, for a total of four (4) reports. This change will:
Reduce applicant costs and reporting burden;
Still allow the program to identify application issues that might prevent nomination, while allowing each applicant sufficient opportunity to rectify those issues, before the end of the monitoring period and prior to nomination; and
Bring the OINP's Entrepreneur Stream in line with other comparable jurisdiction with Provincial Nominee Programs.
Analysis of Regulatory Impact:
No new administrative cost for business.
Further Information:
Proposal Number:
21-MLTSD 006
Posting Date:
April 8, 2021
Comments Due Date:
April 23, 2021
Contact Address:
400 University Ave., 4th Floor, Toronto, Ontario, M7A 1T7