Proposed changes to the Ontario Immigration Act will impact graduate student pathways to permanent residency (PR).
What is changing?
Right now, the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) offers eight program streams to permanent residency.
Two of these streams, the Masters Graduate stream and the PhD Graduate stream, allow those with a Masters or a PhD degree from Ontario universities to apply directly for a nomination for PR.
Proposal 25-MLITSD019 will modify the OINP and eliminate both of these streams.
What does this mean?
The proposal aims to consolidate the existing eight streams into four new streams, eliminating independent graduate pathways to permanent residency.
Graduates will instead be dependent on a full-time Employer Job Offer to qualify to apply for OINP. TEER 0-3 will also allow graduates within two years to qualify for low-wage jobs.
This not only puts exceptional pressure on already overextended and exploited international students, but opens the door for further exploitation and harm.
How will this harm graduates?
Tying immigration status to an employer exacerbates a power imbalance that can force graduates to:
- Take jobs outside of their field of study
- Stay in toxic and/or poorly-paid work environments
- Turn down other opportunities that do not fit the limitations of these streams
- Leave Ontario for other provinces/countries
- Experience compounded exploitation from the university to the workforce
What can you do?
The province of Ontario is accepting comments on this proposal until January 1st, 2026. Use the points above, the sample letter below, this website and short video, and your personal experiences, to tell the Government of Ontario to preserve independent PR pathways for graduates.
Sample Letter
- Copy and paste the letter below into the comment form on the Ontario Regulatory Registry.
- Replace brackets with your personal experience.
- Do not share any personal identifiers like your name, address, phone, etc.
- Edit, add, and modify the letter however you would like to make it personal to your experience.
Preserve Independent PR Pathways for Ontario Graduates
I am a [program] student at [institution], graduating in [month/year]. I am writing to ask the Ministry to preserve independent OINP pathways to permanent residency for Masters and PhD graduates.
I chose Ontario for my studies with the understanding that the [Masters/PhD] Graduate Stream would be available to me when I graduate. These proposed changes raise significant concerns for me, my peers, and the future of Ontario.
I currently [briefly describe your local work, research, or community contribution]. I have built a life here, I am embedded in my community, and I am committed to being a part of strengthening Ontario.
Losing the graduate stream makes me and my peers more likely to have to pursue jobs outside of our fields of study, more vulnerable to employer exploitation, and ineligible to pursue opportunities beyond the narrow restrictions of a full-time employer.
This is bad for graduates and bad for Ontario, as this proposal will push people like me towards other provinces and countries. Given the investment we have put into this province, and that Ontario has put into us, this will be a substantial loss.
I ask that the Ministry preserve the independent PR pathways for PhD and Masters graduates.
Thank you for your consideration.