🔥 OINP is temporarily suspending the Skilled Trades Stream and returning 100% of applications.
Why, and what will happen next?
Register for the online seminar on November 22, 2025 (November 23, Vietnam time) with Lawyer Phan Thanh to discuss this issue.
On November 14th, the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) officially announced a major and unprecedented change: temporarily suspending the acceptance of applications for the Express Entry: Skilled Trades Stream and returning all pending applications, along with refunds of application fees.
This decision was made after a comprehensive review that uncovered systemic misrepresentation and fraud related to the program's eligibility criteria.
Why did OINP have to temporarily suspend the Skilled Trades Stream?
According to the official announcement, OINP discovered:
- The misrepresentation and fraud in the records are systematic.
- These fraudulent activities directly affect the ability of the OINP Director to determine whether an applicant truly meets the criteria.
- With its current structure, the Skilled Trades stream is considered susceptible to fraud and no longer fulfills its objective of filling Ontario's urgent labor needs.
- Ontario also emphasized that the nomination quota is limited, so the program cannot be exploited.
💥 OINP's Decision
The program director has officially stated:
- We are temporarily suspending the acceptance of new applications for the Skilled Trades Stream.
- Return all pending documents.
- Full refund of application processing fees.
This is done in accordance with Section 7, Ontario Regulation 421/17.
👥 Who is affected?
- All applicants have submitted applications to the Skilled Trades Stream and are awaiting processing.
- Those who are preparing to submit applications under this stream.
- Express Entry candidates are awaiting an OINP invitation for the Skilled Trades stream.
✨ What should the candidate do next?
Applicants who remain interested in settling in Ontario can submit a new EOI to other streams of the OINP, for example:
- Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker Stream
- Employer Job Offer: International Student Stream
- Human Capital Priorities Stream
- French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream
- Masters/PhD Graduate Streams
- As long as it meets the criteria of each line.
📌 Is this a permanent closure?
Currently, OINP only confirms:
- Pause
- Review the program structure.
- No reopening date has been announced.
This could indicate that Ontario is considering a deep overhaul of the Skilled Trades Stream to prevent fraud, or adjusting the review process based on labour market needs and nomination quotas.
🔍 Assessment
- This is one of the strongest moves OINP has taken in years.
- The detection of systemic misrepresentation/fraud indicates that the program is being exploited on a large scale.
- Ontario prioritizes quality over quantity – especially given the limited number of nominations.
- Candidates should immediately shift their focus to more stable product lines.
Register for the online seminar on November 22, 2025 (November 23, Vietnam time) with Lawyer Phan Thanh to discuss this issue.
