British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program

What are different BC PNP Immigration Pathways?

The Provincial Nominee Program of British Columbia offers three pathways to immigrants to obtain the status of Permanent Resident in the province. Each stream again has sub-categories from which you can choose based on your international student status, job, or skill level under National Occupational Classification. The BC PNP draw offering Invitations to Apply to candidates for nomination through one of the eligible streams under BC PNP is held periodically. 

BC Skills Immigration

Skilled and semi-skilled workers in highly demanded occupations in British Columbia can apply through Skills Immigration that adopts an invitation system based on points. The process includes registration and online application for BC PNP and a PR application process that is paper-based. 

Prior work experience may not be required for some sub-categories under SI. Skilled workers can have overseas work experience while Semi-skilled and Entry-level stream applicants require work experience in BC. Fresh overseas graduates from a University or College in Canada may not require any work experience based on the job offer. 

BC Skills Immigration aims at overseas nationals with the skills to become productive members of the workforce in the province. The sub-streams under it lay emphasis on migrants with job prospects in BC and those who possess the experience required to get and preserve employment as residents in the province. The following are the SI sub-categories: 

• British Columbia Healthcare Professional

• British Columbia International Post-Graduate

• British Columbia Skilled Worker

• British Columbia International Graduate

• British Columbia Semi-Skilled and Entry Level Worker 

Applicants are not required to be qualified for Express Entry for applying to the sub-streams under BC Skills Immigration. Nevertheless, the majority of the programs under this stream provide an accelerated PR pathway to qualified candidates with an active profile in Express Entry. 

BC Express Entry

British Columbia Express Entry is a swifter pathway for qualified skilled workers to migrate to the province. You must also be qualified for a federal Economic migration program. BC Express Entry has an invitation system based on points. It is a completely digital process for registration and application for both PNP BC and PR processes. 

The Express Entry BC PNP requirements that you must fulfill to qualify under this stream are: 

• Possess a Profile Number in Express Entry and an IRCC Express Entry Job Seeker Validation Code. It demonstrates that you have the minimum qualifications for any one of the 3 schemes under IRCC Express Entry. 

• Have accepted an indeterminate, permanent job offer from a local employer. The job must be a skilled occupation under National Occupational Classification Skill level B, A, or 0. 

• Be qualified to work in the job role offered to you in the province 

• Have a minimum of two years of work experience directly related to the job offered 

• Demonstrate that you can take care of yourself and your dependents 

• Be qualified for or have legal immigration standing in the country 

• Fulfill the minimum language requirements 

• Possess a work offer in line with the established employment rates in BC for the specified line-of-work 

BC Entrepreneur Immigration

British Columbia Entrepreneur Immigration category is for experienced Entrepreneurs who intend to actively manage a business in the province. It has an invitation system based on points and the applicants must possess the required investment and personal funds. 

The Regional Pilot Entrepreneur Immigration stream is for entrepreneurs who intend to commence a fresh business in participating regional communities across the province. 

The Entrepreneur Immigration stream of BC is aimed at overseas nationals and firms with a proven track record of being successful in business investment, management, and ownership. Entrepreneurs with noteworthy personal net worth and overseas firms with high yearly revenue can migrate to the province by establishing fresh enterprises in British Columbia.

The sub-streams under BC Entrepreneur Immigration are: 

• British Columbia Entrepreneur Regional Pilot

• British Columbia Entrepreneur

• British Columbia Strategic Projects

What is the BC PNP Tech Pilot Program?

The Tech Pilot program of British Columbia is aimed at overseas nationals employed in any one of the in-demand technology occupations of the province. It is aligned with the Skills Immigration stream of the province. Interested applicants are thus required to review the diverse sub-categories under the SI pathway. Tech Pilot enables qualified overseas citizens to access quicker processing and extra resources via applications. 

What is the processing time for BC PNP? 

The estimated BC PNP processing time for nomination applications under Express Entry BC and Skills Immigration is around 2 to 3 months. 

For applications through Entrepreneur Immigration, the estimated processing time is 6 weeks for the stage of Registration Score Notification from the date of registration. Extra 4 weeks for processing must be included from the date of supplication submission till the notification of decision (at the stage of Work Permit). 

IRCC at the federal level presently processes non-Express Entry nomination applications from the provinces within 15 to 19 months. The common average of 6 months is applicable for Express Entry streams.