British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP)

BC Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP)

The BCPNP (British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program) is the program used by the government of British Columbia to choose the immigration candidates to nominate to the Canadian government to become permanent residents of the province, and contribute to grow the economy.

The BCPNP is one of Canada’s PNPs. With 10 different immigration streams, the program is very diverse, with two categories for skilled workers and international graduates in Canada and post-graduates in British Columbia: Express Entry BC and Skills Immigration, and an extra one for entrepreneurs.

Choosing British Columbia Immigration

The province of British Columbia is located on the west coast of Canada. British Columbia is home to one the largest and diverse cities in Canada, Vancouver. BC is the third most populated province to immigrate to, following only Ontario and Québec. The province of British Columbia is one of the most sought-after immigration destinations in Canada.

British Columbia offers some attractive pathways into province. These can be split between Express Entry aligned streams, and non-aligned.

Express Entry Aligned Streams:

The BCPNP currently includes four streams that are Express Entry aligned. When a provincial nomination is issued to a successful applicant the applicant will receiving 600 extra CRS points. This, in turn, will lead the applicant to automatically receive an ITA in the subsequent Express Entry draw from the pool. These points are only used for streams that align with express entry.

Non-Express Entry Aligned Streams:

There are programs that do fall under the Express Entry that have opportunities under the Skills Immigration (SI) streams also. These are a good course to consider as they present the same immigration opportunities available through the Express Entry aligned streams. Other streams include healthcare professionals with job offers and entrepreneur investors.

British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program Streams:

Introduced in 2017, the BCPNP Tech Pilot program provides the opportunity to Technology and IT workers to fast-track their immigration to BC and obtain permanent residence. Draws for the Tech Pilot program are conducted each week, compared to two-week draws for the Skills Immigration and Express Entry BC categories. This program also needs a job offer to be eligible and is only applicable to Skilled Worker, International Graduate, Entry Level and Semi-Skilled streams.

All BCPNP categories, except Healthcare and International Post-Graduate streams, are operated through the Skills Immigration Registration System (SIRS). Candidates will need to create an account with their individual data in regards to their level of studies, language proficiency, previous job experience, and their employment offer in British Columbia. The system will then attribute each candidate a score (max 200 points), and those with a score above the cut-off will receive an invitation to apply for a BC nomination. The cut off score is published periodically by the immigration office of BC.

The following are a list of BCPNP streams, their entry alignment and a short but not exhaustive list of criteria for success application. All fees currently are $700 per application.

Express Entry BC (EEBC) streams:

Skilled Worker:

Full-time, indeterminate job offer from a BC employer, in an NOC Skill Type/Level 0, A or B, and is in line with B.C. wage rates

International Graduate:

Full-time, indeterminate job offer from a BC employer, in an NOC Skill Type/Level 0, A or B, and is in line with B.C. wage rates and graduation from an eligible post-secondary institution in Canada in the past three years

International Post-Graduate:

Graduation from a BC Master's/Ph.D. in the health, applied, or natural science disciplines

Healthcare Professional:

Employment offer in a related healthcare occupation: physician, specialist, registered nurse, etc.

Skills Immigration (SI) Streams:

Skilled Worker:

Full-time, indeterminate job offer from a BC employer, in an NOC Skill Type/Level 0, A or B, and is in line with B.C. wage rates

International Graduate:

International Post-Graduate:

Graduation from a BC Master's/Ph.D. in the health, applied, or natural science disciplines

Healthcare Professional:

Employment offer in a related healthcare occupation: physician, specialist, registered nurse, etc.

Entrepreneur Immigration Streams:

Entrepreneur Immigration:
Business or management experience
Min net worth of $600,000 and min investment of $200,000
Own min 33.3% of business and creation of min 1 new job

Entrepreneur Immigration Regional Pilot:
Business or management experience, and min NCLC4 in English or French
Min net worth of $300,000 and min investment of $100,000
Own min 51% of business, in an area with population of 75,000 or less
Creation of min 1 new job