To date, the Canadian province of British Columbia has issued around 11,000 invitations in 2021.
On 30 November, British Columbia issued 89 invitations to tech workers to apply for provincial nomination. The invites were sent to the candidates from the BC PNP Tech Draw.
The BC PNP allows the province to attract experienced, high-skilled, in-demand foreign workers to apply for permanent residency in the province. This is an immigration pathway to British Columbia for candidates who are willing to live and work in the province.
The candidates issued ITAs through the BC PNP Tech draw stream were required to fulfill the eligibility requirements of one of the below British Columbia’s categories:
- Express Entry BC and
- Skills Immigration
Candidates who received an invitation to apply for provincial nomination under this draw were from International Graduate and Skilled Worker subcategories and required a provincial score of at least 78 points.
The applicants have 30 days to appeal for the nomination who get the ITA in this draw.
Till now, the province of British Columbia has issued ITAs to almost 11,000 candidates in 2021.
Introduction to the BC PNP Tech Program.
The BC PNP Tech Program was introduced by the province as a pilot project. It started in May 2017. It was launched based on a labor market study, which suggested that British Columbia’s technology sector is struggling due to limited access to global talent. Considering the positive results of the project, British Columbia decided to make this a permanent program. The program is designed to attract international talent to the province’s technology sector for positions that cannot be filled in locally.
To further describe the program, this program is an economical, fast-track immigration option to British Columbia, which brings in in-demand tech workers and foreign students. To be eligible for this stream, candidates are required to be registered in one of British Columbia’s provincial immigration streams and secure a valid employment offer for a minimum duration of 12 months in any of the 29 qualifying occupations for the BC PNP tech program.
A valid employment offer under the BC PNP Tech stream must:
- Be for at least one year
- Be full-time from an eligible employer from British Columbia
- Have at least 120 days remaining at the time of applying to British Columbia’s PNP
Invitations under the BC PNP tech program are issued on a weekly basis to the candidates who score the highest points and meet all the eligibility requirements.
After receiving an invitation to apply (ITA) for a provincial nomination, a complete application needs to be submitted by the candidate. The processing times for most of the tech applications range between two and three months.
If the application is processed, the individual will get a nomination confirmation from the province. The confirmation can be used to make a permanent residence request under the PNP category. That should be done with the IRCC.
A successful provincial nomination will result in additional 600 CRS (Comprehensive Ranking System) points, and thus, will increase the chances of the candidate to secure an ITA for Canadian permanent residence through the Express Entry system.
