British Columbia sent invites to 289 applicants under Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). The draw was conducted on 25th January. The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) allowed the province to conduct two draws to invite applicants from the Skills Immigration (SI) and Express Entry BC (EEBC) streams.
The invites were sent to the applicants who come under Skilled Worker, International Graduate, and Entry Level and Semi-Skilled sub-categories of SI and EEBC streams.
Out of the total, 264 invites were sent through the regular draw. The threshold was kept at 77-114; it varied as per the stream that the applicant is eligible for. The rest of the invites were sent to the applicants eligible for NOC 0621 (retail and wholesale trade managers) or NOC 0631 (restaurant and foodservice managers) professions. The threshold was kept at 114 for this group.
As part of the PNP plan, the province had been conducting similar rounds since February last year. They conducted two such draws every month. The frequent draws are a result of a high number of entries in the Skills Immigration Registration System (SIRS) of BC.
BC PNP program
The stream focused on applicants who have expertise in demanding markets of the province. It helps them achieve permanent residency if they have the required skills and willingness.
The program has two major streams; Express Entry and Skills immigration. Furthermore, these streams have their own breakdowns of sub-categories. All of them are managed under the province’s SIRS. If an individual wishes to apply through SIRS, they will have to register and update their demographic details. The details help the individual to get a score from SIRS.
The score is considered while sending out the invites for provincial nomination and permanent residency. This happens when BC holds one of the regular draws.
The BC online platform allows you to submit all the details within a month after getting the invite.
It takes around 2-3 months for the province to assess your application, and they respond accordingly. If the individual is able to score the nomination, they can apply for the PR with one of the federal PNP programs as well. They can go to Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for the same.
From the date of confirmation, the nomination can be available within 180 days. In the subsequent federal draws, with extra 600 points, the individual has a slightly upper edge in getting the invite for PR.
