On February 1, the Canadian province of British Columbia issued invitations to 126 tech workers in the recent draw.
The province issued these invitations through one of the immigration streams under the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP), which is BC PNP Tech.
BC PNP Tech can be defined as an economic immigration pathway designed for experienced, high-demand foreign workers who are willing to settle to British Columbia permanently for work.
Candidates who are issued invitations under the BC PNP Tech Draw must meet the requirements of one of the immigration categories of the province, and British Columbia’s categories are operated and managed through the Skills and Immigration Registration System (SIRS).
These immigration categories are:
- Express Entry BC
- Skills Immigration
In this new draw, candidates from Skilled Worker and International Graduate immigration subcategories were issued invitations, and these candidates were required to meet the minimum provincial score requirement of 80 points.
Now, invited candidates are required to submit a complete application within 30 calendar days to receive a nomination from the province.
BC PNP Tech Program: Introduction
In May 2017, the BC PNP Tech Program was brought in as a pilot program by British Columbia in response to a labour market study. This labour market study suggested that the technology sector of British Columbia is getting impacted due to a lack of international talent. Taking the positive outcomes of the Tech Program into consideration, the province made a decision to make the BC PNP Tech program a permanent immigration option. The BC PNP Tech enables the employers in the province from the technology sector to bring international talent for the job positions that cannot be filled locally.
Furthermore, this program can be defined as an economic immigration pathway to BC, specifically targeting the high-demand foreign skilled workers and international students who can fill the positions available in the technology sector of British Columbia. In order to meet eligibility for this program, applicants need to register themselves in any of the provincial immigration streams offered by British Columbia, and they are further required to secure a valid job offer from an eligible employer in British Columbia. This job offer should be in one of the 29 qualifying occupations under this Tech program.
A job offer under the Tech Program must:
- Be full-time and valid for at least one year offered by an eligible British Columbia-based employer
- Leave at least 120 days at the time of applying to the BC PNP
The province issues the invites under the BC PNP tech program to the eligible applicants with the highest provincial score. Usually, the province issues the invitations through the BC PNP Tech program on a weekly basis.
Once the candidate receives an invitation to apply (ITA), they are required to send in a complete application for provincial nomination. Generally, these applications are processed within 60 – 90 days.
If the application is approved, the candidate will be issued a nomination confirmation from the province, which can be used by the candidate to make a permanent residence application under the Provincial Nominee Program class with the federal department of IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada).
If a candidate secures a provincial nomination, it rewards them an extra 600 CRS (Comprehensive Ranking System) points. These extra points effectively improve the probability of them securing an ITA for permanent resident status under the federal Express Entry system.
