On February 8, the Canadian province of British Columbia issued 198 invitations to the immigration candidates to apply for a provincial nomination in its new PNP draws.
British Columbia (BC) sent out these invitations under two draws held through the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP).
The invited candidates fall under the specific streams of BC PNP. They are:
- Skills Immigration (SI)
- Express Entry BC (EEBC)
These invitations were sent out to candidates from the specific sub-categories. They are:
- International Graduate
- Skilled Worker
- Entry Level and Skilled-Level
As noted, the province issued these invitations under two draws. They are:
- General Draw: A total of 188 invitations were issued under this draw, with a minimum score requirement between 77 and 120 points, depending on their eligibility for different programs.
- Draw targeting candidates with occupations falling NOC 0631 (restaurant and foodservice managers) or under NOC 0621 (retail and wholesale trade managers): A total of 10 invitations were issued under this draw with a minimum score requirement of 120 points across the board.
The province of BC has been regularly organizing a separate invitation round twice a month through its PNP since February 2021. A high number of candidates belonging to specific sectors of the labour market have registered themselves in the province’s Skills Immigration Registration System (SIRS), due to which, the province is required to conduct these draws.
Introduction to the BC PNP
The BC PNP targets to bring foreign workers to the province who can fill in the high-demand job positions and are willing to reside in the province as permanent residents of Canada.
There are two main streams of the BC PNP as below:
- Skills Immigration
- Express Entry
SI and EEBC are further categorized into multiple sub-categories, and these are operated under British Columbia’s Skills Immigration Registration System (SIRS). To start their application with the SIRS, candidates are first required to register their profile with SIRS. Once the registration is completed, candidates are assessed and given a score on the basis of various factors, including work experience, education, and language ability.
The province then issues invitations to the candidates who score the maximum points from all the sub-categories to submit a nomination application to the province through its PNP draws.
Once a candidate receives an invitation from the province, they have 30 days to submit a complete application (starting from the date of the invitation) through the online portal of the BC PNP.
After the submission of a complete BC PNP application package, the province takes around two to three months to notify the candidate of the decision on their application. In case the candidate is successfully nominated by the province, they can submit a permanent residence application under the Provincial Nominee class with the federal department of Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
Starting from the date of confirmation, a provincial nomination is valid for around six months.
A provincial nomination rewards an additional 600 points under the CRS (Comprehensive Ranking System) in the Express Entry system, and thus, the candidate will have better chances of obtaining an ITA (invitation to apply) for permanent resident status in the subsequent Express Entry draw.
