On December 7, British Columbia held two draws. BC sent invites to 318 applicants through the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BCPNP) under two streams.
- Skills Immigration (SI)
- Express Entry BC (EEBC)
Under the SI and EEBC streams, the province issued these invitations to candidates from below three sub-categories:
- Skilled Workers
- Entry Level and Semi-Skilled
- International Graduates
The province sent out these invitations under two draws as below:
- General Draw: A total of 267 invitations were sent out through this draw, with a minimum score requirement between 71 and 100 points, depending on their eligibility for different programs.
- Draw targeting candidates with occupations falling under NOC 0621 (retail and wholesale trade managers) or NOC 0631 (restaurant and foodservice managers): A total of 51 invitations were sent out through this draw with a minimum score requirement of 103 points across the board.
Since February, the province has been regularly organizing separate draws twice a month through its PNP. A large number of candidates have registered themselves in the province’s Skills Immigration Registration System (SIRS) from specific sectors of the labour market, resulting in a high number of draws from British Columbia. To date, the province has invited 11,000 immigration candidates this year through different streams under BC PNP.
Introduction to the BCPNP
The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BCPNP) targets foreign workers who are skilled and willing to live and work in the province as permanent residents of Canada.
There are two major immigration streams under the BCPNP as below:
- Skills Immigration
- Express Entry
These immigration streams are further divided into multiple sub-categories, which are managed under the province’s Skills Immigration Registration System. Candidates need to first register a profile through the SIRS. After registration, candidates are provided with a score based on various factors such as age, work experience, education, and language skills.
The province holds regular draws, in which the candidates with the maximum scores are sent out an invitation to apply for provincial nomination as a step in their application to permanent residency.
After getting the invite, the application needs to be submitted via the province’s online portal within a period of 30 days. The province usually takes two to three months to process these applications.
If the application is approved, the candidate will be issued a nomination confirmation from the province, which can be used to make a permanent residence application under the Provincial Nominee Program class with the federal department of IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada). Once the candidate receives the confirmation, his/her nomination will be valid only for up to six months.
After getting the nomination the individual becomes entitled to have additional 600 CRS (Comprehensive Ranking System) points. That will increase the chances of the contender securing an ITA for future draws.
