The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BCPNP) is designed to allow the province to nominate and invite individuals who have the necessary skills and experience to live and work in British Columbia. This program attracts talented foreign workers, healthcare professionals, international graduates and post-graduates.
The British Columbia administration runs the program in collaboration with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the federal immigration department. Each year, the IRCC provides a restricted amount of selections to the BCPNP. Interested applicants must go through a two-step process: first, register for selection with the province government, and in the occasion they get selected, they register with the federal government for legal residence.
The BCPNP handles applications under three different categories. Each category has its own streams.
- Skills Immigration (SI)
- Express Entry BC (EEBC)
- Entrepreneur Immigration
Skills Immigration (SI)
The Skills Immigration (SI) category is broken into five different streams that focus on semi-skilled and skilled individuals in demanding professions in British Columbia.
- Skilled Worker
Employees in professional, managerial, technical, commerce, or other skilled occupations can apply for permanent residency through this stream. - Healthcare Professional
Registered nurses, mental health workers, doctors, and healthcare staff can apply in this category, managed by provincial and regional health officials administered via Health Match BC. - International Graduate
This stream is for foreign citizens who have just finished a Canadian post-secondary school within the last three years. - International Post-Graduate
This stream permits qualifying graduates of a post-secondary school in British Columbia to live in the province. To register in this area, you do not need to have a job offer. - Entry Level and Semi-Skilled Worker (ELSS)
This stream is for temporary foreign staff working in the hospitality, long haulage, or food processing industries in British Columbia. A NOC level C or D profession is acceptable in the province’s Northeast Development Region.
Express Entry British Columbia
This stream allows the province to propose qualified applicants for immigration to Canada underneath the federal Express Entry immigration policies via periodic lotteries in the Express Entry streams:
- Healthcare Professionals
- International Post Graduate
- Skilled Worker
- International Graduate
Additionally, applicants must meet the requirements for one of the British Columbia Express Entry streams. Even though a contract of employment is not needed to qualify for the federal program, a hosting employer must participate in British Columbia’s Express Entry streams. To be considered for one of BC Express Entry streams, you should first fulfill the requirements with one of the federal Express Entry options listed below:
Entrepreneur Immigration
This category is entrepreneurs who want to fund and run businesses in British Columbia before settling there. It consists of three streams:
- Entrepreneur Immigration Stream
When the government sets selection objectives for the project, the utmost precedence is granted to candidates who have the greatest power to start a profitable business and offer considerable economic advantages to the province according to a scoring system. The Entrepreneur Immigration stream is for top executives or businesspersons who want to participate in firms in British Columbia. - Entrepreneur Regional Pilot
This stream focuses on hiring ambitious and knowledgeable entrepreneurs to launch businesses in tiny towns across British Columbia, helping meet their specialized labor needs. It began as a two-year pilot program in 2019 but has been prolonged till 2024. - Entrepreneur Immigration
This stream aids foreign-controlled enterprises starting a suitable business in British Columbia using the appropriate admission of significant foreign management, expert, or technological staff seeking to be legal citizens of Canada and dwell in British Columbia.
Processing Time
The BCPNP expects nomination submissions for Express Entry and Skills Immigration to take two to three months to process. An additional 4-week processing delay must be anticipated from the time an application is submitted to the time the result is communicated. IRCC takes 15-19 months to process non-Express Entry candidate petitions from provinces.
Educational Video about the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BCPNP)
The video below will guide you through the application process for British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program
- You should know whether you’re eligible under British Columbia’s International Graduates Stream
- You should know whether you’re eligible under British Columbia’s Skilled Workers Stream
- You should know whether you’re eligible under British Columbia’s Health Care Professionals Stream
- You should know the step by step process on how to apply for British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program
- You should know the required documents and forms you need to fill out to apply for BCPNP
- You should know the latest draw dates and cut off scores for BC PNP You should know whether your occupation is eligible in BCPNP
- You should learn how to create your Expression of Interest through the British Columbia EOI Online Registration
- You should learn whether you have received your Invitation and how to submit your application right after getting your Invitation
- You should learn how to compute for your points for BC PNP You should know how you can get in to the Express Entry Pool.
- You should know the links to guide you how to completely fill out the application form and many more.