News
September 27, 2016
Skills Immigration, Express Entry BC and Entrepreneur Immigration Invitations Issued
On September 27, 2016, the BC Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) issued 637 invitations to apply to registrants from the following Skills Immigration and Express Entry BC category selection pools:
Express Entry BC - Skilled Worker
Express Entry BC –International Graduate
Skills Immigration – Skilled Worker
Skills Immigration – International Graduate
Skills Immigration – Entry Level and Semi-Skilled
The BC PNP also issued 10 invitations to apply to registrants from the Entrepreneur Immigration stream selection pool.
Please refer to the Invitations to Apply page for a full breakdown of invitation numbers and minimum scores.
Periodically, the BC PNP will issue invitations to apply for the highest scoring registrants by category. The number and frequency of invitations to apply is based on annual nomination allocations and the BC PNP’s processing capacity to ensure timely processing.
For more information on the invitation and application process, please refer to the Skills Immigration and Express Entry BC Program Guide or the BC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration Program Guide.
September 15, 2016
Skills Immigration and Express Entry BC Invitations Issued
On September 15, 2016, the BC Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) issued 477 invitations to apply to registrants from the following category selection pools:
Express Entry BC - Skilled Worker
Express Entry BC –International Graduate
Skills Immigration – Skilled Worker
Skills Immigration – International Graduate
Skills Immigration – Entry Level and Semi-Skilled
Please refer to the Invitations to Apply page for a full breakdown of invitation numbers and minimum scores.
Periodically, the BC PNP will issue invitations to apply for the highest scoring registrants by category. The number and frequency of invitations to apply is based on annual nomination allocations and the BC PNP’s processing capacity to ensure timely processing.
For more information on the invitation and application process, please refer to the Skills Immigration and Express Entry BC Program Guide.
September 1, 2016
Revised BC PNP Program Guides Published
Effective September 1, 2016, the BC Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) has updated program guides for the Skills Immigration and Entrepreneur Immigration streams. Along with other program clarifications, the criteria and process for requesting a review of a BC PNP decision has been updated.
For more information, including a condensed list of all changes, please refer to the Documents page of the BC PNP website.
August 24, 2016
Skills Immigration, Express Entry BC amd Entrepreneur Immigration Invitations Issued
On August 24, 2016, the BC Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) issued 586 invitations to apply to registrants from the following Skills Immigration and Express Entry BC category selection pools:
Express Entry BC - Skilled Worker
Express Entry BC –International Graduate
Skills Immigration – Skilled Worker
Skills Immigration – Entry Level and Semi-Skilled
The BC PNP also issued 12 invitations to apply to registrants from the Entrepreneur Immigration stream selection pool.
Please refer to the Invitations to Apply page for a full breakdown of invitation numbers and minimum scores.
Periodically, the BC PNP will issue invitations to apply for the highest scoring registrants by category. The number and frequency of invitations to apply is based on annual nomination allocations and the BC PNP’s processing capacity to ensure timely processing.
For more information on the invitation and application process, please refer to the Skills Immigration and Express Entry BC Program Guide or the BC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration Program Guide.
August 4, 2016
Skills Immigration and Express Entry BC Invitations Issued
On August 4, 2016, the BC Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) issued 602 invitations to apply to registrants from the following category selection pools:
Express Entry BC – Skilled Worker
Express Entry BC – International Graduate
Skills Immigration – Entry Level and Semi-Skilled
Please refer to the Invitations to Apply page for a full breakdown of invitation numbers and minimum scores.
Periodically, the BC PNP will issue invitations to apply for the highest scoring registrants by category. The number and frequency of invitations to apply is based on annual nomination allocations and the BC PNP’s processing capacity to ensure timely processing.
For more information on the invitation and application process, please refer to the Skills Immigration and Express Entry BC Program Guide.
June 30, 2016
Entrepreneur Immigration Invitations Issued
On June 30, 2016, the BC Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) issued 15 invitations to apply to registrants from the Entrepreneur Immigration stream.
Please refer to the Invitations to Apply page for a full breakdown of invitation numbers and minimum scores.
Periodically, the BC PNP will issue invitations to apply for the highest scoring registrants. The number and frequency of invitations to apply is based on annual nomination allocations and the BC PNP’s processing capacity to ensure timely processing.
For more information on the invitation and application process, please refer to the BC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration Program Guide.
June 29, 2016
Skills Immigration and Express Entry BC Invitations Issued
On June 29, 2016, the BC Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) issued 319 invitations to apply to registrants from the following category selection pools:
Express Entry BC – Skilled Worker
Express Entry BC – International Graduate
Skills Immigration – Skilled Worker
Skills Immigration – International Graduate
Skills Immigration – Entry Level and Semi-Skilled
Please refer to the Invitations to Apply page for a full breakdown of invitation numbers and minimum scores.
Periodically, the BC PNP will issue invitations to apply for the highest scoring registrants by category. The number and frequency of invitations to apply is based on annual nomination allocations and the BC PNP’s processing capacity to ensure timely processing.
For more information on the invitation and application process, please refer to the Skills Immigration and Express Entry BC Program Guide.
June 2, 2016
Skills Immigration and Express Entry BC Invitations Issued
On June 2, 2016 the BC Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) issued 196 invitations to apply to registrants from the following category selection pools:
Express Entry BC – International Graduate
Skills Immigration – Entry Level and Semi-Skilled
Please refer to the Invitations to Apply page for a full breakdown of invitation numbers and minimum scores.
Periodically, the BC PNP will issue invitations to apply for the highest scoring registrants by category. The number and frequency of invitations to apply is based on annual nomination allocations and the BC PNP’s processing capacity to ensure timely processing.
For more information on the invitation and application process, please refer to the Skills Immigration and Express Entry BC Program Guide.
May 31, 2016
Entrepreneur Immigration Invitations Issued
On May 31, 2016, the BC Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) issued 16 invitations to apply to registrants from the following stream:
Entrepreneur Immigration
Please refer to the Invitations to Apply page for a full breakdown of invitation numbers and minimum scores.
Periodically, the BC PNP will issue invitations to apply for the highest scoring registrants by category. The number and frequency of invitations to apply is based on annual nomination allocations and the BC PNP’s processing capacity to ensure timely processing.
For more information on the invitation and application process, please refer to the BC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration Program Guide.
May 12, 2016
Skills Immigration and Express Entry BC Invitations Issued
On May 12, 2016, the BC Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) issued 152 invitations to apply to registrants from the following category selection pools:
Express Entry BC - Skilled Worker
Skills Immigration – Skilled Worker
Please refer to the Invitations to Apply page for a full breakdown of invitation numbers and minimum scores.
Periodically, the BC PNP will issue invitations to apply for the highest scoring registrants by category. The number and frequency of invitations to apply is based on annual nomination allocations and the BC PNP’s processing capacity to ensure timely processing.
For more information on the invitation and application process, please refer to the Skills Immigration and Express Entry BC Program Guide.
April 8, 2016
Skills Immigration and Express Entry BC Invitations Issued
On April 8, 2016, the BC Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) issued 270 invitations to apply to registrants from the following category selection pools:
Express Entry BC - Skilled Worker
Express Entry BC – International Graduate
Skills Immigration – Entry Level and Semi-Skilled
Skills Immigration – Northeast Pilot Project
The Northeast Pilot Project has now been included in the Skills Immigration - Entry Level and Semi-Skilled category. Individuals who registered under the BCPNP Northeast Pilot Project prior to or on March 31, 2016, and have not received an invitation are now included in the Entry Level and Semi-Skilled pool of candidates.
Please refer to the Invitations to Apply page for a full breakdown of invitation numbers and minimum scores.
Registrants who have received invitations will have up to 30 calendar days from the date of invitation to submit a complete application via the BC PNP Online system.
Periodically, the BC PNP will issue invitations to apply for the highest scoring registrants by category. The number and frequency of invitations to apply is based on annual nomination allocations and the BC PNP’s processing capacity to ensure timely processing.
For more information on the invitation and application process, please refer to the Skills Immigration and Express Entry BC Program Guide.
Skills Immigration – Entry Level and Semi-Skilled category includes employment in Northeast Development Region
Effective April 1, 2016, applications under the BC Provincial Nominee Program’s (BC PNP) Northeast Pilot Project (NEPP) will be included in the BC PNP’s Entry Level and Semi-Skilled category (ELSS).
Employers in the Northeast Development Region of B.C. can continue to support employee applications for permanent residence through the BC PNP and seek to retain foreign workers employed in any occupation listed as skill level C or D in the National Occupational Classification (NOC) Matrix.
By incorporating NOC skill level C and D occupations from the Northeast Pilot Project in the ELSS category, applicants and employers will benefit from a streamlined online registration and application process.
The BC PNP is an important tool for B.C. to support economic growth and a critical immigration pathway for foreign workers in the Northeast Development Region to become permanent residents in Canada.
For more information, visit the Entry Level and Semi-Skilled page of the BC PNP website and the >Skills Immigration and Express Entry BC Program Guide.
January 27, 2016
New Skilled Immigration System Helps Meet B.C’s Economic Needs
VICTORIA - The province has launched a new intake system for the Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) so it is aligned with British Columbia's labour market and economic development priorities.
B.C. is expected to lead the country in economic growth in 2016 and will continue to rely on immigration to support job opportunities in our growing economy. The BC Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) is the Province’s only direct economic immigration tool for bringing in new British Columbians to assist in filling the nearly one million job openings due to retirements and economic growth.
The BC PNP’s new Skills Immigration Registration System (SIRS) is a points-based system that gives candidates a registration score that determines whether they are invited to apply. Their score is based on a number of factors that reflect an individual’s ability to succeed in the labour market and contribute to the provincial economy such as level of education, years of direct work experience and a B.C. employment offer.
For example, B.C.’s tech sector is consistently growing faster than the overall economy. For many employers their need for talent is urgent, especially in highly specialized areas. The new registration system allows employers to access skilled labour quickly to bring highly-skilled newcomers into the Province to support continued growth in the industry.
Shirley Bond, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour:
We need to bring high-demand skilled workers and investment-ready entrepreneurs to B.C. to continue to grow our diverse economy. We’ve heard from the businesses that are helping drive our economy to be the best in Canada. They tell us that having immigration programs be timely and efficient to bring the right people into B.C. is what they need to keep their businesses growing.
And for those skilled immigrants applying to the BC PNP, they need a transparent system that’s easy to understand and gets them working in B.C. as soon as possible. Our government believes the targeted changes we’ve made to the BC PNP will keep our economy moving forward.”
The full news release can be found here.
November 10, 2015
Skills Immigration– Application Intake
The Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) is accepting a limited number of applications for in-demand jobs under the Skills Immigration stream effective November 10, 2015.
The BC PNP was redesigned in July this year to make a targeted shift towards attracting high-impact workers and entrepreneurs that align with B.C.'s labour market and economic development priorities. This intake is focussed specifically on attracting applicants who are in high-wage occupations and meet those priorities.
Questions and Answers can be found here.
October 6, 2015
New act to improve pathways to permanent residency
B.C. has introduced legislation as a foundation for the Province's role in selecting newcomers to the province.
The Provincial Immigration Programs Act will help B.C. meet its economic developmentpriorities by providing a legislative framework to select newcomers under the existing BC ProvincialNominee Program (BC PNP) as well as any future immigration agreements with the federalgovernment.
Primary authority for immigration lies with the federal government and the Canada-B.C. Immigration Agreement sets out the terms for federal and provincial co-operation onimmigration matters, including the BC Provincial Nominee Program. Recent changes to federalimmigration programs have increased the number of applications to the BC PNP. Each year B.C.receives a limited allocation of BC PNP nominations from the federal government and needs toensure it is making the best use of those nominations.
The full news release can be found here.
September 1, 2015
Skills Immigration & Express Entry BC - Temporary Pause on New Application Intake
The BC PNP has received more applications for Skills Immigration and Express Entry BC than it has nominations for 2015.
Effective September 1st, 2015, new applications will no longer be accepted for the majority of BC PNP Skills Immigration and Express Entry BC categories.
The BC PNP will reopen the Skills Immigration and Express Entry BC categories in early 2016 with a new points-based intake system to prioritize high-impact applicants and ensure occupations and skills are aligned with B.C.’s labour market needs.
Please see the Frequently Asked Questions here.
July 2, 2015
BC PNP redesign matches workers with labour market needs
The redesigned Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) is accepting applications again effective July 2, 2015.
The BC PNP has reopened after a 90-day pause that allowed the BC PNP to be redesigned so the Province could maximize the impact of its allocation of 5,500 nominees from the federal government for 2015. The redesign shifts the program's focus to high-impact workers and entrepreneurs that bring the BC PNP into closer alignment with B.C.'s labour market and economic development priorities.
Please see the News Release here.
March 31, 2015
Temporary Pause on New Application Intake
Effective immediately, BC PNP is temporarily pausing program intake for 90 days in order to introduce a new streamlined application process and program criteria. The PNP will reopen to new applications with a redesigned process in July 2015.
Those who applied to the PNP on or before March 31, 2015 will not be impacted. Program staff will continue to process PNP applications already in the system and bring on additional staff to improve processing times.
BC PNP will continue to process existing applications during the temporary pause.
February 2, 2015
Updates to the Express Entry British Columbia stream FAQs
New questions and answers have been added to the FAQ section of the Express Entry British Columbia stream.
January 6, 2015
Introduction of the Express Entry British Columbia Stream
The BC PNP has introduced a new stream called Express Entry British Columbia. Visit the Express Entry British Columbia page for more information and to see if you are eligible.
Archived BC PNP new items from 2010 to 2014 are available here.