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A province situated on Canada’s western coast, British Columbia is amongst the top destinations for Canadian immigration due to its economic growth and labor market demands.
BC PNP – British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program is a pathway for in-demand overseas immigrants and skilled Entrepreneurs to immigrate to Canada and obtain Permanent Residency in the province. The program aims to accelerate the process for interested immigrants with the intention to settle permanently in the province to obtain the Canada PR status.
The Government of British Columbia manages the program in collaboration with IRCC – Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, the federal Immigration Department. Candidates who are interested in the BC PNP are required to follow a process involving two stages. First, they are required to submit an application for Nomination with the Provincial Government. Secondly, they must apply for Permanent Resident status with the Federal Government if they are successful in obtaining the nomination from the province.
One among the most diverse of all the Provincial Nominee Programs in Canada, BC PNP has three major immigration pathways for immigrants. Two of them are broadly for Graduates and Workers – Skills Immigration and Express Entry BC. The third stream is for Entrepreneurs. These immigration streams are further classified into various sub-categories.
A few of the BC PNP immigration streams are aligned with the federal immigration selection system, the Canada Express Entry. Applicants who are successful through these pathways get 600 extra CRS – Comprehensive Ranking System points and an ITA – Invitation to Apply for PR Visa in the successive draw in the pool.
Moreover, some of the BC PNP streams are managed through a unique system well known as the SIRS – Skills Immigration Registration System. Under this SIRS system, potential candidates are first required to create a SIRS profile. They are also required to offer certain individuals information about their level of education, language ability, work experience, and a job offer in BC.
The SIRS functions based on an EOI – Expression of Interest and ITA – Invitation to Apply in which the registered candidates are offered a score out of 200. The Government of British Columbia then conducts draws periodically and the candidates who fulfill the cut-off threshold for their stream in that draw are offered an ITA for a Nomination from the province.
While some BC PNP streams mandate candidates to possess a job offer from an employer in the province, specific streams managed externally of the SIRS do not have any such requirement.
In 2017, BC PNP also launched the Tech Pilot Program through which IT and Tech workers can migrate to BC and get the Canada PR status.
The Provincial Nominee Program of British Columbia offers three pathways to immigrants to obtain the status of Permanent Resident in the province. Each stream again has sub-categories from which you can choose based on your international student status, job, or skill level under National Occupational Classification. The BC PNP draw offering Invitations to Apply to candidates for nomination through one of the eligible streams under BC PNP is held periodically.
Skilled and semi-skilled workers in highly demanded occupations in British Columbia can apply through Skills Immigration that adopts an invitation system based on points. The process includes registration and online application for BC PNP and a PR application process that is paper-based.
Prior work experience may not be required for some sub-categories under SI. Skilled workers can have overseas work experience while Semi-skilled and Entry-level stream applicants require work experience in BC. Fresh overseas graduates from a University or College in Canada may not require any work experience based on the job offer.
BC Skills Immigration aims at overseas nationals with the skills to become productive members of the workforce in the province. The sub-streams under it lay emphasis on migrants with job prospects in BC and those who possess the experience required to get and preserve employment as residents in the province. The following are the SI sub-categories:
Applicants are not required to be qualified for Express Entry for applying to the sub-streams under BC Skills Immigration. Nevertheless, the majority of the programs under this stream provide an accelerated PR pathway to qualified candidates with an active profile in Express Entry.
British Columbia Express Entry is a swifter pathway for qualified skilled workers to migrate to the province. You must also be qualified for a federal Economic migration program. BC Express Entry has an invitation system based on points. It is a completely digital process for registration and application for both PNP BC and PR processes.
The Express Entry BC PNP requirements that you must fulfill to qualify under this stream are:
British Columbia Entrepreneur Immigration category is for experienced Entrepreneurs who intend to actively manage a business in the province. It has an invitation system based on points and the applicants must possess the required investment and personal funds.
The Regional Pilot Entrepreneur Immigration stream is for entrepreneurs who intend to commence a fresh business in participating regional communities across the province.
The Entrepreneur Immigration stream of BC is aimed at overseas nationals and firms with a proven track record of being successful in business investment, management, and ownership. Entrepreneurs with noteworthy personal net worth and overseas firms with high yearly revenue can migrate to the province by establishing fresh enterprises in British Columbia.
The sub-streams under BC Entrepreneur Immigration are:
The Tech Pilot program of British Columbia is aimed at overseas nationals employed in any one of the in-demand technology occupations of the province. It is aligned with the Skills Immigration stream of the province. Interested applicants are thus required to review the diverse sub-categories under the SI pathway. Tech Pilot enables qualified overseas citizens to access quicker processing and extra resources via applications.
The estimated BC PNP processing time for nomination applications under Express Entry BC and Skills Immigration is around 2 to 3 months.
For applications through Entrepreneur Immigration, the estimated processing time is 6 weeks for the stage of Registration Score Notification from the date of registration. Extra 4 weeks for processing must be included from the date of supplication submission till the notification of decision (at the stage of Work Permit).
IRCC at the federal level presently processes non-Express Entry nomination applications from the provinces within 15 to 19 months. The common average of 6 months is applicable for Express Entry streams.
IRCC – Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada allocate a specific quota of migrants for each of the 10 provinces in the nation. Every province is under the obligation not to exceed the allocated limit for the intake of immigrants. British Columbia province has adopted a systematic selection system for choosing the most deserving and skilled candidates known as the SIRS – Skilled Immigration Registration System.
The SIRS point system allocates points depending on the personal credentials of the individual also known as Core Human Factors. These include educational qualification, age, English language proficiency, and age. Other factors about the wage are known as Economic Factors. Possessing proficiency in these specified credentials is the universal requirement under BC PNP for accepting applications for Provincial Nomination.
If you can fulfill all the requirements specified by British Columbia immigration then the province will offer you a Nomination. This makes you qualified for claiming extra 600 CRS points. The additional score will finally enhance your chances of selection in the federal Express Entry draw. You can also submit a direct application to BC PNP as and when their allocation opens.
Allocation of Points under British Columbia PNP:
| Scoring Sections | Maximum Points | |
|---|---|---|
| Economic Factors (120) | Employments Regional District | 10 |
| A wage of the Job Offer in BC | 50 | |
| BC Job Offers Skill Level | 60 | |
| Human Capital Factors (80) | Language | 30 |
| Highest Education Level | 25 | |
| Work Experience Directly Related | 25 | |
| Total Available Points | 200 |
The BC PNP streams have a high rate of refusal when it comes to applications that are not prepared and filed properly as the standards are very high. The processes and the involved documentation for successfully obtaining the Canada PR Visa through PNPs are normally complex necessitating assistance from experts.
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