British Columbia is leading the country in economic growth and relies on economic immigration to meet labour market demand.
The B.C. Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) is the Province’s only direct economic immigration tool for bringing in new British Columbians.
It provides a pathway to permanent residence for highly-skilled, in-demand workers and experienced entrepreneurs so they can settle in B.C. and raise a family.
The B.C. PNP Tech Pilot was created 6 years ago, in 2017 to help domestic tech companies recruit and retain the international talent they need when local skilled workers are unavailable.
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If you are looking for a way to immigrate to Canada and specifically want to live in British Columbia, the BC Provincial Nominee Program may be the correct route for you.
This program provides a way for skilled foreign workers in high demand and experienced entrepreneurs to gain permanent residency in B.C.

There are three main streams of entry through the BC PNP including:
Skills Immigration is for skilled and semi-skilled workers in high-demand occupations in B.C., like health care. It uses a points-based invitation system. You must register and apply online for the B.C. PNP. An online application for permanent residency at IRCC then follows that.
To qualify as a skilled worker, you must:
- Have accepted a full-time, indeterminate job offer (the job must be in a National Occupational Classification (NOC) skilled occupation (skill level 0, A or B)
- Be qualified to perform the job duties and have at least two years of directly related work experience.
- Meet minimum language requirements for NOC skill level B occupations, among other requirements
Your employer must be willing to support your application and fulfill specific responsibilities during the application process.
To start the process, create a profile with B.C. PNP’s online application and registration system. After submitting your registration, you will receive a score based on your skills and job. Periodically, the program invites people with the highest scores to apply.
Recent international graduates of a Canadian university or college may not need any work experience, depending on the job offered.
To qualify for this category as an entry-level or semi-skilled worker, you must:
- accept a valid job offer from a B.C. employer in a specific occupation in tourism/hospitality, long-haul trucking or the food processing industry. For the Northeast Development Region Of B.C., you may apply in any National Occupational Classification occupation (skill level C or D)
- have been working full-time for your employer for a minimum of nine consecutive months before applying
- Meet minimum language and education requirements, among other requirements
Your employer must be willing to support your application and fulfill specific responsibilities during the application process.
Express Entry B.C. is a faster way for eligible skilled workers to immigrate to B.C. It uses a points-based invitation system and is an entirely web-based registration and application process for both the B.C. PNP and IRCC’s permanent residency process. To be eligible, you must also qualify for a federal economic immigration program like the federal skilled worker program or federal skilled trades program or Canadian experience class.
You do not require B.C. work experience, but you must have relevant work experience and meet other requirements. To qualify for this category, you must:
- have received an Express Entry Profile Number and a Job Seeker Validation Code from the IRCC Express Entry system, which shows you meet the minimum criteria for one of IRCC’s Express Entry programs
- Have accepted a full-time, indeterminate job offer (a permanent job, or one with no set end date) from a B.C. employer; the job must be in a National Occupational Classification skilled occupation (skill level 0, A or B)
- Be qualified to work in your job in B.C.
- Have at least two years of directly related work experience
- Meet minimum language requirements, among other requirements
The Entrepreneur Immigration stream is for high net-worth businesspeople who can invest in and actively manage a valid business in B.C. It is for experienced entrepreneurs who can support innovation and economic growth in the province.
It is a points-based system; you must also have the required personal and investment funds.
To qualify, you have to:
- have a personal net worth of at least CDN $600,000
- demonstrate business and management experience
- establish an eligible new business, or purchase and improve an existing business
- make an eligible personal investment of at least CAD$200,000 in the business
- create one new full-time job for a Canadian citizen or PR in the business
How do I apply to immigrate to Canada as a provincial nominee?
If you would like to immigrate to Canada through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), a Canadian province or territory has to nominate you.
You first need to apply to the PNP in the province or territory where you want to settle. To qualify, you must have the skills, education and work experience to settle in Canada and support yourself and your family.
The province or territory will assess if you can meet their economic or labour market needs and those of Canada. They can tell you how long it will take to process your application.
After the province or territory approves your application, your next step is to apply for permanent residence within the time period they set out. The province or territory will let you know whether you must apply through the Express Entry system or the regular application process:
Nomination under an Express Entry PNP stream: If you are not already in the Express Entry pool, you will need to complete an Express Entry profile and be accepted into the pool. You can begin the process by using our Come to Canada tool.
OR
Nomination under a non-Express Entry PNP stream: Permanent resident applicants who were nominated under a non-Express Entry PNP stream should apply for permanent residence using the regular application process.
Since the 2001 inception of the program, more than 44,000 workers and entrepreneurs have been attracted to the province through the PNP.
- In 2017, B.C. PNP nominated 69 entrepreneurs who had invested in new or existing B.C. businesses and demonstrated an active management role. The entrepreneurs invested $56 million and created 147 jobs.
- The federal government sets the maximum number of provincial nominees the provinces and territories can select each year.
- B.C.’s quota of PNP nominations for 2018 has been set at 6,250 by the federal government. Past B.C. PNP allocations from the federal government:
- 2017 – 6,000
- 2016 – 5,800
- 2015 – 5,500
- 2014 – 4,150
- 2013 – 3,800
- B.C. uses its full nomination allocation every year.
- Thanks to many updates to B.C.’s PNP intake and processing, including the 2015 introduction of an online registration and application system, processing times for people invited to apply to the skills immigration stream is 2-3 months and 4-6 months for the entrepreneur Immigration stream.
- The top countries of citizenship for PNP nominees in 2017 were India, China, South Korea, Australia and the United Kingdom.
- In June 2018, the B.C. PNP Tech Pilot was extended for another year and enhanced by reducing the requirement for a permanent full-time job offer to a one-year full-time offer.
- Candidates must also have job offers in one of the 29 eligible tech occupations listed on the PNP Tech Pilot page at: WelcomeBC.ca.
- In 2017, the PNP Tech Pilot nominated 923 tech workers for permanent residency status.
If you don’t fulfill this program’s requirements, however, several other programs are structured toward gaining Permanent Residency in Canada.
Determining the right program for you requires considering many factors, including any relevant work history, education, and whether you plan to return to school.
If you have any questions about this process or want our help putting together your application, please, contact us at inquiries@adventureimmigration.com.
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