British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP)

The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) is a collection of immigration pathways that allow foreign nationals to become Canadian permanent residents in British Columbia. It is a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) that is strategically designed to attract immigrants in areas that will benefit the province. These areas include skilled workers, workers in sectors with labour shortages, entrepreneurs, and investors.

The program operates several immigration streams that are divided into two categories:

British Columbia Skills Immigration
British Columbia Entrepreneur Immigration.

BC Skills Immigration

Skilled Worker Category – This category is for individuals who have received an eligible job offer in a skilled occupation. Workers are expected to have several years of experience in their skilled occupation.
Health Care Professional Category – Under this category, individuals with experience and eligible job offers, such as physicians, nurses, psychiatric nurses, or allied health professionals, may apply. An eligible job offer must be acquired for one of 11 qualifying health occupations.
International Graduate Category – This category is for individuals who have graduated from an eligible Canadian university or college in the last three years. A job offer must be obtained from a BC employer to be eligible under this sub-category.
International Post-Graduate Category – This category is for graduates with Master’s or Doctoral degrees from an eligible educational institution in British Columbia in the natural, applied, or health sciences programs of study. No job offer is required to apply under this sub-category.
Entry Level and Semi-Skilled Worker Category – Workers in certain entry-level or semi-skilled positions in tourism/hospitality, food processing, or long-haul trucking, or those in entry-level or semi-skilled positions living and working in the Northeast Development Region of British Columbia, may be eligible for immigration through this program.

Entrepreneur Immigration

British Columbia Entrepreneur Immigration targets foreign nationals and companies with track records of success in business ownership, management, and investment. Individual entrepreneurs with significant personal net worth and international corporations with high annual revenues may immigrate to BC by establishing new enterprises in the province.

To apply for the BC PNP, interested candidates must first register a profile. Upon registration, the candidate’s score is determined using the British Columbia Entrepreneur Ranking System. Candidates with competitive scores will be invited to submit an official application to the program.

British Columbia Entrepreneur – If you’re a foreign-controlled corporation looking to establish a branch office or operating facility in BC, you may be eligible to submit an Entrepreneur application through the Strategic Projects initiative. This program allows innovative companies to bring up to five foreign staff members to BC to actively manage the proposed operation.
British Columbia Entrepreneur Regional Pilot – This new pilot is for international entrepreneurs looking to establish a new business in a small community in British Columbia.
British Columbia Strategic Projects – Through this category, foreign-controlled companies can set up an operation in British Columbia. Up to five key foreign managerial, professional, or technical staff members can be nominated for permanent residence in the province.

British Columbia Express Entry

Candidates applying for the BC Skills Immigration streams do not necessarily need to be eligible for Express Entry. Although, the majority of programs included in the BC Skills Immigration offer an accelerated pathway to permanent residency for eligible candidates who have an active Express Entry profile. To find out whether a specific stream offers an Express Entry pathway, please refer to the application procedure.

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British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP)