The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) is an immigration program designed to allow BC to increase the economic benefits of immigration to the province. It is a provincial program run in partnership with the federal government of Canada. Each year, the Government of Canada allocates a limited number of nominations to different provinces in Canada.
PNP programs are increasing in demand because it offers significant advantages to certain people immigrating to Canada. For instance, with a PNP nomination, applicants receive 600 additional points for their Express Entry profile (Basically guaranteeing an ITA). In other situations, applicants that are not eligible for Express Entry may be eligible for PNP programs.
Much like the Express Entry system, BC PNP uses its own points score system to rank candidates. We will dive deeper into the points score and the different sections below.
The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) has numerous streams. In this article, we will take a deep dive into the Skills Immigration and Express Entry BC streams and the several categories within those streams.
- Skills Immigration – Skilled Worker
- Skills Immigration – Healthcare Professional
- Skills Immigration – International Graduate
- Skills Immigration – International Post-Graduate
- Skills Immigration – Entry Level and Semi-Skilled (Including employment in the Northeast Development Region of B.C.)
In this article, we will go through the Express Entry BC Stream in detail
Express Entry BC Stream Categories:
- Express Entry BC – Skilled Worker
- Express Entry BC – Healthcare Professional
- Express Entry BC – International Graduate
- Express Entry BC – International Post-Graduate
Express Entry BC – Skilled Worker
Express Entry is a federal online application management system managed by the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Express Entry BC uses IRCC’s Express Entry system to meet the province’s specific labour market needs. The EEBC Skilled Worker category is for skilled workers who have post-secondary education/training with several years of experience in an eligible occupation.
Express Entry BC Requirements
1. You must meet the minimum criteria for one of the federal economic immigration programs for Express Entry
2. If you have not created an Express Entry Profile, you can do so here.
- You must indicate in your IRCC Express Entry Profile that you are interested in settling in B.C.
- You will be required to enter information regarding your education. language and work experience as part of the Express Entry system.
Job Offer
You must have an offer of indeterminate*, full-time employment from an eligible B.C. employer at a wage that meets industry standards
- The occupation of the job offer must be classified under Skill Type 0, Skill Level A or B in the National Occupational Classification (NOC).
- Your employer must provide you with a written offer of employment on official company letterhead. It must:
- Be signed and dated by an employee, or owner, of the company who is authorized to hire employees
- Be Signed and dated by you confirming that you accept the job offer
- Include your job title
- Include your job duties
- Include your rate of pay
- BC PNP does not consider bonuses, commissions, profit-sharing distributions, tips/gratuities, overtimes wages, housing allowances, room, and board, or other similar payments to be part of your wage.
- Your wage must be at market rate and comparable to the rate paid to other workers with a similar level of experience and training for equivalent jobs in B.C. and consistent with the wage compensation structure of your employer.
- To check the range of market wage rates by occupation, visit Job Bank, and use their wage comparison tool.
- If you were originally hired based on a positive federal Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), the wage you are earning at the time of registration and application must be equal to or greater than the wage stated in the offer of employment and on the Labour Market Impact Assessment.
- Include your standard hours of work
- Include working that the position is indeterminate* and full-time
- Full-time is a minimum of 30 hours per week, year-round
- Include any discretionary benefits in addition to those required by law
- Pension and medical plans, disability insurance, sick pay, accommodation and meal allowances, and extra paid vacations
- If the position is covered by a collective agreement, it must also reference the agreement.
- Your employer must also meet employer requirements.
- *Exception for the BC PNP Tech Pilot for the “indeterminate job offer”
Experience and Qualifications
1. You must have a minimum of two years of full-time (or full-time equivalent) work experience in the same NOC code as the occupation in your job offer. Experience in a similar occupation at a NOC skill level equal or greater than the occupation for the job offer may be included if, at the time of your application, you can satisfactorily demonstrate how this work experience is directly related.
- Experience obtained in paid co-op work terms is eligible if it meets the following criteria:
- the paid co-op work term is full-time (minimum 30 hours per week)
and - the paid co-op experience is a NOC skill level equal to or greater than the NOC code of the B.C. job offer
- at the time of application, you must be able to satisfactorily demonstrate how this work experience is directly related
- For the purposes of assessing your work experience in Canada, the BC PNP will only consider work experience that was obtained while you were legally authorized to work.
2. You must be qualified for the offered position.
- BC PNP may refer to the National Occupational Classification (NOC), WorkBC, or other industry standards to determine the minimum qualifications for an occupation.
- If the offered position requires mandatory certification, licensing, or registration, you must provide documentation at the time of application to the BC PNP, showing that you meet these requirements, or how these requirements will shortly be met.
Income Requirements
1. You must demonstrate that you meet minimum income requirements* according to your:
2. You may have to show that you meet the minimum proof of settlement funds criteria of one of the federal economic immigration programs subject to Express Entry.
Language Proficiency Requirements
1. You must meet the minimum language requirements for the federal economic immigration category under Express Entry which you are eligible for.
- Valid language proficiency tests are:
- IELTS
- CELPIP-General
- TEF Canada
- TCF Canada
2. If you are claiming points for language under the BC PNP registration system, you must provide BC PNP with a copy of your language test results at the time of application, regardless of the NOC Skill Level of your B.C. job offer.
Other Requirements
1. In the five years preceding your application, and throughout the BC PNP application process, you and your spouse or common-law partner must not have held a combined ownership/equity stake of more than 10 percent in the B.C. company that has offered you employment.
2. Your employment must provide economic benefit to B.C. For example, your employer will contribute to:
- maintaining or creating jobs for Canadians
- transferring knowledge and skills to Canadians
- supporting the development of proprietary new products
- building the workforce for a major project
3. Your employment must not adversely affect the settlement of a labour dispute or the employment of anyone involved in any such dispute, or adversely impact training or employment opportunities for British Columbians.
4. You can only have one active BC PNP registration and/or application at a time
5. The BC PNP will not nominate you if you:
- are prohibited from entering Canada
- are in Canada and are out of status
- if your status has expired, and you cannot demonstrate you have applied for restoration of status within the 90-day eligibility period, you will be considered out of status
- are working in Canada without authorization
- have an unresolved refugee claim in Canada
- are under a removal order in or outside of Canada
6. Please note that after completing an assessment of your application, the BC PNP may only proceed to nominate you if your Express Entry profile remains valid and visible to the BC PNP. If your Express Entry profile has expired, the BC PNP cannot nominate you.
- Additionally, if IRCC issues you an invitation to apply before the BC PNP can nominate you in the Express Entry portal, you will no longer be visible to the BC PNP in the Express Entry portal. In order to proceed with a nomination, you would need to decline the invitation from IRCC and await a nomination from the BC PNP. If you do not decline the invitation from IRCC in Express Entry, your BC PNP application will be closed, and a refund will not be provided.
7. If you are invited to apply, you must submit the $1150 application fee with your online application before your application will be processed.
Express Entry BC – Healthcare Professional
The Skills Immigration – Healthcare Professional category was created because of the increasing demand for health care workers in B.C. You may be eligible under this category if you are a physician, nurse, psychiatric nurse, or allied health professional with a job offer from a public health authority, or if you are a midwife.
Express Entry BC Requirements
1. You must meet the minimum criteria for one of the federal economic immigration programs for Express Entry
2. You must indicate in your IRCC Express Entry Profile that you are interested in settling in B.C.
- You will be required to enter information regarding your education. language and work experience as part of the Express Entry system.
Job Offer
1. You must have a job offer from a public health authority as a:
- Physician
- Specialist Physician
- Registered Nurse
- Registered Psychiatric Nurse
- Nurse Practitioner
- An Allied Health Professional such as a:
- Diagnostic Medical Sonographer
- Clinical Pharmacist
- Medical Laboratory Technologist
- Medical Radiation Technologist
- Occupational Therapist
- Physiotherapist
- Midwife (Has further specific requirements)
2. You must have a letter of confirmation from an established practice group in B.C. confirming your acceptance into the group as an affiliated midwife for a period of at least 6 months.
- This letter must be on the group’s official letterhead
- This letter must be signed by the head of the practice group
- This letter must be signed by you
- You must be registered, or eligible to be registered, with the College of Midwives of British Columbia.
- You must have an offer of indeterminate, full-time employment, at a wage that meets industry standards
- Your employer must provide you with a written offer of employment on official company letterhead. It must:
- Be signed and dated by an employee, or owner, of the company who is authorized to hire employees
- Be Signed and dated by you confirming that you accept the job offer
- Include your job title
- Include your job duties
- Include your rate of pay
- BC PNP does not consider bonuses, commissions, profit-sharing distributions, tips/gratuities, overtimes wages, housing allowances, room, and board, or other similar payments to be part of your wage.
- Your wage must be at market rate and comparable to the rate paid to other workers with a similar level of experience and training for equivalent jobs in B.C. and consistent with the wage compensation structure of your employer.
- To check the range of market wage rates by occupation, visit Job Bank, and use their wage comparison tool.
- If you were originally hired based on a positive federal Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), the wage you are earning at the time of registration and application must be equal to or greater than the wage stated in the offer of employment and on the Labour Market Impact Assessment.
- Include your standard hours of work
- Include working that the position is indeterminate and full-time
- Full-time is a minimum of 30 hours per week, year-round
- Include any discretionary benefits in addition to those required by law
- Pension and medical plans, disability insurance, sick pay, accommodation and meal allowances, and extra paid vacations
- If the position is covered by a collective agreement, it must also reference the agreement.
- Your employer must also meet employer requirements.
Experience and Qualifications
1. Minimum of two years of full-time work experience in the same NOC as the occupation in your job offer.
- This experience may be from work performed within Canada or abroad
2. You must be qualified for the offered position.
- BC PNP may refer to the National Occupational Classification (NOC), WorkBC, or other industry standards to determine the minimum qualifications for an occupation.
- If the offered position requires mandatory certification, licensing, or registration, you must provide documentation at the time of application to the BC PNP, showing that you meet these requirements, or how these requirements will shortly be met.
Income Requirements
Language Proficiency Requirements
1. You must meet the minimum language requirements for the federal economic immigration category under Express Entry which you are eligible for.
- Valid language proficiency tests are:
- IELTS
- CELPIP-General
- TEF Canada
- TCF Canada
2. If you are claiming points for language under the BC PNP registration system, you must provide BC PNP with a copy of your language test results at the time of application, regardless of the NOC Skill Level of your B.C. job offer.
Other Requirements
1. In the five years preceding your application, and throughout the BC PNP application process, you and your spouse or common-law partner must not have held a combined ownership/equity stake of more than 10 percent in the B.C. company that has offered you employment.
2. Your employment must provide economic benefit to B.C. For example, your employer will contribute to:
- maintaining or creating jobs for Canadians
- transferring knowledge and skills to Canadians
- supporting the development of proprietary new products
- building the workforce for a major project
3. Your employment must not adversely affect the settlement of a labour dispute or the employment of anyone involved in any such dispute, or adversely impact training or employment opportunities for British Columbians.
4. You can only have one active BC PNP registration and/or application at a time
5. The BC PNP will not nominate you if you:
- are prohibited from entering Canada
- are in Canada and are out of status
- if your status has expired, and you cannot demonstrate you have applied for restoration of status within the 90-day eligibility period, you will be considered out of status
- are working in Canada without authorization
- have an unresolved refugee claim in Canada
- are under a removal order in or outside of Canada
6. If you are invited to apply, you must submit the $1150 application fee with your online application before your application will be processed.
Express Entry BC – International Graduate
You may be eligible for the EEBEC – International Graduate category if you are an international student who has graduated from a Canadian university or college in the past three years.
Express Entry BC Requirements
1. You must meet the minimum criteria for one of the federal economic immigration programs for Express Entry
2. You must have an IRCC Express Entry Profile Number and a Job Seeker Validation Code
- If you have not created an Express Entry Profile, you can do so here.
- You must indicate in your IRCC Express Entry Profile that you are interested in settling in B.C.
- You will be required to enter information regarding your education. language and work experience as part of the Express Entry system.
Education
1. A degree, diploma, or certificate from an eligible post-secondary institution in Canada
- Degrees:
- Must be from and authorized undergraduate or graduate degree program from an institution authorized to grant degrees
- Diplomas and Certificates
- Must be from a public post-secondary institution in Canada.
- Diplomas and certificates from private institutions are not eligible.
- Language training programs do not qualify
- Must have been at least 8 months (2 semesters) of full-time equivalents coursework.
- Co-op work terms, practicums, and internships are cannot be counted toward the 8-month requirement
- You may complete co-op work terms, practicums, and internships only if the 8 -month coursework requirement has been met.
2. You must submit your registration to the BC PNP within 3 years of the dates shown on your official transcript
- Distance learning education within or outside Canada is ineligible
Job Offer
1. Must have a job offer for a full-time, indeterminate* position that typically requires a university or college education at a wage that meets industry standards
- The occupation of the job offer must be classified under Skill Type 0, Skill Level A or B in the National Occupational Classification (NOC).
- Your employer must provide you with a written offer of employment on official company letterhead. It must:
- Be signed and dated by an employee, or owner, of the company who is authorized to hire employees
- Be Signed and dated by you confirming that you accept the job offer
- Include your job title
- Include your job duties
- Include your rate of pay
- BC PNP does not consider bonuses, commissions, profit-sharing distributions, tips/gratuities, overtimes wages, housing allowances, room, and board, or other similar payments to be part of your wage.
- Your wage must be at market rate and comparable to the rate paid to other workers with a similar level of experience and training for equivalent jobs in B.C. and consistent with the wage compensation structure of your employer.
- To check the range of market wage rates by occupation, visit Job Bank, and use their wage comparison tool.
- If you were originally hired based on a positive federal Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), the wage you are earning at the time of registration and application must be equal to or greater than the wage stated in the offer of employment and on the Labour Market Impact Assessment.
- Include your standard hours of work
- Include working that the position is indeterminate* and full-time
- Full-time is a minimum of 30 hours per week, year-round
- Include any discretionary benefits in addition to those required by law
- Pension and medical plans, disability insurance, sick pay, accommodation and meal allowances, and extra paid vacations
- If the position is covered by a collective agreement, it must also reference the agreement.
- Your employer must also meet employer requirements.
- *Exception for the BC PNP Tech Pilot for the “indeterminate job offer”
2. Your employer must satisfy the BC PNP that the job offer is bona fide.
Experience and Qualifications
- You must be qualified for the offered position.
- BC PNP may refer to the National Occupational Classification (NOC), WorkBC, or other industry standards to determine the minimum qualifications for an occupation.
- If the offered position requires mandatory certification, licensing, or registration, you must provide documentation at the time of application to the BC PNP, showing that you meet these requirements, or how these requirements will shortly be met.
- Supervisor or management positions are normally only obtained through progressively increasing experience or responsibilities. If you have been offered a supervisor or management position, the onus is on your and your employer to demonstrate that you have obtained experience that qualifies you for the position. You must clearly demonstrate this experience in your resume.
Income Requirements
Language Proficiency Requirements
1. You must meet the minimum language requirements for the federal economic immigration category under Express Entry which you are eligible for.
- Valid language proficiency tests are:
- IELTS
- CELPIP-General
- TEF Canada
- TCF Canada
2. If you are claiming points for language under the BC PNP registration system, you must provide BC PNP with a copy of your language test results at the time of application, regardless of the NOC Skill Level of your B.C. job offer.
Other Requirements
1. In the five years preceding your application, and throughout the BC PNP application process, you and your spouse or common-law partner must not have held a combined ownership/equity stake of more than 10 percent in the B.C. company that has offered you employment.
2. Your employment must provide economic benefit to B.C. For example, your employer will contribute to:
- maintaining or creating jobs for Canadians
- transferring knowledge and skills to Canadians
- supporting the development of proprietary new products
- building the workforce for a major project
3. Your employment must not adversely affect the settlement of a labour dispute or the employment of anyone involved in any such dispute, or adversely impact training or employment opportunities for British Columbians.
4. You can only have one active BC PNP registration and/or application at a time
5. The BC PNP will not nominate you if you:
- are prohibited from entering Canada
- are in Canada and are out of status
- if your status has expired, and you cannot demonstrate you have applied for restoration of status within the 90-day eligibility period, you will be considered out of status
- are working in Canada without authorization
- have an unresolved refugee claim in Canada
- are under a removal order in or outside of Canada
6. If you are invited to apply, you must submit the $1150 application fee with your online application before your application will be processed.
Express Entry BC – International Post-Graduate
You may be eligible for Express Entry BC – International Post-Graduate category if you are an international student who has graduated from a B.C. post-secondary institution with a master’s or doctorate degree in the natural, applied, or health sciences.
Express Entry BC Requirements
1. You must meet the minimum criteria for one of the federal economic immigration programs for Express Entry
2. You must indicate in your IRCC Express Entry Profile that you are interested in settling in B.C.
- You will be required to enter information regarding your education. language and work experience as part of the Express Entry system.
Education
1. You must have a master’s or doctoral degree received within the past 3 years from an eligible program at an eligible post-secondary institution in B.C.
- Distance learning education within or outside Canada is ineligible
2. Your master’s or doctorate degree must be in one of the following programs of study in the natural, applied, or health sciences:
- agriculture, agriculture operations, and related sciences
- biological and biomedical sciences
- computer and information sciences and support services
- engineering
- engineering technology and engineering-related fields
- health professions and related programs
- mathematics and statistics
- natural resources conservation
- physical sciences
- Eligible programs of study can be found by clicking on the BC PNP IPG & EEBC IPG Eligible Programs of Study document on this page.
Ability & Intent to Live and Work in B.C.
1. You must provide evidence to support your intent and ability to live and work in B.C.
- Some examples may include:
- Length of any previous and/or current period of residence in B.C.
- Connections to B.C.
- Work
- Study
- Family
- Description of actions taken to permanently settle in B.C.
- Finding a job
- Finding a place to live
- Current employment in B.C.
- Proof of employment search
- prospective employers, applications, networking efforts, business development, etc.
- Community involvement
- Ability to financially support yourself in B.C.
- Your plan to obtain or maintain legal authorization to work in B.C.
2. If you are not currently residing in B.C., you must indicate the date by which you will reside permanently in B.C.
Other Requirements
1. You can only have one active BC PNP registration and/or application at a time
2. The BC PNP will not nominate you if you:
- are prohibited from entering Canada
- are in Canada and are out of status
- if your status has expired, and you cannot demonstrate you have applied for restoration of status within the 90-day eligibility period, you will be considered out of status
- are working in Canada without authorization
- have an unresolved refugee claim in Canada
- are under a removal order in or outside of Canada
3. Please note that after completing an assessment of your application, the BC PNP may only proceed to nominate you if your Express Entry profile remains valid and visible to the BC PNP. If your Express Entry profile has expired, the BC PNP cannot nominate you.
- Additionally, if IRCC issues you an invitation to apply before the BC PNP can nominate you in the Express Entry portal, you will no longer be visible to the BC PNP in the Express Entry portal. In order to proceed with a nomination, you would need to decline the invitation from IRCC and await a nomination from the BC PNP. If you do not decline the invitation from IRCC in Express Entry, your BC PNP application will be closed, and a refund will not be provided.
4. If you are invited to apply, you must submit the $1150 application fee with your online application before your application will be processed.
Visit our blog post "What is BC PNP?" for more detail about application process.
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