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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.
Before diving straight into all the BC PNP categories, it will be helpful to know that you are not required to use a representative such as a Registered Canadian Immigration Consultant or Lawyer. However, it can be beneficial to receive expert advice from an immigration professional. If you are not sure where to look for advice, you can use our find an authorized representative tool to find the most qualified immigration representative. Keep in mind that if you work with an immigration consultant or a lawyer, you must disclose on your application that you have received assistance in preparing your application from a person who is compensated or receives a benefit as a result of such assistance. Here are the forms you must use to disclose this:
Use of representative form – applicant
Use of representative form – employer (If you receive an invitation to apply (ITA) and your employer is using a representative, they must complete this form even if they are using the same representative as you)
Another very important thing to keep in mind is to only work with a legally authorized representative.
In Canada, the only paid Authorized Representatives that can assist you on your immigration application are RCICs in good standing with the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council and lawyers in good standing with their provincial law society. Using the services of an unauthorized business, or failure to disclose having received assistance on your application may result in the refusal of your application.
These rules were created to protect you. There are many illegal businesses acting like RCICs or lawyers to provide fake immigration services. If you are looking for an authorized representative, you can use our tool here.
The BC PNP application process consists of 4 steps:
After completing these 4 steps, applicants can submit an application for permanent residence to the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
All applicants must first create an online profile with BC PNP. However, you do not need to register and may skip to the application section if you are in the following categories:
For all other applicants, after creating an online profile with BC PNP, you will be able to select the BC PNP category you wish to apply to register under. Here are some of the information the registration might cover (depending on the category):
Based on the information you provide, you’ll be able to see your BC PNP points score before you submit the registration. Once a registration has been submitted, you cannot modify it. If changes need to be made, you must withdraw your registration and submit a new one. Registrations are entirely free of charge and you will only be asked to pay a fee during the online application process for BC PNP.
Like the Express Entry scoring system, BC PNP has its own points score. After completing the registration, you will be entered into a selection pool for the category in which you have registered. This allows the BC PNP to prioritize high-impact candidates who are most likely to bring benefits to the provincial economy. Points are awarded in economic and human capital factors with a maximum score of 200. If you are looking to calculate your total BC PNP score, you can use our BC PNP score calculator tool.
Skill Level of the B.C. Job Offer – Check your National Occupational Classification (NOC).
Directly Related Work Experience
Educational Credential Assessment – Qualified Suppliers
Industry Training Authority British Columbia (ITABC’s) Challenge Certification Process
The BC PNP issues Invitations to Apply (ITA) throughout the year based on available quota and processing capacity.
ITAs under the BC PNP are only valid for 30 days from the date of of invitation to submit a complete application. A complete application will require:
You will also need to upload supporting documents for your BC PNP application. Documents you may need to upload are:
Application Submission and Payment
Once you have uploaded all your documents, you can submit your BC PNP application. The BC PNP will ask you to pay a processing fee at this time.
The BC PNP nomination, also known as the Confirmation of Nomination, will arrive by email. Once you receive this, you will have 6 months to apply to the IRCC for a permanent resident visa. Depending on the BC PNP stream you chose, you will need to submit a paper-based application or an online application through Express Entry.
The IRCC will assess your application for PR and has the final authority to determine whether you will be granted a permanent resident visa. While you wait for a decision on your PR application, you must maintain the conditions of your nomination.
Once you receive the BC PNP nomination, you will also get a nomination through the Express Entry system. You must log in to accept the nomination within 30 days.
Once you have accepted the nomination, your Express Entry CRS point score will update and you will receive an additional 600 points. This basically guarantees that you will receive an invitation to apply for PR in the next round of draws.
Once you receive a nomination, you have 6 months to submit a paper-based application for permanent residency to the Centralized Intake Office (CIO) in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Your application must arrive at their office before the 6-month deadline.
There are several forms that you will need to prepare as part of your application package.
In addition to the forms, you must include supporting documents as listed on the IRCC checklist. This includes:
Typical next steps will include receiving requests for any outstanding documents or information (police clearance certificates, Right of Permanent Residence Fee), biometrics, and medical exams. When these final documents have been provided and assessed, the IRCC will make a final decision on your PR application.
Please note that all nominees have an obligation to report any material changes in their circumstances and continue to comply with BC PNP conditions while you wait for your PR application to be processed. You must report:
To notify the BC PNP of these changes you will need to send an email to PNPPostNom@gov.bc.ca with the following information:
All documents and attachments must be a PDF of JPG file under 3MB in size. From here on out, you’ll have to follow through with the regular immigration procedures set by the IRCC.
For those of you that have gotten through this entire article, we hope that we’ve been able to help shed some light on British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program’s Skills Immigration and Express Entry BC streams. Comment down below with any further questions you have or use our Find an Authorized Representative solution to receive help on your immigration application.
