PROVINCIAL NOMINEE PROGRAM OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program

The BC Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) offers an economic immigration pathway for in demand foreign workers and experienced entrepreneurs who can contribute economically to the province.

The BC PNP accepts applications under three main immigration streams, which are further divided into categories.:

Skills Immigration

• Skilled Worker – managers, professionals and skilled tradespeople
• Healthcare Professional – physicians, registered nurses and other allied health care workers employed with provincial health authorities
• International Graduate – with a degree or diploma from a Canadian college or university
• International Post-Graduate – with a master’s or doctoral degree in the natural, applied or health sciences from a B.C. university. Note that for this category only, a job offer is not required

Entry Level and Semi-Skilled

• Express Entry BC (EEBC)
• Skilled Worker
• Healthcare Professional
• International Graduate
• International Post-Graduate

Entrepreneur Immigration

Express Entry BC and Skills Immigration Streams General Requirements

Except where otherwise noted, the following are requirements in all categories of both the Express Entry BC and Skills Immigration streams:

• Your employer has offered, and you have accepted, indeterminate, full-time employment in an eligible occupation (Exception: Skills Immigration – International Post-Graduate and EEBC – International Post-Graduate).
• You must be qualified for the offered position.
• The wage you have been offered must be competitive with B.C. wage rates for the occupation..
• For occupations classified under NOC Skill Levels B, C, and D, you must demonstrate English or French language proficiency at Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 4. If you are registering and/or applying with a job offer in a National Occupational Classification Skill Type 0 or Skill Level A occupation, you are not required to submit valid language test results. However, at its discretion, the BC PNP may require valid language test results.
• You must demonstrate that you meet minimum income requirements.
• You must not have an ownership/equity stake of more than 10 percent in the B.C. company that has offered you employment.
• Your employment must provide economic benefit to B.C.
• 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.
• If invited to apply, you must submit the $700 application fee with your online application.
• 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. You must also meet other category-specific work experience requirements.

Entrepreneur Immigration Stream General Requirement

The BC Provincial Nominee Program Entrepreneur Immigration stream is for experienced entrepreneurs who are ready to invest in and actively manage a business in B.C

The following are mandatory requirements of the BC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration stream.

personal requirements

• personal net worth of at least $600,000
• demonstrated business and/or management experience

The BC PNP will not nominate you if you:

• are prohibited from entering Canada
• have not been lawfully admitted in the country of current residence
• are in Canada and are 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

business requirements

• establish a new business or purchase and improve an existing business

investment requirements

• make an eligible personal investment of at least $200,000 in the business

job requirements

• create at least one new full-time job for a Canadian citizen or permanent resident in the business

general nomination requirements

• active and ongoing management of the day-to-day business operations
• demonstrated residence in B.C.

fees

• $300 registration fee
• $3,500 application fee
• $1,000 for each key staff application 

Published 10.03.17