B.C. invites 80 immigration candidates in latest Tech Pilot draw

British Columbia issued 80 invitations to apply for a provincial nomination for permanent residence on April 6, 2021.

The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) Tech Pilot draw issued invitations to candidates under the Express Entry BC and Skills immigration categories.

Selected candidates who were from the Skilled Worker and International Graduate subcategories needed a minimum provincial score of 80.

The BC PNP Tech Pilot is a fast-track immigration pathway for in-demand tech workers and international students.

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About the BC PNP Tech Pilot

The pilot project was launched in 2017 and has been extended several times, most recently until June 2021.

In order to be considered eligible for this program, candidates need to be registered in one of B.C.’s existing provincial immigration streams and have a valid job offer of at least 12 months in one of the Tech Pilot’s 29 eligible occupations.

To apply for the Skills Immigration or Express Entry BC categories candidates must first create a profile through the BC PNP’s online portal and register under its Skills Immigration Registration System (SIRS).

Applicants are evaluated and issued a score that determines whether they may be invited to apply in a given invitation round. The score is based on a number of factors such as level of education, years of direct work experience and having a B.C. employment offer.

So far in 2021, B.C. has 19 draws through its various PNP categories and streams and invited almost 3,000 candidates to apply for a provincial nomination.

About Express Entry

Express Entry candidates who receive a nomination from British Columbia will be given an additional 600 points toward their Express Entry Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score and are effectively guaranteed an Invitation To Apply (ITA) in a future federal Express Entry draw.

Federal Express Entry draws are typically held twice a month and invite approximately 5,000 immigration candidates to apply for permanent residence in Canada.

The latest Express Entry draws, held on March 31 and April 1, resulted in 5, 284 invitations to apply for permanent residence combined. So far this year, IRCC has issued 49,124, nearly half of its target of new Express Entry candidates to admit in 2021. At this time last year, IRCC had issued 22,600.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada set an ambitious target to welcome 401,000 new immigrants in 2021, with economic class immigrants set to arrive mostly through Express Entry-managed programs.

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