B.C. invites skilled workers and entrepreneurs in PNP draws

British Columbia invited over 435 immigration candidates through four Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) draws held on August 17, 2021.

Since February, British Columbia has been conducting two separate rounds of invitations for its PNP program each month. The province holds a general draw and a second draw targeting retail and wholesale retail managers as well as restaurant and foodservice managers. The second draw is due to a high number of people registered in the BC PNP Skills Immigration Registration System (SIRS) with these two occupations, the province said in a news release. By holding these additional draws, B.C. aims to balance the needs in all sectors of the provincial labour market.

Candidates from the Skills Immigration (SI) and Express Entry BC (EEBC) streams of the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) received invitations in the general draw.

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More specifically, invitations were issued to those from the Skilled Worker, International Graduate as well as Entry Level and Semi-Skilled sub-categories of SI and EEBC streams.

The minimum scores for that draw ranged between 73 and 91 points. A total of 363 candidates were invited.

The separate draw was also conducted under SI and EEBC categories and targeted candidates whose occupation falls under NOC 0621 or NOC 0631. The draw resulted in 64 invitations with scores of 106.

B.C. also issued eight invitations through its Entrepreneur Immigration Base Category and less than five invitations through the Entrepreneur Immigration Regional Pilot category.

So far this year, B.C. has issued more than 7527 invitations through various BC PNP streams.

About the BC PNP

The BC PNP aims to attract foreign workers who are in high demand in the province and who wish to become permanent residents of Canada.

The BC PNP has two immigration streams, Skills Immigration and Express Entry, both of which are divided into sub-categories. These streams are managed under B.C.’s Skills Immigration Registration System (SIRS). In order to apply through the SIRS, you are first required to register an account. Once this is done, you will be assigned a score based on factors such as education, work experience, and language skills.

The highest-scoring candidates from each sub-category are then invited to apply for a provincial nomination to apply for permanent residency when British Columbia conducts one of its regular draws.

If you received an invitation you will have 30 days from the date of the invitation to submit a complete application through the BC PNP online system.

Once you submit a complete BC PNP application package you will be notified of the province's decision within approximately two to three months. If your nomination is successful, you become eligible to apply to Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for permanent resident status under the Provincial Nominee Class.

The nomination is valid for approximately six months from the date of confirmation.

As a provincial nominee, you may receive an additional 600 points under the CRS and therefore have a score high enough to receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) during a subsequent federal Express Entry draw.

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