A look at British Columbia nominations in 2018

British Columbia nominated 3,100 candidates in the federal Express Entry system for Canadian permanent residence in 2018 through its provincial nominee program, the BC PNP.

Figures provided to CIC News by the BC PNP show the majority of these nominations — 1,999 — were issued through the Express Entry BC (EEBC) Skilled Worker category, which is open to skilled foreign workers with work experience and a job offer in an eligible high-demand occupation in the province.

Another 936 nominations were issued through the EEBC: International Graduate category and 165 went Express Entry candidates through the EEBC: International Post-Graduate category.

The Express Entry system manages the pool of candidates for Canada's three Federal High Skilled economic immigration programs — the Federal Skilled Worker Class, the Federal Skilled Trades Class and the Canadian Experience Class.

British Columbia’s EEBC categories allow the BC PNP to select eligible Express Entry candidates and nominate them for permanent residence in the province.

The main advantage of a provincial nomination for Express Entry candidates is the 600 additional points that the nominated candidate receives toward their Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score, which effectively assures an invitation to apply for Canadian permanent residence.

Find out if you are eligible to enter the Express Entry pool

A full-time, permanent job offer in the province is required in order to be eligible for the EEBC: Skilled Worker category and the EEBC: International Graduate category, which is open to Express Entry candidates who graduated from an eligible Canadian university or college within the last three years.

A job offer is not required in order to receive a nomination through the EEBC: International Post-Graduate category, which is open to international graduates of eligible B.C. institutions who have obtained a master's or doctoral degree in an eligible scientific discipline.

Express Entry candidates who wish to be considered for a provincial nomination through the EEBC: Skilled Worker and EEBC: International Graduate categories are required to register via the province's points-based Skills Immigration Registration System (SIRS), which helps B.C. to select workers who are best-suited to its labour market needs.

SIRS registrants are given a score based on factors that include their job offer, its location and annual wage. Points are also awarded for their education, related work experience and proficiency in English.

The BC PNP also requires that a candidate's potential employer meet specified eligibility requirements.

Candidates who are not in the Express Entry pool can be nominated through one of the BC PNP's Skills Immigration nomination streams.

These so-called "base nomination" streams issued 3,339 nominations in 2018, of which 1,699 went to candidates in the Skills Immigration: Skilled Worker category.

Another 61 nominations were issued through the BC PNP's Entrepreneur Immigration Stream.

British Columbia had an allocation of 6,500 nominations through Canada's Provincial Nominee Program in 2018.

Find out if you are eligible for any Canadian immigration programs