British Columbia targets skilled workers and entrepreneurs in back-to-back draws

Between May 5–6, the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BCPNP) invited more candidates to apply for provincial nomination, through both its Skills Immigration (SI) and Entrepreneur Immigration (EI) categories.

The province issued no less than 341 invitations to apply (ITAs) across both categories, with the majority issued through SI to care-based, education, and construction professionals.

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This marks the first round of selections held by the province since announcing major changes to its Provincial Nominee Program on April 23.

Draw details

British Columbia kicked off May with two back-to-back draws, targeting skilled workers and entrepreneurs most likely to meet local economic and labour market needs.

Skills Immigration selection

On May 6, the BCPNP sent out a total of 333 invitations to skilled workers in four occupational categories—in alignment with its new provincial nomination priorities.

These selections were organized around two out of three (care, build) of its established core objectives, intended to attract highly skilled talent and fill labour market gaps

The number of ITAs issued varied by occupational category, with the largest share of invitations sent to individuals working in construction trades workers—making up 36.3% of all invitations.

Core objective	Occupational category	Number of NOCs targeted	Invitations issued	Minimum score
Care	Health	31	117	108
Care	Veterinary	2	9	100
Care	Education	1	86	115
Build	Construction trades	9	121	108

This marks the province’s fourth selection round targeting SI candidates. Prior draws, however, invited candidates based on minimum wage and job offer, as well as minimum score.

In total, this year, the BCPNP has issued 1,706 invitations through its SI category.

As of May 6, there are 9,967 registrations in British Columbia’s SI registration pool. The table below shows how many candidates fall within each score bracket:

Score range	Number of registrations
0 - 59	215
60 - 69	401
70 - 79	853
80 - 89	1,353
90 - 99	1,781
100 - 109	2,107
110 - 119	1,550
120 - 129	1,148
130 - 139	522
140 - 149	32
150+	5

Entrepreneur Immigration selection

On May 5, the BCPNP invited no less than eight ITAs to entrepreneurs looking to start a new business in the province or take over and grow an existing one.

Candidates were targeted through both streams of the EI category, with the number of invitations varying by stream.

Stream	Invitations issued	Minimum score
Base	8	115
Regional	<5	115

This is the first entrepreneur-focused selection round in 2026 that featured identical scores for both Base Stream and Regional Stream candidates.

The Base Stream is designed for foreign nationals who wish to establish a new business or take over an existing one anywhere in the province, while the Regional Stream is for those looking to start a new business outside the Metro Vancouver Regional District.

Both streams have varying financial requirements (net worth, investment), and the Regional Stream requires a community referral and an exploratory visit, while the Base Stream does not.

To date, there have been a total of eight EI draws—five through the Base Stream, and three through the Regional Stream.

British Columbia has issued no less than 49 ITAs to EI candidates in 2026 thus far.

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