British Columbia Provincial Nomination Programs

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Home to Canada’s most extensive maritime seaport, British Columbia is the most western province on the map. Situated between Yukon and Northern Territories to the north, Alberta to the east and the American states of Washington, Idaho and Montana to the south, British Columbia is the third most populous province in Canada.

With a bustling technology and service industry, The province of British Columbia is among the top 5 provinces contributing to the Canadian economy, contributing the 4th largest share to the overall Canadian economy

British Columbia operates many streams for Immigration under its Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) for Skilled Workers, Express Entry British Columbia and Entrepreneurs. Most but not all application processes start with a Skills Immigration Registration System (SIRS).

Unique to British Columbia, SIRS is point-based candidate evaluation processes. For British Columbia, SIRS is similar to the expression of interest. As an applicant, you need to complete your SIRS profile to enter the pool. Unless mentioned here, please assume that your selected British Columbia PNP stream will require the SIRS process.

Let’s look at these streams one at a time.

British Columbia Express Entry Immigration Streams

1. Express Entry British Columbia Skilled Worker: This stream may be for you if you are a skilled worker with an express entry profile. You must note the following to be eligible for this immigration stream:
   1. You must be eligible for at least one of the following Canadian federal programs:
      1. Federal Skilled Worker Class
      2. Federal Skilled Trades Class
      3. Canadian Experience Class
   2. You must have a full-time job offer from a British Columbia business.
   3. The business offering the job must qualify under the Employer requirements as set by British Columbia authorities.
   4. You must have at least two years of work experience directly related to the job offer at hand.
   5. You must meet the minimum language and educational requirements as notified by the Federal Immigration Program.
   6. The offered job must pay the minimum wage as notified by British Columbia authorities.

   Download application stages and process guide.

2. EEBritish Columbia Healthcare Professional: If you are a qualified healthcare professional with experience and wish to move to British Columbia, this stream is for you. Health match British Columbia is a free to use recruitment portal where you can look for a suitable opportunityThis stream is express entry aligned, and as such, the process expects that you have an Express Entry Profile. Please take note that this stream does not need the SIRS process. As an applicant, you may submit your Express Entry application directly online. To be eligible for this stream;
   1. You must have a full-time work offer from public health authority in the following capacity:
      1. Physician
      2. Specialist
      3. Registered Nurse
      4. Registered Psychiatric Nurse
      5. A tertiary health care professional
         0. Diagnostic Sonographer
         1. Pharmacist
         2. Laboratory Technologist
         3. Radiation Technologist
         4. Occupational Therapist
         5. Physiotherapist
   2. As an applicant, you must meet the language and educational requirements for this stream.
   3. The offered job must come with at least minimum wage as identified by the British Columbia authorities for the occupation.
   4. You should be able to establish bonafide experience, proving that you have a minimum of 2 years of direct experience in line with the job offer in hand.
   5. Your employer must qualify requirements set by the British Columbia authorities.

   Download application stages and process guide.

3. EEBritish Columbia International Graduate: This stream is for recently graduated alumnae of Canadian educational institutions. If you are a recent graduate from a Canadian educational institute and have a job offer in British Columbia, this stream is for you. To be eligible for this stream;
   1. You need to have completed a degree, diploma or certificate level education from a Canadian post-secondary educational institution. The recency of the educational qualification cannot be older than three years at the time of application.
   2. You must have a full-time job offer from a British Columbia business; this position needs to be a skilled profession per Canada’s National Occupational Classification 0, A or B.
   3. You must be eligible for at least one of the following Canadian federal programs:
      1. Federal Skilled Worker Class
      2. Federal Skilled Trades Class
      3. Canadian Experience Class
   4. You will need to meet the minimum language requirements set for this stream.
   5. Your employer must qualify requirements set by the British Columbia authorities.
   6. Your employer must qualify requirements set by the British Columbia authorities

   Download application stages and process guide.

4. EEBritish Columbia International Post-graduate: This stream will be interesting to you if you hold a Master degree or a PhD in any of the natural, applied or health sciences. This stream does not need a job offer. However, you will need an express entry profile. Other requirements are;
   1. You must be a graduate from an educational institute in British Columbia in the last three years in any of the following:
      1. Health profession and clinical sciences
      2. Biomedical sciences
      3. Mathematics and Statistics
      4. Physical sciences
      5. Agricultural sciences
      6. Engineering and engineering technology
      7. Computer science and engineering
   2. You must be a current resident of British Columbia with a minimum of three years residence in the province.

   Download application stages and process guide

British Columbia Skills Immigration Streams

1. Skills Imigration (SI) Skilled Worker: Other than the applicant not requiring an Express entry profile at the time of application, this stream is similar to EEBritish Columbia Skilled. You will need to meet the following criteria to be eligible for this stream:
   1. You must have a full-time employment offer from a British Columbia business.
   2. The job at hand has to be skilled under sec 0, A or B of the Canadian National Occupational Classification (NOC).
   3. If you have been employed under the NOC skill level B, you must meet the minimum language proficiency level set by British Columbia for this stream.
   4. You’ll need to have a minimum of 2 years of direct experience of the job opportunity at the time of application.
   5. The compensation offered by this employment must provide the minimum wage at the least as prescribed by British Columbia wage rates for the occupation.
   6. Your employer must qualify requirements set by the British Columbia authorities.

   Download application stages and process guide

2. SI Healthcare Professional: This British Columbia immigration stream is of particular interest to qualified healthcare professionals as it has been created with demand for healthcare professionals in British Columbia. If you are a healthcare professional with a job offer in British Columbia, you’ll have to meet the following requirements to qualify under this stream:
   1. You must have a permanent position job offer from public health authority in any of the following positions:
      1. Physician
      2. Specialist
      3. Registered Nurse
      4. Registered Psychiatric Nurse
      5. A tertiary health care professional
         0. Diagnostic Sonographer
         1. Pharmacist
         2. Laboratory Technologist
         3. Radiation Technologist
         4. Occupational Therapist
         5. Physiotherapist
      6. Midwife: This job will require you to be either registered with or eligible to be registered with the College of Midwives of British Columbia. As an applicant to this position, you must also have a confirmation letter from any registered Midwife group mentioning your enrollment in the group for a minimum of 6 months.
      7. You must have at least two years of directly job-related experience to qualify for this stream.
      8. The job must offer at least the minimum wage in line with the British Columbia minimum wage regulations.
      9. For NOC skill level B, you must meet the minimum language set for this stream.
      10. Your employer must qualify requirements set by the British Columbia authorities.

   Download application stages and process guide

3. SI International graduate: Are you a graduate of a Canadian educational institute? Do you have a job offer from a business in British Columbia?
   If you answered yes to these questions, then this immigration stream is for you. You’ll have to qualify the following requirements:
   1. You must have completed an educational qualification (degree, diploma or certificate) from a Canadian educational institution within the last three years at the time of applying.
   2. You must have a full-time job offer from a business based in British Columbia.
   3. You must meet the minimum language requirements as per NOC Skill Level.
   4. The job must conform to the minimum wage guidelines of British Columbia.
   5. Your employer must qualify requirements set by the British Columbia authorities.

   Download application stages and process guide

4. SI Entry Level and Semi-Skilled: This stream caters to hospitality, tourism and long-distance overland transportation industries.
   Federally and provincially, this immigration stream is not aligned with the express entry program; you can apply under this stream even if you don’t qualify under the express entry stream. You will need the following to be eligible for this program:
   1. You must have a permanent job from a British Columbia business in the following verticals.
   2. Hospitality and Tourism: Eligible occupations are
      1. Hotel Front Desk Clerks
      2. Hotel Front Desk Clerks
      3. Outdoor Sport and Recreational Guides
      4. Casino Occupations
      5. Maîtres d’hotel and Hosts/Hostesses
      6. Bartenders
      7. Food and Beverage Servers
      8. Food Counter Attendants, Kitchen Helpers and Related Occupations
      9. Light Duty Cleaners
      10. Specialized Cleaners
      11. Janitors, Caretakers and Building Superintendents
      12. Support Occupations in Accommodation, Travel and Facilities Set-Up Services
      13. Dry Cleaning, Laundry and Related Occupations
      14. Other Service Support Occupations
          1. Long-distance road transport
          2. Food processing industry: Eligible occupations are
             0. Process Control and Machine Operators, Food and Beverage Processing
             1. Industrial Butchers and Meat Cutters, Poultry Preparers and Related Workers
             2. Fish and Seafood Plant Workers
             3. Testers and Graders, Food, Beverage and Associated Products Processing
             4. Labourers in Food, Beverage and Associated Products Processing
             5. Labourers in Fish and Seafood Processing
   3. You must be working in this job for at least nine months when applying under this stream.
   4. Your salary should be in line with the minimum wage guidelines of British Columbia.
   5. You will need to meet the minimum language requirements of CLB 4 in listening, reading, writing and speaking.
   6. You will need to be at least a high school graduate. Graduation country will not matter. However, your educational certificates must be verified by an ECA agency.

   Download application stages and process guide

5. British Columbia Tech PNP: Tech PNP stream has been created to attract technically talented professionals to British Columbia and meet the demand of local tech businesses. This immigration stream is aligned with the SIRS process. You’ll need to qualify on the following eligibility criteria to apply for this stream before the SIRS:
   1. Your job offer must be for a one-year minimum period.
   2. When applying, your job offer must have a minimum of 120 days (4 months) left.
   3. You must have a job offer from a British Columbia tech business from any of the following:
      1. Telecommunication carriers managers
      2. Computer and information systems managers
      3. Civil engineers
      4. Managers – publishing, motion pictures, broadcasting and performing arts
      5. Mechanical engineers
      6. Electrical and electronics engineers
      7. Chemical engineers
      8. Computer engineers (except software engineers and designers)
      9. Information systems analysts and consultants
      10. Database analysts and data administrators
      11. Software engineers and designers
      12. Computer programmers and interactive media developers
      13. Web designers and developers
      14. Biological technologists and technicians
      15. Electrical and electronics engineering technologists and technicians
      16. Electronic service technicians (household and business equipment)
      17. Industrial instrument technicians and mechanics
      18. Computer network technicians
      19. User support technicians
      20. Information systems testing technicians
      21. Authors and writers
      22. Editors
      23. Translators, terminologists and interpreters
      24. Broadcast technicians
      25. Audio and video recording technicians
      26. Other technical and co-ordinating occupations in motion pictures, broadcasting and the performing arts
      27. Support occupations in motion pictures, broadcasting, photography and the performing arts
      28. Graphic designers and illustrators
      29. Technical sales specialists – wholesale trade

   Download application stages and process guide

British Columbia Entrepreneur Immigration Streams

1. British Columbia Entrepreneur: If you are an individual with extensive business experience, this British Columbia immigration stream will be of particular interest to you. You’ll need to make a British Columbia PNP profile. The province of British Columbia will rank your profile on a scale of 200 points according to the British Columbia Entrepreneur Ranking SystemUnder this stream, you may be nominated for permanent resident status after operating the business for 18 months in British Columbia. Here are points that you will have to qualify under if you want to apply under the British Columbia Entrepreneur Immigration Stream:Your language proficiency score for English or French must be at least 4 in all reading, writing, listening, and speaking categories.
   1. You must have a College or University degree (must be ECA certified)
   2. You must have at least three years of experience in owning a successful business, or you must have a minimum of 4 years of experience as a senior manager in a company. Or have owned a business for at least a year with a minimum of 2 years of experience as a senior manager.
   3. You must be capable of investing CAD 200,000 in the business and have a minimum net worth of CAD 600,000.
   4. You must also sign off on a performance agreement, a list of conditions that you must fulfil to receive the permanent residence nomination.

   Download application stages and process guide

2. British Columbia Strategic Projects: This (sub) stream falls under the aegis of the British Columbia Entrepreneur program. This stream allows international businesses to expand their business to British Columbia.If you represent a business enterprise interested in making a move into British Columbia, you must get in touch with British Columbia PNP and create a business profile on the portal. Your company will be evaluated and must qualify the following criteria to be considered under this program.
   1. Your company must have a minimum annual turnover of CAD 20 million.
   2. Your company must pledge a minimum of CAD 500,000 to invest in the British Columbia branch of the business.
   3. Your company must pledge to hire a minimum of 3 Canadian nationals or permanent residents in the British Columbia business.
   4. Your company has the option to relocate a maximum of 5 individuals from overseas to Canada. If your company is able to meet or exceed the performance agreement, these 5 employees may gain Canadian permanent residence.

   Download application stages and process guide