BC PNP Programs
Program Overview:
British Columbia (BC) Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) is an economic immigration program launched in 2001 aimed to attract highly-skilled, in-demand workers and experienced entrepreneurs to seek permanent residence in BC while contributing to its economic development. Candidates who receive the nomination and their family members can apply for Canadian permanent residence.
BC's Quota for PNP:
The number of nominations depends on various program and economic factors, including BC's annual allocation, historic BC PNP nomination trends and existing application inventory levels.
BC PNP allocations set by the federal government are as follows:
- 2019 -- 6500
- 2018 -- 6250
- 2017 -- 6000
- 2016 -- 5800
- 2015 -- 5500
- 2014 -- 4150
- 2013 -- 3800
Minimum Income Requirements
To be eligible for the BC PNP's Skills Immigration streams, except for the International Post-Graduate stream, applicants must meet minimum income requirements according to their annual wage in BC, location of residence in BC, and number of dependants:
| Size of Family | Greater Vancouver Regional District | Rest of BC |
| 1 | $22,804 | $19,006 |
| 2 | $28,390 | $23,659 |
| 3 | $34,902 | $29,087 |
| 4 | $42,376 | $35,316 |
| 5 | $48,062 | $40,054 |
| 6 | $54,205 | $45,175 |
| 7 or more | $60,350 | $50,296 |
BC PNP Categories:
BC PNP offers 3 pathways for skills and business immigrants to become permanent residents in BC:
- Express Entry (EEBC)
- Skills Immigration (SI)
- Entrepreneur Immigration (EI)
1 Express Entry BC (EEBC)
EEBC is an online application process for applying to IRCC for permanent residence. IRCC offers faster processing of permanent residence applications (6 months or less). It is only for skilled occupations (NOC 0, A or B).
Applicants must meet the minimum criteria for one of IRCC’s federal economic immigration programs (Federal Skilled Worker Program, Federal Skilled Trades Program, and Canadian Experience Class), including work experience, language and settlement funds.
2 Skills Immigration (SI)
Skills Immigration (SI) is for skilled and semi-skilled workers in high-demand occupations in BC. It is a paper application process for applying to IRCC for permanent residence. It is for all legible occupations in NOC 0, A, B, C and D. Entry Level and Semi-Skilled category applicants need BC work experience. Skilled workers may have work experience from abroad. Recent international graduates of a Canadian university or college may not need any work experience, depending on the job being offered.
SI Categories:
- SI - Skilled Worker
- SI - Healthcare Professional
- SI - International Graduate
- SI - International Post-Graduate
- SI - Entry Level and Semi-Skilled (Including employment in the Northeast Development Region of B.C.)
3 Entrepreneur Immigration (EI)
The Entrepreneur Immigration (EI) stream is for high net worth business people who can invest in and actively manage a valid business in BC to support innovation and economic growth in the province. Applicants must also have the required personal and investment funds.
It is a points-based system without any Express Entry options. Registrations are scored within 6 weeks and application decisions are typically made within 4 months.
4 BC PNP Registration:
Applicants who are interested to apply to the BC PNP need to register with the Skills Immigration Registration System (SIRS) first. SIRS is a points-based online registration and application system that helps BC select the best workers to meet labour market needs. Eligible registrants under the Skilled Worker, Entry Level and Semi-Skilled, and International Graduate categories will receive an invitation to apply under the Skills Immigration stream.
Applicants in the following categories don't need to register with SIRS, they may proceed directly to the application via BCPNP Online:
- Skills Immigration – Healthcare Professional
- Skills Immigration – International Post-Graduate
- Express Entry BC – Healthcare Professional
- Express Entry BC – International Post-Graduate
Registration Scoring:
BC PNP ranks applicants' registration score alongside other registrants in the same category. The score is based on their job, its location in BC and the offered wage, as well as their work experience, education and language ability. Periodically, BC PNP conducts a draw to invite the highest-scoring registrants to apply.
| Scoring Sections | Maximum Points | |
| Economic Factors (120 points) | Skill Level of the BC Job Offer | 60 |
| Wage of the B.C. Job Offer | 50 | |
| Regional District of Employment | 10 | |
| Human Capital Factors (80 points) | Directly Related Work Experience | 25 |
| Highest Level of Education | 25 | |
| Language | 30 | |
| Total Points Available | 200 | |
Guaranteed invitations:
Applicants who achieve or exceed these registration scores are guaranteed to receive an invitation to apply (ITA) in the next draw for their category. An ITA may be issued for scores lower than these minimums. Guaranteed invitation scores are subject to change.
| Category | Guaranteed Registration Score |
| Skills Immigration - Skilled Worker | 135 |
| Skills Immigration - International Graduate | 105 |
| Skills Immigration - Entry Level and Semi-Skilled (includes Northeast) | 95 |
| Express Entry BC - Skilled Worker | 135 |
| Express Entry BC - International Graduate | 105 |
5 Recent BC PNP draw results
Skills Immigration (SI) and Express Entry BC (EEBC):
| Date | Category | Minimum Score | Number of Invitations |
| 07-Jan-20 | SI - Skilled Worker | 100 | |
| SI - International Graduate | 103 | ||
| SI - Entry Level and Semi-Skilled | 85 | ||
| EEBC - Skilled Worker | 110 | ||
| EEBC - International Graduate | 105 | ||
| Total number of invitations issued: | 173 | ||
Entrepreneur Immigration (EI):
| Date | Stream | Score | Number of Invitations |
| 17-Dec-19 | EI - Base Category | 118 | 24 |
| 17-Dec-19 | EI - Regional Pilot | 112 | 8 |
| 26-Nov-19 | EI - Regional Pilot | 120 | 7 |
| 12-Nov-19 | EI - Base Category | 112 | 18 |
| 12-Nov-19 | EI - Regional Pilot | 121 | 5 |
| 29-Oct-19 | EI - Base Category | 114 | 19 |
| 29-Oct-19 | EI - Regional Pilot | 110 | 5 |
| 08-Oct-19 | EI - Regional Pilot | 106 | 7 |
| 17-Sep-19 | EI - Base Category | 115 | 30 |
| 17-Sep-19 | EI - Regional Pilot | 108 | 8 |
| 20-Aug-19 | EI - Base Category | 110 | 18 |
| 20-Aug-19 | EI - Regional Pilot | 111 | 6 |
| 30-Jul-19 | EI - Base Category | 114 | 22 |
| 30-Jul-19 | EI - Regional Pilot | 111 | 6 |
| 13-Jun-19 | EI - Base Category | 117 | 20 |
| 13-Jun-19 | EI - Regional Pilot | 118 | 5 |
| 07-May-19 | EI - Base Category | 109 | 20 |
| 26-Mar-19 | EI - Base Category | 106 | 23 |
| 27-Feb-19 | EI - Base Category | 108 | 19 |
| 30-Jan-19 | EI - Base Category | 109 | 19 |