Invitations to apply for a provincial nomination were issued to foreign tech workers and international students through the BC PNP.

British Columbia held a new Tech Pilot draw on July 7 and issued 57 invitations.

The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) Tech Pilot was launched in 2017 to assist employers in attracting potential immigrants in the Information Technology (IT) sector and to facilitate the immigration process for foreign tech workers and international students.

The BC PNP issues weekly Tech Pilot invitations to eligible candidates with a valid one-year job offer in one of the program’s specified occupations. The job offer must also have at least 120 days remaining at the time of application.

The July 7 draw saw invitations issued to candidates in the Skilled Worker and International Graduate categories of the Express Entry BC (EEBC) and Skills Immigration streams.

Selected candidates in all the subcategories needed a minimum provincial score of 80.

Express Entry candidates who receive a nomination from British Columbia will be awarded an additional 600 points toward their Express Entry Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score and are effectively guaranteed an Invitation To Apply (ITA) in a future federal draw.

In order to be considered for immigration to British Columbia through the Skilled Worker and International Graduate categories, individuals must first create a profile through the BC PNP online portal and register under the program’s Skills Immigration Registration System (SIRS).

Latest BC PNP Tech Pilot figures

The province of British Columbia has conducted 14 tech-only draws so far in 2020 through its BC PNP, with the most recent draws prior to today’s draw taking place on June 9 and June 23.

Recent statistical data show that last year was a big year for B.C. immigration in terms of registrants, nominees, and the Tech Pilot.

The number of Tech Pilot nominations was 1,509 in 2019, a 33 per cent increase over 2018. Tech Pilot nominations accounted for 23 per cent of all nominations, up from 17.4 per cent in 2018.

In addition, it should be noted that B.C. continues to invite foreign workers and graduates in non-tech occupations.

Last week, the province held its largest draw since the start of the coronavirus pandemic and the second largest of 2020. A total of 314 Express Entry and Skills Immigration candidates were invited in that draw. That number of invitations is comparable to the number of invitations issued in the largest draw that took place on March 10, before the start of the pandemic, when 332 invitations were issued.