BC issued invitations to 8 Entrepreneur candidates and another 208 Skilled Worker and International Graduate candidates on February 2.

British Columbia held a draw through its Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) on February 2, 2021.

A total of 208 Skilled Worker and International Graduate candidates received invitations to apply for a provincial nomination under the province’s Express Entry BC (EEBC) and Skills Immigration categories. The minimum required score for candidates varied by category.

The cut-off scores for Express Entry BC subcategories were:

• Skilled Worker: 104
• International Graduate: 100

Candidates in this category needed to have already submitted profiles under Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada’s Express Entry system. Once they receive their invitation to apply for a provincial nomination from B.C., successful candidates will earn an additional 600 Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points which will effectively guarantee that they will receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence under IRCC’s Express Entry system.

The cut-off scores for the three Skills Immigration subcategories were:

• Skilled Worker: 98
• International Graduate: 98
• Entry Level and Semi-Skilled: 79

The B.C. government indicated that there was an impact of the coronavirus on the draw. As has been the case in recent months, B.C. excluded several sales and service occupations from the draw.

B.C. holds draws through its various PNP categories and streams on a weekly basis.

So far this year 740 invitations have been issued by the BC PNP.

To apply for the Skills Immigration or Express Entry BC categories candidates must first create a profile through the BC PNP’s online portal and register under its Skills Immigration Registration System (SIRS).

Applicants are evaluated and issued a score based on factors such as level of education, work experience, proficiency in English and location of employment.

What is the Skills Immigration stream?

This pathway to permanent residence is for eligible foreign workers who usually already have a job offer in B.C.

There are five categories under SI, four of them are aligned with the federal government’s Express Entry system:

• Skilled Worker Category — for people who have a job offer and several years of experience in a skilled occupation;
• Healthcare Professional Category — physicians, nurses, psychiatric nurses or allied health professionals with job offers in one of 11 eligible occupations may apply for this category;
• International Graduate Category — for workers who have graduated from an eligible Canadian university or college in the last three years;
• International Post-Graduate Category— Master’s or Ph.D. graduates from eligible B.C. post-secondaries in the natural, applied, or health sciences may apply for this category without a job offer; and
• Entry Level and Semi-Skilled Worker Category — for entry-level or semi-skilled workers with jobs in tourism, hospitality, food processing, or long-haul trucking, or those in entry-level or semi-skilled positions living and working in the Northeast Development Region of British Columbia. This is the only SI category that does not apply to candidates in the Express Entry system.

Entrepreneur Streams

B.C. also invited candidates to its entrepreneur stream for the first time in two months.

A total of 8 invitations were issued under the BC PNP’s Entrepreneur Immigration Base Category. 

The cut-off score was 122.

The purpose of the Base Category is to welcome established entrepreneurs who either wish to start a business or take over one. Candidates are assessed based on criteria such as their business experience, net worth, education, business plan, and the amount of investment they plan to make.