The BC Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) is an economic immigration program. It lets the Province select economic immigrants who will live in B.C. and help fill job vacancies or operate businesses.

If you are nominated, you and your family can apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for permanent residence in Canada.

The BC PNP has two main components:

• Skills Immigration is for workers and recent graduates with the skills, experience and qualifications needed by B.C. employers

  
  

• Entrepreneur Immigration is for experienced entrepreneurs who intend to create and actively manage a business in the province

Skills Immigration streams and eligibility:

• Skilled Worker

  The Skilled Worker stream is for experienced workers in a professional, management, technical, trade or other occupations to gain permanent residence in B.C. To qualify for this stream, you must:

  
  

  • Have accepted an indeterminate* (no defined end date), full-time, job offer from a B.C. employer

    • Your job offer must be classified as NOC TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3

  • Be qualified to perform the duties of the job

  • Have a minimum of two years of full-time (or full-time equivalent) work experience at NOC TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3

  • Meet minimum language requirements

  • Have a wage offer in line with B.C. wage rates for the occupation

  • Show you can support yourself and your dependants

    
    

  Your employer must agree to support your application and must meet certain requirements.

  
  

  * Your job offer does not need to be indeterminate if it is in a priority technology occupation or is in NOC 41200 (university professors and lecturers). 

  
  

• Health Authority

  The Health Authority stream gives a permanent residence pathway to people working for a health authority in B.C. If you are a physician, midwife or a nurse practitioner, you may also be eligible to apply under the Health Authority stream.

  
  

   You do not need to register for this stream. If you meet eligibility requirements, you can submit an application directly to the BC PNP. To qualify for this stream, you must:

  
  

  • Have one of the following:

    • An indeterminate* (no defined end date), full-time job offer from a B.C. public health authority

    • A letter from a health authority or midwife practice group that confirms that you are a physician, nurse practitioner, or midwife in British Columbia

  • Meet the education, training, experience and qualification requirements outlined by the public health authority

  • The health authority must agree to support your application. 

  • Your job offer does not need to be indeterminate if it is in a priority technology occupation.

• Entry Level and Semi-Skilled (ELSS)

  The Entry Level and Semi-Skilled stream is a way for workers in select occupations in the tourism/hospitality or food processing sectors to gain permanent residence in B.C. To qualify for this stream, you must:

  
  

  • Have accepted an indeterminate (no defined end date), full-time job offer from a B.C. employer, and:

    • Your occupation must be on the list of eligible occupations for your sector. All ELSS-eligible occupations are classified as NOC TEER 4 or 5

    • For the Northeast Development Region of B.C., you may apply if you are working in any NOC TEER category 4 or 5  occupation, other than live-in caregivers

  • Have been working full-time for your employer for a minimum of nine consecutive months before registering.

  • Be qualified to do the job offered to you, including meeting any certification or registration requirements in B.C.

  • Meet minimum language and education requirements

  • Have a wage offer in line with B.C. wage rates for the occupation

  • Show you can support yourself and your dependants

  • Your employer must agree to support your application and must meet certain requirements.

  • Please note that this stream does not have the Express Entry BC option.

    
    

  • Current Eligible ELSS occupations (**Subject to changes by BC PNP)

    
    

    Occupations in travel and accommodation

    
    

    64314 Hotel front desk clerks

    
    

    Tour and recreational guides and casino occupations

    
    

    64320 Tour and travel guides

    
    

    64321 Casino workers

    
    

    64322 Outdoor sport and recreational guides

    
    

    Occupations in food and beverage service

    
    

    64300 Maîtres d’hotel and hosts/hostesses

    
    

    64301 Bartenders

    
    

    65200 Food and beverage servers

    
    

    65201 Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support occupations

    
    

    Cleaners (employed directly by hotels/resorts*)

    
    

    65210 Support occupations in accommodation, travel and facilities set-up services

    
    

    65310 Light duty cleaners

    
    

    65311 Specialized cleaners

    
    

    65312 Janitors, caretakers and heavy-duty cleaners

    
    

    Other service occupations (employed directly by hotels/resorts*)

    
    

    65320 Dry cleaning, laundry and related occupations

    
    

    65329 Other service support occupations

    
    

    *For the purposes of the BC PNP, a resort is defined as an accommodation facility that is associated with recreational activities. These activities can include skiing, golfing, boating, fishing, biking, swimming, horseback riding, hiking, nature-based or interpretive tours, etc.

    
    

    Food processing

    
    

    94140 Process control and machine operators, food and beverage processing

    
    

    94141 Industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers and related workers

    
    

    94142 Fish and seafood plant workers

    
    

    94143 Testers and graders, food and beverage processing

    
    

    95106 Labourers in food and beverage processing

    
    

• International Graduate

  The International Graduate stream is a way for recent graduates with a degree or diploma from an eligible Canadian post-secondary institution to get permanent residence and stay in B.C. To qualify for this stream, you must: 

  
  

  • Have completed a degree, diploma or certificate from an eligible post-secondary institution in Canada in the past three years

  • Have accepted an indeterminate* (no defined end date), full-time job offer from a B.C. employer. The job must be classified as NOC TEER category 1, 2, or 3

    • management occupations (NOC TEER 0) are not eligible under this stream

  • Be qualified to work in your occupation in B.C.

  • Meet minimum language requirements

  • Have a wage offer in line with B.C. wage rates for the occupation

  • Show you can support yourself and your dependants

  • Your employer must agree to support your application and must meet certain requirements.

  • * Your job offer does not need to be indeterminate if it is in a priority technology occupation. 

    
    

• International Post-Graduate

  The International Post-Graduate stream is for recent graduates of an eligible B.C. post-secondary institution with an eligible master’s or doctoral degree. PhD candidates at a public B.C. post-secondary institution may also be eligible.

  
  

  You do not need a job offer from an employer to apply to this stream. 

  
  

  You do not need to register for this stream. If you meet eligibility requirements, you can apply.

  
  

  To qualify for this stream, you must have obtained eligible graduate-level education from an eligible program of study at a post-secondary institution in B.C. in the last three years.

  Eligible education includes:

  • Master’s degrees in an eligible program in the natural, applied or health sciences disciplines from a B.C. post-secondary institution. Please see the BC PNP IPG Programs of Study in Eligible Fields for more information

  • Doctoral degrees in any field of study from a public B.C. post-secondary institution

  • PhD students in any field of study who have been admitted to candidacy at a public B.C. post-secondary institution

  
  

  You must also demonstrate that you have the ability and intent to live, work and economically establish in B.C.

 Would you like to know your eligibility against the full criteria for BC PNP streams? Schedule an Initial Consultation to receive personalized assistance and guidance on your immigration journey.

DISCLAIMER: The information presented in this article serves as a general overview of the subject matter. While accurate at the time of publication, there may have been subsequent developments. For the most current updates or tailored legal guidance based on your individual situation, please contact us directly.