On December 8, British Columbia called 256 immigration candidates to apply for a provincial nomination for Canadian permanent residence. British Columbia has now invited around 9,000 immigration candidates to apply for a provincial nomination in 2020.

The invitations that were issued in this draw went to those candidates who were registered in the Skilled Workers and International Graduates categories of the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program BC PNP Skills Immigration and Express Entry BC programs.

The British Columbia PNP Express categories are open for those candidates who possess a valid profile in the federal Express Entry system. The federal Express Entry System is responsible for managing the three main economic immigration streams of Canada. Those streams are:

• Federal Skilled Worker Class

• Federal Skilled Trades Class 

• Canadian Experience Class

The Skills Immigration (SI) category is for the skilled and semi-skilled workers who have their occupations in demand in British Columbia. The minimum score requirements in the draw varied between 77 and 97 points. The five EEBC and SI categories were involved.

The breakdown of the minimum scores is as follows:

• SI – Skilled Worker: 95
• SI – International Graduate: 95
• SI – Entry Level and Semi-Skilled: 77
• EEBC – Skilled Worker: 97
• EEBC – International Graduate: 97

To receive an invitation through the Express Entry British Columbia, the candidates must need to register under both systems:

• Federal Express Entry system
• C.’s Skills Immigration Registration System (SIRS)

Applicants who received a call for participation, now have up to 30 calendar days from the date of invitation to submit an entire application via the BC PNP Online registration system.

To be considered under the BC PNP, most candidates must have an indeterminate, full-time job offer from an employer within the province who is willing to support them through the appliance process.

Express Entry is the federal government’s application management system. Express Entry candidates are given points that supported human capital factors like age, work experience, education, and language proficiency in English or French.
Express Entry candidates with a provincial nomination receive a further 600 points toward their Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score.