British Columbia invited 59 skilled migration candidates to apply for a provincial nomination in its latest Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) invitation draw.
All 59 applicants invited in this round of the draw, held on July 27, 2021, had work experience in key technology occupations.
Candidates were invited from the Skilled Worker and International Graduate subcategories of British Columbia’s Express Entry BC and Skills Immigration categories. They also needed a provincial score of at least 80 points on their profiles.
The invitations to apply (ITAs) for a provincial nomination were issued through the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) Tech pathway, which is a part of BC PNP – the provincial nomination program for skilled migration to British Columbia.
After this round of the draw, British Columbia has now invited 6,667 immigration candidates to apply for a provincial nomination for Canadian skilled migration.
The Tech program of the BC PNP was inaugurated in May 2017 as an immigration pilot, following a labour market study that highlighted British Columbia’s lack of access to tech talent.
After launch, the BC PNP Tech project was an instant hit among immigration candidates, so much so that British Columbia recently announced that it would become a permanent Canadian immigration program.
Today, BC PNP Tech is a fast-track immigration program for tech workers and international students having in-demand tech skills in the Canadian province.
To qualify for Canadian immigration through this program, candidates need to register under one of the BC PNP streams, and must have a valid, full-time job offer of at least one year from an employer in the province in one of 29 eligible occupations in British Columbia.
Eligible occupations include Engineers in various disciplines, Web designers and developers, Biological technologists and technicians, Graphic designers and illustrators, and Computer and information systems managers, to name just a few.
Invitation rounds for British Columbia’s tech program are held weekly, in which candidates with the highest scores – and who meet the eligibility requirements – are invited to apply for a provincial nomination from British Columbia.
Once invited by the Canadian province, tech candidates must submit a complete application, which will be processed within three months.
Candidates whose applications are approved will then receive a confirmation of being nominated by British Columbia, which will enable them to apply for permanent residency in Canada through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
