BC PNP
BRITISH COLUMBIA PROVINCIAL
NOMINEE PROGRAM
Every province in Canada has designed specific immigration programs to target its own economic and demographic needs. These programs are referred to as Provincial Nomination Programs because the province can nominate specific individuals to be given permanent residency by the federal government.
This is how it works:
01
The foreign national applies to a provincial program he is eligible for
02
The province reviews his application and, if it is approved, issues a Provincial Nomination
03
The foreign national applies to permanent residency to the federal government by showing that they received a provincial nomination
04
The federal government reviews the application by making sure the foreign national is not inadmissible to Canada through a medical exam, biometrics, and a criminal background check. If everything is OK, the foreign national receives permanent residency.
The province of BC has several programs that appeal to different kinds of foreign nationals. When an applicant feels that he has the basic requirements for one of the programs, he submits his profile to the BC PNP registration portal and receives a points’ score. The points depend on various factors such as education, language levels, previous years of work experience, wage, and more. Every week, the BC PNP invites the candidates with the highest scores to submit an application to be nominated. The processing times for the nomination vary between a few days to a few months, depending on the type of job offer.
Here is a quick summary of each BC PNP category for professionals:
01
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This program requires a permanent full-time job offer from a BC employer in an NOC code level 0, A, or B. This means a job that is at a management, supervisor or professional level requiring some university degree or technical training.
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The company must have minimum 5 full time workers if it is in the Vancouver metropolitan area, or 3 full time workers if it is located in a municipality outside the Vancouver area.
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The foreign national must have minimum 2 years of related work experience for the job they are being offered.
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The wage for the job must also be similar to a median wage in BC for this position and meet the minimum income requirements for the foreign national and his family.
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If the job is level NOC B, a minimum English CBL level of 4.
SKILLED WORKER
02
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This program is very similar to the Skilled Worker program, with the exception that the applicant DOES NOT need to have previous work experience.
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The foreign national must have graduated from a Canadian university or college in the past 3 years. The program must be of at least 8 months, excluding co-op and internship time. It cannot be distance education online.
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It requires a permanent full-time job offer from a BC employer in an NOC code level 0, A, or B. This means a job that is at a management, supervisor or professional level requiring some university degree or technical training.
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The company must have minimum 5 full time workers if it is in the Vancouver metropolitan area, or 3 full time workers if it is located in a municipality outside the Vancouver area.
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The wage for the job must also be similar to a median wage in BC for this position and meet the minimum income requirements for the foreign national and his family.
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If the job is level NOC B, a minimum English CBL level of 4.
INTERNATIONAL
GRADUATE
03
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This is the only program that does not require a job offer.
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The foreign national must have graduated from a BC post secondary institution with a master’s or PHD in sciences. The list of eligible programs can be found here.
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The foreign national must prove that they CAN and INTEND to live and work in BC.
INTERNATIONAL POST-GRADUATE
04
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This program requires is created to fill labour shortages in specific industries in BC including tourism and hospitality, long-haul trucking or food processing
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It requires a permanent full-time job offer from a BC employer in an NOC code level C or D if you live in the Northeast area or in specific occupations in tourism and hospitality, long-haul trucking or food processing if you live in the rest of the province.
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The company must have minimum 5 full time workers if it is in the Vancouver metropolitan area, or 3 full time workers if it is located in a municipality outside the Vancouver area.
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The foreign national must have minimum 9 consecutive months of full-time work experience with the employer, in the job being used for the application.
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The wage for the job must also be similar to a median wage in BC for this position and meet the minimum income requirements for the foreign national and his family.
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Must have competed high school.
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A minimum English CBL level of 4.
ENTRY LEVEL AND SEMI-SKILLED (AND NORTHEAST DEVELOPMENT)
Jobs to Obtain Permanent Residency for Couples Living in Canada
If you consider that you qualify for one of these programs, book an appointment with our regulated immigration consultant to review all the details of your case and start your application.