In 2021, the province of British Columbia sent around 12,000 invitations for letting applicants apply further to gain a provincial nomination. 71 invitations were sent to workers in the field of Information Technology, to those who had applied to the specific stream under the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program. The nominations from the province were then finalized on 14 December.
The economic pathway for immigration under the BC PNP introduced by the government of the province of British Columbia was designed to attract those workers who have experience in this high-demand IT field. The people who apply through this program have a chance to be living and working in this province and also gain permanent residency here.
The applicants who were sent the invites through the draw for the BC PNP tech stream will have to meet the eligibility criteria set under the Express Entry stream of BC PNP, managed by the Skills and Immigration Registration System of the country. Applicants who were sent the invites through this draw were mostly those who had applied through the Skilled Worker and International Graduate Stream of BC PNP. The minimum provincial score they were required to have is 80. The candidates who received these invites now have around 30 days to complete the submission of their complete application for a nomination. 12,000 invites have been issued for a provincial nomination by British Columbia.
The BC PNP Tech program
This pathway was introduced in 2017 May, then it was still a pilot project introduced after the study of the labor market, which found that the big issue with the market of British Columbia was that its IT sector was not having access to any talent. After this project saw access, the government of the province decided to make the program permanent in its Provincial Nominee Program. The program enables employers in the Information Technology sector of the province to attract and choose from the talent of international workers, from people who are highly qualified but not locally available.
The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program acts as a fast immigration pathway for workers in the tech industry as well as international students. Applicants should have registered themselves in an existing British Columbia Provincial immigration pathway. The candidate will also have to have a valid job offer, that promises to employ for a minimum time period of 12 months, The job offer should be for work in one of the 29 occupations that are considered eligible under the BC PNP.
Unlike other streams and pathways of the BC PNP, the job offers that an applicant receives under the tech stream should promise a minimum of one year of work, and this should be submitted within 120 days of the time when they submit their application for a provincial nomination. The work offered should be full-time and the employer offers it should be eligible.
The applicants who have received an invitation to further apply for gaining a provincial nomination will be required to submit their completed and accurate application. When this is done, the application processing time can be 2-3 months.
On approval of the application, the concerned person will be sent a confirmation letter for the nomination. This will be required when applying for Canada PR through IRCC. An applicant with a provincial nomination can easily gain an additional 600 score points under the Comprehensive Ranking System. This gives the candidate a very good chance to receive an ITA while applying under the Express Entry Program.
