Eligibility Requirements for Skilled Workers Under the British Columbia PNP

British Columbia is a highly developed multicultural province that attracts immigrants from across the world – specifically to the city of Vancouver – owing to the burgeoning economy, reliable healthcare services, competitive wages, employment benefits, affordable cost of living, ethnic diversity, and lucrative job opportunities. Through the British Columbia PNP, the provincial government nominates qualified foreign nationals to apply for permanent residence to the federal authority – Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

The BC PNP has several distinct immigration pathways or ‘categories’ dedicated towards skilled workers, international graduates, healthcare professionals, entrepreneurs, semi-skilled and entry level workers, etc. Skilled workers who have the qualifications and experience required to fill job vacancies in certain occupations that are facing labor shortages in BC, can apply for nomination through the Skilled Worker stream under the Skills Immigration category.

In order to be eligible for this stream, Canada immigration aspirants must fulfil the following requirements:

• Accept a job offer from a BC employer for full-time indeterminate employment in an eligible occupation. The position must be located in BC, and assure competitive wage rates. Such employment must economically benefit the province, and not have an adverse impact on the labor market conditions.
• Have at least two years of full-time or equivalent part-time work experience that is directly related to the skilled occupation for which the job has been offered, and possess the qualifications and credentials required for that position. The job offer must be in an occupation listed under the National Occupational Classification (NOC) Skill Type 0 or Skill Level A or B.
• Applicants who have been offered a job in an occupation listed under NOC Skill Level B must score Canadian Language Benchmark 4 or higher in each test component of an approved English or French language proficiency examination. Those with a valid job offer in NOC Skill Type 0 or Skill Level A need not submit language test results unless they are claiming points for language skills.
• Within the five years preceding application, the applicant or their spouse/common-law-partner should not have held a combined equity or ownership share of more than 10% in the company that will employ them in BC.
• Provide evidence of meeting the minimum income requirement, as per the number of accompanying dependent family members, annual wage and place of residence in BC.
• Be admissible to Canada, and not be a current refugee claimant. Applicants who are already residing and working in Canada must have a valid status and due authorization.

It is important to note that once an eligible aspirant registers for this category, their suitability for immigration is determined by a point-based system similar to the Canada points calculator, which allocates a point score to each candidate, based on relevant selection criteria.

To apply for the Skilled Worker stream of the Skills Immigration Category, an aspirant must first register online for the British Columbia PNP. Highest-scoring candidates are invited to apply for provincial nomination. If the application is approved, the nominee can submit an application for permanent residence to the IRCC through a paper-based process or online via the Express Entry System. Alternatively, skilled workers who already have a valid Express Entry profile can apply through the Express entry Category.