The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) held its first draw of 2022. It resulted in invitations to apply for provincial nominations under its new permanent Tech stream.
British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program Tech draw is a fast-track, employer-driven immigration program. It targets international students and in-demand tech workers including engineers to apply for provincial nominations.
January 04 BC PNP Tech draw nominated 102 such tech workers.
The invited candidates must meet the requirements of either Express Entry or Skills Immigration provincial categories to qualify. Both these categories are managed by the Skills & Immigration Registration System (SIRS). Eligible profiles are assessed and evaluated on SIRS based on criteria like age, education, work experience, language proficiency, and others.
Invited candidates had a provincial score of 80 points and above in this draw. This is five points higher than the previous qualifying score of 75 points.
The BC PNP Tech program gives people who choose to live and work in British Columbia a path to Canada permanent residency.
Qualify for Upcoming British Columbia Provincial Nominee Tech Program
Generally, the Provincial Nominee Program requires eligible candidates to have work experience and a valid job offer. BC PNP Tech program requires immigration candidates to have work experience in one of 29 eligible occupations.
Some in-demand tech occupations include:
- Web designers & developers,
- Graphic designers, and illustrators,
- Software engineers and designers,
- Civil Engineers,
- Mechanical Engineers,
- Chemical Engineers,
- Software Engineers,
- Tech Managers,
- Media technicians,
- Writers/Editors etc.
Invited candidates will need to submit a complete application within the next 30 days. The province processes most tech applications within two to three months.
Last year, British Columbia upgraded its pilot Tech program into a permanent residence program. It was expected to boost the immigration of in-demand tech workers and international students in the province.
In fact, British Columbia became the only Provincial Nominee Program in 2021 to issue around 12,000 invitations for a provincial nomination. The Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program followed up next with just over 10,000 invitations.
Together, Canada Provincial Nominee Programs issued nearly 80,000 invitations in 2021 through various streams. Many provincial streams became a pathway for Canada permanent residency.
Apply for Canada Permanent Residency
Since the launch of Express Entry in 2015, all the Provincial Nominee Programs have had at least one dedicated stream that selects eligible candidates directly from the federal pool.
A successful provincial nomination will guarantee an invitation to apply for Canada permanent residency in subsequent federal nomination draws. It is because 600 points get added to the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score linked to your Express Entry profile.
Canada gave undue preference to candidates with prior provincial nominations or Canadian experience for permanent residency throughout 2020 and 2021. It resulted in neglecting Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) candidates. FSWP candidates form about 85 per cent in the federal pool and stay offshore with no work or study experience in Canada.
It may continue doing so until IRCC reduces the Express Entry backlog to more than half. Presently, there are about 119,000 pending applications, a little less compared to October when it was nearly 138,000.
Nevertheless, CanApprove recommends you enter the Express Entry pool as earlier as possible to increase your chances of qualifying for Canada permanent residency in near future. The profile is valid for up to two years.
Take this free assessment online to determine your eligibility.
CanApprove is running a dedicated program for Engineers to help them immigrate to Canada. Book your free appointment with CanApprove to find more targeted immigration programs based on your work or academic profile.