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Australian Citizenship Test to include five new Australian Values Questions

Nearly after a decade, the Australian government has decided to bring new changes in the Citizenship Test. Australia is now keen on testing the applicants on their knowledge of Australia’s core values.

The proposed addition of five questions from November 15 shall cover the following aspects: freedom of speech, mutual respect, equality of opportunity, the importance of democracy, and the rule of law.

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Australian Citizenship Test

No changes in other requirements like language, residency have been announced. Infact, candidates are encouraged to attain the highest level of proficiency in English. 

The Guardian even quoted Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on this. He said, “One of the things I learned when I was immigration minister and a social services minister is that people’s employment outcomes as a migrant to Australia rapidly increase if they have got a good strong command of English.” 

There are a total of 20 questions in Multiple-Choice format. Candidates are required to attain a minimum of 75% in the overall test to obtain Australian citizenship. However, they are required to get 100% on all the five newly added questions. The citizenship test is followed by an interview. 

The entire process may take over a year to complete. 

Some examples of possible questions

  • Are people in Australia free to marry anyone transcending the gender-social matrix?
  • Which of these form the core aspect of freedom of speech in Australia? 
  • What is the nature of state and federal polity in Australia?
  • Should people in Australia make an effort to learn English?
  • Is domestic violence an acceptable norm in Australia? 
  • Do you agree that men and women should be provided equality of opportunity when pursuing their goals?  
  • Is it acceptable to encourage violence against a person or a group if you have been insulted in public? 

However, you may not find the exact questions and these examples are only to help you analyse the nature of questions that may be asked. Get in touch with our Australian Immigration consultant for any further clarifications. 

The Current State of Australian Immigration

Australian immigration is witnessing an upward trend with the release of interim allocations for 190/491 visas to each state & territory. Australia even held its SkillSelect round for Subclass 189/491 visas last month. 

Australia seeks to strengthen its health and economy response through skilled-focussed immigration. Recently, Australia came up with a new Priority Migration Skills Occupations List (PMSOL) which included occupations in Health Care, Construction and IT sectors. 

The new PMSOL shall allow small numbers of sponsored skilled workers to return to Australia on priority basis. This will help fulfil urgent skills requirements in critical sectors, thereby helping to create jobs and rebuild the country’s economy. 

Australia even awarded close to 204,000 citizenships in 2019-20. It pushes the figure to a total of 686,000 citizenships in the past five years. 

Until the borders of Australia are kept close for normal immigration, CanApprove advises offshore aspirants to keep working on their skill set and language proficiency. It will strengthen their prospects to migrate to Australia in near future. 

Take this free online assessment to know your eligibility for immigration to Australia. . . 

P.E.I. invites 345 Economic Immigrants to apply for a Provincial Nomination

In times where developed countries label immigration as an economic burden on them, Canada sees an economic & social opportunity in increasing the levels of immigration even during the pandemic. 

The Canadian provinces are actively engaged in nominating eligible economic-class immigrants including skilled workers, international students and business entrepreneurs to eventually apply for permanent residence in Canada. 

Following this trend is the province of Prince Edward Island (PEI) which held a record-breaking provincial nomination draw on September 17. It resulted in issuing 345 invitations to apply for provincial nominations to eligible economic-class candidates under Express Entry, Labour & Business Impact Categories.

Even the previous all-program draw from Prince Edward Island Provincial Nominee Program (PEI PNP) held August 20 invited over 300 eligible candidates. 

Take this free online assessment to determine which Canada PNP best suits your profile.

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PEI Express Entry & Labour Impact Category

September 17 PEI PNP draw issued 313 invitations under the Express Entry & Labour Impact Category.

The PEI PNP Express Entry category is linked to the federal Express Entry system. Naturally the profiles registered under it have various occupations and skill sets. Thus, the Labour Impact Category includes Critical Worker, International Graduate which is more specific to province’s labour demand.

Any candidate to be considered under the Labour Impact Category must need a valid job offer in PEI, and their employer support. Whereas the federal Express Entry allows candidates with work experience and with/without job offer in Canada.

All the interested candidates who wish to receive a provincial nomination from PEI are required to create an Expression of Interest (EOI) profile with the province. Later, these selected candidates can apply for permanent residence in Canada through Express Entry pathway. 

A EOI profile is assessed and scored for a maximum of 100 points. It is based on six selection factors: age, language proficiency, education, work experience, employment, and adaptability. 

The press release did not provide a detailed category-wise breakdown to determine how many Express Entry and Labour Impact candidates were invited, nor the minimum EOI score required for each category.

PEI Business Impact Category

Business entrepreneurs are more than welcomed to run and operate a business in PEI. Such candidates are invited under the Work Permit Stream of PEI PNP.

Candidates willing to qualify under the Business Impact Category are evaluated on six selection factors like Age, Language, Education, Business Ownership or Senior Management Experience, Community Endorsement and Adaptability for a maximum of 200 points.

The latest nomination draw invited 32 candidates through the Business Impact Category. They were required to have a minimum EOI score of 102. This is particularly 10 points lesser than the previous August 20 PEI PNP draw.

September 17 PEI PNP now becomes its largest nomination draw ever. With this, the province is nearing a total of 2,000 provincial nominations over the past 12 months.

Canada has been experiencing demography shock- aging population and low birth rate for quite some years now. The current travel restrictions has only multiplied the need of more economic-class immigrants. Infact, a recent survey conducted by the World Education Services revealed that interest in moving to Canada has actually increased amid pandemic.

Iit is now safe to conclude that immigration to Canada is a mutual need.

CanApprove has been offering best-in-class immigration and overseas education consultancy since 1998. You may schedule an appointment with our expert consultants to begin your immigration process.

Top Weekly Highlights on Canada Immigration between 11- September to 18- September

Largest Express Entry Draws

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) held its second all-program Express Entry in the month of September alone. Such nomination draws allow foreign skilled workers, with or without a job offer, to apply for permanent residence in Canada

The September 16 draw had an increasing draw size of 4200 invitations to apply (ITAs) for permanent residence and a decreasing Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) qualifying requirement of 472.

It meant that registered profiles in the Express Entry pool which were assessed on their age, education, work experience, language proficiency in English or French, etc. and scored above the minimum cut-off were eligible for the September 16 draw.

New PNP Draws

Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Saskatchewan remained active in nominating immigrants to apply for permanent residence during the week. 

Saskatchewan opened up its International Skilled Worker category to nominate 621 candidates under the Express Entry and Occupations In-demand stream. Among the invited were candidates with occupations like Software Engineers and Designer  (NOC 2173), Computer Programming and Interactive Media Developers (NOC 2174), Web Designers and Developers (NOC 2175).

British Columbia held back-to-back Tech pilot draws followed by Skills Immigration and Express Entry draws. With these, the province had already surpassed the 6000 nominations in 2020.

Canada remains committed to strengthening its immigration system to overcome the ill-effects of pandemic. Even a recent study from Statistics Canada suggests that immigrants contribute significantly to Canadian firms. 

The regular conduct of Express Entry draws and Provincial Nominee draws displayed a strong intent to allow immigration even during the travel restriction. Special rules soon came into force for the new academic session to ease the impact of travel restrictions on the admissions of International Students.

Take this free online assessment to check your eligibility.

Increased Permanent Residence Intake

Canada is known to have admitted 13, 645 immigrants in the month of July. Although Canada welcomes even more numbers of new immigrants each month, the immigration levels may see a decline this year due to the pandemic. 

Since the imposition of travel restrictions in March, the month of June welcomed the highest number of permanent residents. Whereas in May and April put together saw an intake of only 15,000 new Canada PRs. 

However, the authorities are committed to maintain a higher intake next year which will be reflected in the upcoming immigration plans 2021-2023.

If you are waiting to apply for immigration to Canada, now is a good time to begin planning. Get in touch with CanApprove to know your eligible immigration options.

Saskatchewan held its largest PNP Draw with 621 invitations since February 2020

The Canadian Immigration system has reported declining trends ever since the travel restrictions in Canada got imposed on March 18 in the wake of pandemic.  

The Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) came up with innovative changes to meet the annual targets for issuing invitations to apply for permanent residence. It altered the fortnightly frequency of Express Entry draws with that of regular program-specific draws, effectively targeting eligible candidates present in Canada. 

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Individual provinces including British Columbia, Ontario, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan continue to issue invitations to apply (ITA) for provincial nominations. Any eligible candidate with a provincial nomination along with their dependent family members shall now be guaranteed of a permanent residence in Canada. 

Following these events, Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) held its largest PNP in 2020 inviting 621 candidates with tech work experience. 

Take this free online assessment to know your eligibility for various other immigration programs.   

September 15 SINP draw 

The latest provincial draw invited eligible candidates from the International Skilled Worker category. These included candidates belonging to Express Entry, and Occupations In-Demand stream. 

All the 621 invited candidates were required to have work experience in one of the following three tech occupations in addition to Educational Credential Assessments, which shows a relative comparison between foreign degrees, diplomas, and certificates to that of Canadian credential. 

 

NOC 2173 Software Engineers and Designers
NOC 2174 Computer Programming and Interactive Media Developers
NOC 2175 Web Designers and Developers

 

The category-wise breakdown includes 455 ITAs for candidates with their profiles in the federal Express Entry pool and the rest 166 ITAs went to candidates from Occupation-in Demand subcategory. 

 

Expression of Interest Profile with the SINP

Whatsoever, a prior registration of an Expression of Interest (EOI) profile is required for consideration of any provincial nomination from the SINP. 

 

 

An EOI profile is built on the candidates’ work experience, education, language ability, age, and familial ties in the province. Using a five-factor assessment, the candidates are scored out of 100 on the International Skilled Worker Points Assessment Grid. 

The minimum qualifying score required in latest SINP draws was 68. It meant that any candidate willing to receive a provincial nomination required to have a provincial score of 68. 

Wondering how to qualify or improve your provincial score? Get in touch with CanApprove for more details.

British Columbia surpasses 6,000 nominations for Canada PR in 2020 with September 15 PNP draw

British Columbia (B.C.) has had a significant role to play in welcoming and retaining a steady in-flow of economic-class immigrants in Canada. 

British Columbia is recognized globally as a land of opportunity for foreign skilled workers, international students & business entrepreneurs. Most of them plan their immigration for better career opportunities, a higher standard of living, as well as obtain permanent residence that may eventually end up in Citizenship.  

pnp finder

The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) is the province’s direct immigration program that supports the critical needs of B.C.’s labour market and economic development priorities. 

The September 15 PNP draw issued a total of 407 immigration candidates to apply for a provincial nomination. Eventually, such candidates along with their dependent family members can apply to Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for permanent residence.

 

Invitations under Skills Immigration & Express Entry B.C.

September 15 PNP draws invited candidates from the Skills Immigration (SI) and Express Entry BC (EEBC) streams. These are employer-driven immigration streams to help businesses or employers in British Columbia attract and retain international workers and students. 

The BC PNP categories are managed under the province’s Skills Immigration Registration System (SIRS). All the eligible candidates are required to have a job offer from an employer in BC. 

Firstly, candidates are required to register an account under the SIRS. Later, these profiles are assigned a score based on factors like education, work experience, and language proficiency.

The minimum scores for this draw ranged between 75 and 95 points.

The current state of BC PNP 

BC PNP had already crossed the 6000 mark for the total number of nominations in 2020. It is also one of the only few provinces after Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba to have issued more provincial nominations for Canada PR in a year. 

Apart from usual programs, British Columbia Tech Pilot is seen as a game-changer since its launch last year. Candidates with no permanent, full-time job offer but having work experience in one of the 29 in-demand Tech occupations in the province are invited. 

Take this free online assessment to check your eligibility for various BC PNP streams. Get in touch with CanApprove for more such updates. 

IRCC issued over 70,000 ITAs for Canada PR in 2020 with September 16 Express Entry draw

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) held its second all-program Express Entry in the month of September for issuing permanent residence to foreign skilled workers with or without job offer and work experience in Canada.

Express Entry system is not a visa type but a federal application management system for immigration programs: Federal Skilled Workers Program (FSWP), Canadian Experience Class (CEC), Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP), in addition to the candidates with a provincial nomination.

Pnp finder

After registering one’s profile in the Express Entry pool, the profiles are evaluated and scored on the basis of human capital factors like age, work experience, education & language proficiency  in English or French. The profiles with prior provincial nominations may get additional CRS points upto 600. 

The September 16 draw upheld the spirits of Canadian Immigration with higher draw size and decreasing qualifying Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score. It is now the fourth draw since March which considered foreign skilled workers who had not previously lived or worked in Canada, i.e. FSWP category, to apply for permanent residence.

Overall Draw Size remains the same

Continuing the trend set by the previous all-program Express Entry, the present draw also issued a total of 4200 invitations to apply (ITAs) to foreign skilled workers with or without job offer, work experience for permanent residence in Canada. 

Before the lockdown was imposed in March, IRCC held the largest ever Express Entry draw in the month of February with a draw size of 4500 ITAs for Canada PR. 

Decrease in minimum CRS score by three points

More often, it may occur that candidates end up having the same CRS score. Therefore, iIn order to uniquely rank every profile one above the other, IRCC uses its tie-break in every draw. September 16 Express Entry draw fixed the timestamp at March 9, 2020, at 13:03:40 UTC. 

This means that all candidates with a CRS score equal or above 472 and entered their profile in the Express Entry pool before the selected date and time, received an ITA in this invitation round.

Express Entry Draws in 2020

September 16 all-program Express Entry draw is just the 30th draw in 2020 and the overall tally of ITAs for Canada PR has now crossed the 70k mark. The exact count stood at 74,150 ITAs issued thus far in 2020 which is in itself a new record since the start of Express Entry draws in 2015. 

Here is a list of all Express Entry draws held in 2020.

Draw Number Date Number of ITAs issues Minimum CRS
163 September 16 4200 472
162 September 2 4200 475
161 August 20 3300 454 (CEC-specific)
160 August 19 600 771 (PNP-specific)
159 August 6 250 415 (FSTP- specific)
158 August 5 3900 476
157 July 24 3343 445 (CEC-specific)
156 July 22 557 687 (PNP-specific)
155 July 8 3900 478
154 June 25 3508 431 (CEC-specific)
153 June 24 392 696 (PNP-specific)
152 June 11 3551 437 (CEC-specific)
151 June 10 341 743 (PNP-specific)
150 May 28 3515 440 (CEC-specific)
149 May 27 385 757 (PNP-specific)
148 May 15 3371 447 (CEC-specific)
147 May 13 529 718 (PNP-specific)
146 May 1 3311 452 (CEC-specific)
145 April 29 589 692 (PNP-specific)
144 April 16 3782 455 (CEC-specific)
143 April 15 118 808 (PNP-specific)
142 April 9 3294 464 (CEC-specific)
141 April 9 606 698 (PNP-specific)
140 March 23 3232 467 (CEC-specific)
139 March 18 668 720 (PNP-specific)
138 March 4 3900 471
137 February 19 4500 470
136 February 5 3500 472
135 January 22 3400 471
134 January 8 3400 473

 

Canada remained committed to strengthen its immigration levels to overcome the effect of pandemic. It did so by the regular conduct of Express Entry draws and Provincial Nominee draws even during the travel restrictions. Special rules were also notified to ease the impact of travel restrictions on the admissions of International Students for the new academic session in the fall. 

If you are waiting to apply for immigration to Canada, now is a good time to begin planning. There is a processing standard time of six months for permanent residence applications filed through the Express Entry system.

CanApprove can be your trusted immigration and overseas education consultant just like for other successful immigrants who have been benefiting from our services for over two decades.  

To fix an appointment with one of our consultants and further discuss your prospects of Canadian immigration, click here.     

Australia’s Economic Recovery Is Dependent On Migration, Says Experts

The world-wide imposition of travel restrictions due to pandemic has had a significant impact on Australian Immigration. Taking stock of the situation is the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) where it recommends the federal government to promote immigration in the country for quicker economic recovery. 

In its new paper on employment under the Economic Recovery Series of Council on Economic Policy(CCEP), the organisation is of the opinion that the government must continue to attract the best foreign talents and promote Australia migration even as other countries are imposing blanket restrictions on migrants. 

Australia

Make use of our Australia PR points calculator and plan accordingly. 

The research paper recommends to solve the business conundrum to bring in more human resources to Australia. It suggested the government introduce an intra-company transfer visa, which will help multinational businesses that are looking to invest in Australia or to expand their operations in the country. 

The paper also recommends addressing the issues of temporary migrants like students & skilled workers by extending their JobKeeper and JobSeeker payments. Both JobKeeper and JobSeeker payments are payment support mechanisms to help businesses and individuals respectively. 

It is recorded that the education sector of Australia contributed over $37 billion to the Australian economy and 240,000 jobs in 2019 alone. Following it, CEDA urged the government to generously support the entry of International students in the coming years.

The current state of Australia Immigration

Australian immigration is seemingly seeing an upward trend with the release of interim allocations for 190/491 visas to each state & territory. Back in July, Australia even conducted its SkillSelect round for Subclass 189/491 visas.  

The details like Occupation ceilings for the new SkillSelect 2020-21 program year is likely to be released soon. However, the ongoing pandemic has made the invitation rounds highly unpredictable and focused on immediate skill requirements, like healthcare professional. 

Until the borders of Australia are open for immigration, CanApprove advises offshore immigration aspirants to work on improving their skill set and language proficiency in the meanwhile. 

Take this free online assessment to know your eligibility for immigration to Australia. . . 

July 2020 Permanent Resident intake: Canada admitted 13,645 Immigrants

The permanent resident intake figures for the July month is out and Canada is known to admit 13, 645 immigrants during the month. Although Canada usually welcomes the highest levels of new immigrants each July, this year is particularly affected by the pandemic.  

Since the imposition of travel restrictions in March, the month of June welcomed the highest number of permanent residents. The same stood at 11,000 immigrants in May, and just 4,000 in April. However, optimism surrounding the current state of Canadian Immigration is still prominent. 

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Fill-in our free online assessment to know your eligibility for Canada Immigration. 

 

Current state of Canadian Immigration

No matter what impact the travel restrictions had on Canadian immigration, the local authorities are still processing applications and even issuing new permanent residence invitations to successful applicants.

Canada is dependent on the immigration of economic-class candidates to overcome dual demographic shocks. It’s flagship system to manage applications for federal immigration programs is Express Entry

It has created a new record of its own by issuing more invitations to apply (ITAs) for permanent residence on a year-over-year basis. So far in 2020 alone, the Express Entry system has issued nearly 70,000 ITAs for permanent residence. The figure compares high with 56,200 ITAs issued around the same time last year. 

 

 

Also, the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) continues to nominate a high number of immigrants alongside the federal Express Entry. Not only that, but the authorities seem to be committed to its 2020-2022 Immigration Levels Plan.

With increasing resoluteness to strengthen the Immigration system, Canada is expected to release a revised 2021-2023 Immigration Levels Plan on November 1, 2020. 

To know more about your prospects of Canada Immigration, contact one of our consultants at CanApprove.  

Top Canadian Immigration highlights between 04-September to 11-September

We are back with yet another weekly highlights on Canada Immigration. The prospects of obtaining permanent residence in Canada is looking bright as always. Here are some of the major developments concerning Canada Immigration in the preceding week:

IRCC-funded Newcomer Health and Wellness Settlement Program launched

Following the recent studies on the mental health of new immigrants, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) had recently launched a new health and wellness settlement program

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The new program, launched with an allotted budget of $2.2 million, shall offer a range of services that include mental and physical assessment, counselling, psychotherapy, health and wellness promotion and training, family counselling, and trauma-specific services.

For many years now, it is seen that the stress caused by cultural differences, language barriers, and the integration process to a new society have an effect on the health of several immigrants. Keeping in mind the doubling of the immigrant population in Canada by 2036, the program is an effective way to send across the message that Canada ensures equitable and quality mental health services to all. 

Provincial Nominee Program draws

The Canadian provinces of Ontario, British Columbia, and Manitoba showed positive intend for welcoming new immigrants in the preceding week. 

The authorities running the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program released a press release mentioning a switch to an Expression of Interest (EOI) system for most of its immigrant streams. 

To address the growing immigration levels, and the resolute to strengthen Canada Immigration, Ontario has proposed to move to the Expression of Interest (EOI) system for the following existing streams:

  • Employer Job Offer Category: Foreign Worker;
  • Employer Job Offer Category: International Student;
  • Employer Job Offer Category: In-Demand Skills;
  • Masters Graduate; and
  • Ph.D. Graduate.

Take this free online assessment to know about your eligibility and plan your immigration to Canada. 

Manitoba held a nomination draw inviting 212 skilled workers and international student graduates through three immigration streams: Skilled Workers in Manitoba, Skilled Workers Overseas, and International Education streams. Among the issued invitations were candidates also from the Express Entry pool. For more information, contact CanApprove

In a parallel development, 67 candidates having occupations in one of the 29 in-demand Tech occupations were invited through the British Columbia Tech Pilot program

Canada waives off citizenship fee

Fulling the poll promise, the Liberal government had recently announced to waive off citizenship fees to encourage more foreign workers to immigrate to Canada. 

Welcoming the move, Canada Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino said, ”Our government places great value on Canadian citizenship and is committed to removing barriers and helping newcomers achieve citizenship faster while also protecting the integrity of the program”. 

Canada is one of the few developed countries where getting citizenship is a hassle-free and simple process for any foreign skilled worker. The move to waive off the citizenship fee is seen as a stark contrast to the US immigration. 

Currently, the citizenship fee of Canada is 630CAD, which comprises a processing fee of 530CAD and the “right to citizenship” fee of 100CAD.

CanApprove is a pioneer in immigration and overseas education consultancy services. Contact one of our immigrant consultants to plan your immigration to the country of choice. 

67 Immigration candidates get provincial nominations in British Columbia Tech Pilot

The Canadian province of British Columbia invited 67 foreign skilled workers and international students to apply for a provincial nomination. All invitations were issued under the Tech Pilot program and can be used to obtain permanent residence in near future.  

The latest British Columbia Provincial Nomination Program (BC PNP) draw issued provincial nominations under the Express Entry British Columbia (EEBC) and Skills Immigration Streams. 

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After receiving a provincial nomination under EEBC, an additional 600 points are added to the overall Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score. This will effectively guarantee an invitation to apply for permanent residence in the subsequent draw.  

Likewise, the applications for permanent residence of candidates invited under the Skills Immigration categories are processed directly by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) once a provincial nomination is issued by British Columbia.

Any candidates willing to apply under such immigration streams must register under the province’s Skills Immigration Registration System (SIRS). 

SIRS is an online portal for BC PNP and maintains a record of interested candidates for immigration into the province. 

Applicants registered under SIRS are evaluated and issued a score based on human capital factors. These may include the level of education, work experience, proficiency in English, and location of employment.

September 8 draw required all the selected candidates in all the subcategories to have a minimum provincial score of 80.

 

How to qualify for the B.C. Tech Pilot program?

In order to popularize and quicken the immigration of in-demand tech workers and international students in the province, British Columbia runs a Tech Pilot immigration program. The pilot has a basic mandatory requirement of a job offer that is at least one year (365 days) in duration and must be within the 29 in-demand occupations.

 

 

Some of the popular choice of occupations under the Tech pilot includes: 

  • Telecommunication carriers managers;
  • Civil engineers;
  • Database analysts and data administrators;
  • Translators, terminologists, and interpreters;
  • Graphic designers and illustrators;
  • Information systems testing technicians;
  • Audio and video recording technicians;
  • Chemical engineers.

For a complete list of occupations, click here.

The processing time for applications under most BC PNP streams is 2-3 months and it will be only shorter for Tech pilot program. With weekly invitations and active BC PNP, now is the best time to apply for Canada immigration

If you are interested to know more about Canada Immigration, contact our consultants or fill-in this free online assessment and know your eligibility.