British Columbia

• Express Entry BC – Health Care Professional

Category Requirements

• • An IRCC Express Entry Profile Number and Job Seeker validation code that indicates you meet the criteria for one of the federal economic immigration programs under Express Entry
  • An offer of indeterminate, full-time employment from a public health authority as a:
    • Physician
    • Specialist
    • Registered nurse
    • Registered psychiatric nurse
    • Nurse practitioner
    • Allied health professional such as a:
      • Diagnostic medical sonographer
      • Clinical pharmacist
      • Medical laboratory technologist
      • Medical radiation technologist
      • Occupational therapist
      • Physiotherapist
  • Or you are a BC-registered midwife with an offer of acceptance as an affiliated midwife with a qualifying practice group
  • You are registered and meet all other criteria with the provincial licensing body that regulates the above health care professions
  • Valid English language proficiency test results
  • The wage from the job offer meets or exceeds minimum income requirements
  • Have or be eligible for legal immigration status in Canada
  • You intend to reside in B.C.

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• Express Entry BC – International Graduate

Category Requirements

• • An IRCC Express Entry Profile Number and Job Seeker validation code that indicates you meet the criteria for one of the federal economic immigration programs under Express Entry
  • An eligible degree, diploma or certificate, received within the last three years, from a recognized post-secondary institution in Canada
  • An offer of indeterminate, full-time employment in a NOC Skill Type 0 or NOC Skill Level A or B occupation from an eligible B.C. employer
  • Valid English language proficiency test results
  • The wage from the job offer meets or exceeds minimum income requirements
  • Have or be eligible for legal immigration status in Canada
  • You intend to reside in B.C.
  • Your employer must meet all general employer requirements

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• Express Entry BC – International Post-Graduate

Category Requirements

• • An IRCC Express Entry Profile Number and Job Seeker validation code that indicates you meet the criteria for one of the federal economic immigration programs under Express Entry
  • A master’s or doctoral degree received within the past three years in an eligible program of study from a post-secondary institution in B.C.
  • Your education is not eligible if it is a distance education learning program either from abroad or from within Canada
  • Valid English language proficiency test results
  • Provide evidence that you intend and ability to reside in B.C.

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• Express Entry BC – Skilled Worker

Category Requirements

• • An IRCC Express Entry Profile Number and Job Seeker validation code that indicates you meet the criteria for one of the federal economic immigration programs under Express Entry
  • An offer of indeterminate, full-time employment in a NOC Skill Type 0 or NOC Skill Level A or B occupation from an eligible B.C. employer
  • 2 years directly related experience in the eligible occupation, and if applicable, the credentials and qualification requirements of the occupation
  • Valid English language proficiency test results
  • The wage from the job offer meets or exceeds minimum income requirements
  • Have or be eligible for legal immigration status in Canada
  • You intend to reside in B.C.
  • Your employer must meet all general employer requirements

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• Skills Immigration – Entry-Level and Semi-Skilled Worker (including Northeast)

Category Requirements

• • An offer of indeterminate, full-time employment from an eligible B.C. employer in an eligible NOC Skill Level C or D occupation
  • Currently working in a permanent full-time position for the eligible B.C. employer offering the job
  • 9 months of continuous full-time work experience in BC with the current B.C. employer in the job being offered
  • Completion of secondary education and any licensing or certification required for your job
  • Valid English language proficiency test results
  • The wage from the job offer meets or exceeds minimum income requirements
  • Have or be eligible for legal immigration status in Canada
  • You intend to reside in B.C.
  • Your employer must meet all general employer requirements

• Skills Immigration – Health Care Professional

Category Requirements

• • An offer of indeterminate, full-time employment from a public health authority as a:
    • Physician
    • Specialist
    • Registered nurse
    • Registered psychiatric nurse
    • Nurse practitioner
    • Allied health professional such as a:
      • Diagnostic medical sonographer
      • Clinical pharmacist
      • Medical laboratory technologist
      • Medical radiation technologist
      • Occupational therapist
      • Physiotherapist
  • Or you are a BC-registered midwife with an offer of acceptance as an affiliated midwife with a qualifying practice group
  • You are registered and meet all other criteria with the provincial licensing body that regulates the above health care professions
  • Valid English language proficiency test results for NOC B occupations
  • The wage from the job offer meets or exceeds minimum income requirements
  • Have or be eligible for legal immigration status in Canada
  • You intend to reside in B.C.

Bottom of Form

• Skills Immigration – International Graduate

Category Requirements

• • An eligible degree, diploma or certificate, received within the last three years, from a recognized post-secondary institution in Canada
  • An offer of indeterminate, full-time employment in a NOC Skill Type 0 or NOC Skill Level A or B occupation from an eligible B.C. employer
  • Valid English language proficiency test results for NOC B occupations
  • The wage from the job offer meets or exceeds minimum income requirements
  • Have or be eligible for legal immigration status in Canada
  • You intend to reside in B.C.
  • Your employer must meet all general employer requirements

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

• Skills Immigration – International Post-Graduate

Category Requirements

• • A master’s or doctoral degree received within the past three years in an eligible program of study from a post-secondary institution in B.C.
  • Your education is not eligible if it is a distance education learning program either from abroad or from within Canada
  • Provide evidence of your ability and intent to reside in B.C.

Bottom of Form

• Skills Immigration – Skilled Worker

Category Requirements

• • An offer of indeterminate, full-time employment in a NOC Skill Type 0 or NOC Skill Level A or B occupation from an eligible B.C. employer
  • 2 years directly related experience in the eligible occupation, and if applicable, the credentials and qualification requirements of the occupation
  • Valid English language proficiency test results for NOC B occupations
  • The wage from the job offer meets or exceeds minimum income requirements
  • Have or be eligible for legal immigration status in Canada
  • You intend to reside in B.C.
  • Your employer must meet all general employer requirements

The Entrepreneur Immigration stream of the BC Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) is a path to immigrate to Canada and settle in B.C. for experienced entrepreneurs who can support innovation and economic growth in the province.

BC offers two different Entrepreneur Immigration options to Immigrate and settled through investment.

1. ENTREPRENEUR IMMIGRATION – REGIONAL PILOT

2. ENTREPRENEUR IMMIGRATION – BASE CATEGORY PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

1. ENTREPRENEUR IMMIGRATION – REGIONAL PILOT

The BC Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) Entrepreneur Immigration – Regional Pilot (EI – Regional Pilot) is focused on attracting entrepreneurs from around the world to establish businesses in regional communities. This will help meet the communities’ economic development needs and encourage investments outside urban areas.

Before considering the Entrepreneur Immigration – Regional Pilot, you should familiarize yourself with the program criteria and check your eligibility.

Key features of the EI – Regional Pilot

Key features of the EI Regional Pilot:

• Active community role – participating communities have a key role in the pilot. They are actively involved in attracting foreign entrepreneurs to their community and working with local partners and existing networks to provide support for entrepreneurs settling into their communities.
• Referral from the community – participating communities may refer foreign entrepreneurs to the BC PNP whose business concept aligns with the community’s economic priorities. The foreign entrepreneur must be invited by the community to conduct an exploratory visit and present their concept to the community’s designated contact person prior to receiving a referral.
• Community concierge – a dedicated BC PNP concierge service supports communities with immigration program information.
• Invitations & prioritization – foreign entrepreneurs who are referred by a participating community are placed in a separate registration pool dedicated to the pilot when they register. Regional pilot registrations and applications are prioritized.

Community eligibility

For a list of participating communities, visit the EI – Regional Pilot – Community Profiles page.

We ask interested parties to respect and follow a community’s specific process. Communities reserve the right to meet only with those potential applicants for the EI Regional Pilot that have been qualified through the community’s official intake process.

After reviewing the detailed community profiles and their priority sectors, you should contact the community using only the contact details listed in each community’s profile.

Applicant criteria

To reflect the lower costs of starting a business and settling in regional communities with smaller populations, the personal net worth and investment criteria is lower than the existing Entrepreneur Immigration – Base Category (EI – Base Category). There is also a language proficiency requirement where the foreign entrepreneur must have a minimum of Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 4 equivalent.

The EI – Regional Pilot is for foreign entrepreneurs who are planning to start a new business. Entrepreneurs wishing to purchase an existing business can register and apply under the
EI – Base Category of the BC PNP.

Pilot timeline

The pilot will be delivered for a two-year period and will be evaluated to ensure that the community and entrepreneur are benefitting the program, and to ensure continued program integrity for the BC PNP.

2. ENTREPRENEUR IMMIGRATION – BASE CATEGORY PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

f you want to immigrate to B.C. and are ready to invest in and actively manage a valid business here, you may qualify for our Entrepreneur Immigration – Base Category. Here is an overview of the requirements.

Personal requirements

To qualify, you must:

• have a personal net worth of at least CAD$600,000
• demonstrate business and/or management experience
• have, or be eligible for, legal immigration status in Canada
• have basic English or French language proficiency equivalent to Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 4 or higher

You must also have been lawfully admitted in the country where you currently reside.

Business, job and investment requirements

To qualify you must:

• establish an eligible new business or purchase and improve an existing business
• make an eligible personal investment of at least CAD$200,000 in the business
• create at least one new full-time job for a Canadian citizen or permanent resident in the business

Registration and application fees

All applicants must pay the following fees:

• $300 registration fee
• $3,500 application fee

How does it work?

The first step is to research B.C.’s economy and regions to find a business opportunity. The WorkBC website provides comprehensive information and data about B.C.’s labour market and industries. When you have a business idea, please create a profile and a registration with online application and registration system, BCPNP Online. Please include a business concept.

If you are eligible, you will receive a score based on your registration information. BCPNP will also put you into a qualified pool. Periodically, BCPNP invite people with the highest scores to apply through BCPNP Online.

BC PNP Tech Pilot extended to June 2021

The BC PNP Tech Pilot has been extended to June 2021 to provide B.C. tech employers with the continued ability to recruit and retain international talent when local skilled workers are unavailable. 

The BC Provincial Nominee Program Tech Pilot offers an expedited immigration pathway for people with tech skills applying to be permanent Canadian residents who will contribute to B.C.’s shared prosperity.

B.C. is developing the highest quality local talent by introducing students to tech earlier, expanding tech training and education in post-secondary institutions and creating work experience opportunities.

Beyond accessing the skills and talent of B.C. workers, companies need to be able to attract skilled workers from around the world. Tech entrepreneurs and skilled workers from other countries can help grow B.C.’s technology sector, leading to more jobs for British Columbians.

In support of these priorities, the Tech Pilot has supported over 4,200 tech workers to be nominated for permanent residence since its launch in May 2017. The pilot helps ensure the technology sector can attract and retain the talent it needs to sustain and grow the sector further.

The BC PNP Tech Pilot helps employers address their talent needs by providing a fast-tracked, permanent immigration pathway for in-demand foreign workers and international students.

BC PNP Tech Pilot Features

The BC PNP Tech Pilot key features are based on service, timeliness, prioritization, and engagement in response to the needs of the industry:

• Service: A dedicated BC PNP concierge for tech employers provides tailored information and navigation assistance for immigration programs and processes.
• Timeliness: Weekly invitations to apply are issued to qualified skilled tech workers, minimizing the wait for employers and their prospective employees.
• Prioritization: Tech applications are prioritized during processing to meet the sector’s fast-paced demands.
• Engagement: Continuous support is provided to tech sector employers through proactive engagement activities and participation at key industry events.

Eligible Tech Pilot occupations

The complete list of the 29 in-demand tech occupations are as below:

List of 29 Eligible Occupations for the BC PNP Tech Pilot
NOC               Job Title
0131 Telecommunication carriers managers
0213 Computer and information systems managers
0512 Managers – publishing, motion pictures, broadcasting and performing arts
2131 Civil engineers
2132 Mechanical engineers
2133 Electrical and electronics engineers
2134 Chemical engineers
2147 Computer engineers (except software engineers and designers)
2171 Information systems analysts and consultants
2172 Database analysts and data administrators
2173 Software engineers and designers
2174 Computer programmers and interactive media developers
2175 Web designers and developers
2221 Biological technologists and technicians
2241 Electrical and electronics engineering technologists and technicians
2242 Electronic service technicians (household and business equipment)
2243 Industrial instrument technicians and mechanics
2281 Computer network technicians
2282 User support technicians
2283 Information systems testing technicians
5121 Authors and writers
5122 Editors
5125 Translators, terminologists and interpreters
5224 Broadcast technicians
5225 Audio and video recording technicians
5226 Other technical and co-ordinating occupations in motion pictures, broadcasting and the
performing arts
5227 Support occupations in motion pictures, broadcasting, photography and the
performing arts
5241 Graphic designers and illustrators
6221 Technical sales specialists – wholesale trade

Technology companies hiring for occupations that are not eligible for the BC PNP Tech Pilot are still able to connect with the concierge service regarding their specific needs.

Tech Pilot job offers

If your employee applies with a valid job offer under one of the 29 eligible occupations, their job offer must be for at least one year (365 days), and the job offer must have at least 120 days remaining at the time of application to the BC PNP.

BC PNP Tech Pilot process

Weekly invitations

BC PNP issues weekly invitations to qualified registrants who have valid job offers in the 29 key technology occupations.

Priority processing

BC PNP prioritize applications in the 29 key technology occupations. Once your employee submits a complete application, their file will be assigned within the next business day to a dedicated Tech Pilot processing team.

Processing times for 80% of BC PNP applications is 2-3 months from receipt. Tech Pilot applications are typically processed in shorter timeframes.

Engagement and outreach

The Ministry of Jobs, Economic Development and Competitiveness will continue to proactively support technology employers and industry stakeholders. Staff conduct outreach activities and provide individualized services to employers.

These BC PNP Tech Pilot services are in addition to the benefits that are available to all users of our program, such as:

• pathways that don’t require a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)
• work permit support letters for nominees so they can apply for a new work permit or renew their current work permit and continue to work throughout the permanent residence process with the federal government
• client support services through email and phone