Move to British Columbia under the Provincial Nominee Program
The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) exists to help skilled workers that want to settle in British Columbia see their permanent residency visa approved faster by being nominated by the province. Individuals nominated by the province, together with their spouse and dependent children, are eligible to apply for a permanent resident visa from Citizenship and Immigration Canada through the Provincial Nominee Class.
You will need to submit your application to the province first and then apply for a permanent resident visa through Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) as a Provincial Nominee, once the province approves your application.
The BC PNP is divided in two components:
- Strategic Occupations
- Business Immigrants
Strategic Occupations
This component deals with applications in the following categories:
- Skilled workers
- Designated health professionals
- International graduates
- Entry level and semi-skilled pilot project
Skilled workers
Applications in this category are limited to occupations listed in levels 0, A, and B of the National Occupation Classification Matrix. These are management, professional, technical, trades and other skilled occupations that generally require post-secondary education or training, and several years of relevant employment experience.
Designated health professionals
This category was especially created for registered nurses, psychiatric nurses and physicians recruited by provincial and regional health authorities administered through Health Match BC, and who meet the PNP’s requirements. It also includes midwives who meet the program’s requirements.
All other applications to hire health professionals and other skilled health workers are considered in the skilled worker category.
International graduates
To apply under this category, nominee candidates must have satisfied the requirements for an eligible degree or diploma conferred by a recognised post-secondary institution in BC before accepting an offer of employment.
The degree must have been awarded within the following fields:
- Natural sciences, applied sciences or engineering
- Health sciences
- Computer science, information systems or digital media
- Business or commerce
- Tourism, recreation and hospitality
- Transportation and logistics
Entry-level and semi-skilled pilot project
This project applies to selected occupations and eligible employers in the tourism/hospitality, food processing and long-haul trucking industries, and to qualifying foreign workers.
Tourism/hospitality
Below is the list of occupations that will be considered under this category:
| Occupations in travel and accommodation | 6435 Hotel front desk clerks |
| Tour and recreational guides and casino occupations | 6441 Tour and travel guides |
| Occupations in food and beverage service | 6451 Maitres d’hotel and hosts/hostesses |
| Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related occupations | 6641 Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related occupations |
| Cleaners (hotels only) | 6661 Light duty cleaners |
| Other elemental service occupations | 6681 Dry cleaning and laundry occupations (hotels/resorts only) |
Please note that successful applicants must have been employed in an eligible occupation by the sponsoring company on a temporary work permit for at least nine months immediately prior to the date of application and must still be legally employed by that company at the time of application.
Long-haul trucking
Truck driver applications under the Entry-level and semi-skilled pilot project will be considered only for long-haul truck drivers (NOC 7411.1).
Applicants must have been employed by the sponsoring company as a long-haul truck driver on a temporary work permit for at least nine months immediately prior to the date of application to the PNP and must be legally employed by the sponsoring company at the time of application.
Applicants must also have at least two years employment experience as a long-haul truck driver in the three years prior to their application to the program and must hold a valid B.C. Class 1 driver’s license and, if required, air brake endorsement and other certification (e.g. for transporting dangerous goods).
Food processing
Applicants under this category will be considered only for the following occupations:
- 9461 Process control and machine operators, food and beverage processing
- 9462 Industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers and related workers
- 9463 Fish plant workers
- 9465 Testers and graders, food and beverage processing
- 9617 Labourers in food, beverage and tobacco processing
- 9618 Labourers in fish processing
The BC PNP website provides all the forms necessary to apply under the Strategic Operations component.
Business immigrants
Qualified entrepreneurs that want to settle in BC and become permanent residents of Canada can apply through this component of the BC PNP. Successful applicants must have the ability to establish themselves successfully in British Columbia and develop a business that will provide significant benefits to the province.
