How to Apply for the BC Provincial Nominee Program
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Skilled and/or experienced workers, experienced business persons and their family members that are interested in moving to BC permanently have an opportunity to apply for the BC Provincial Nominee Program. This can often make the process faster than applying through the federal immigration streams.
If you decide to immigrate to BC as a provincial nominee, you have two components under which to apply, each with their own requirements and application forms.
The two components of the BC Provincial Nominee Program are: Strategic Occupations and Business Immigrants.
Strategic Occupations
This component assists BC employers in fulfilling labour needs with qualified foreign workers. Nominee applicants would need a permanent full-time employment offer, and would need to prove that they are financially capable of supporting themselves.
The following categories are available:
- Skilled Worker. This category is defined by the Canadian National Occupational Classification (NOC) list. Your job offer must be in either a Skill Type 0 (managerial occupation), Skill Level A (professional occupation) or Skill Level B (technical occupation and skilled trade).
- International Graduate. You job offer must be in either a Skill Type 0, Skill Level A or Skill Level B according to the NOC list, and you must have recently graduated from a Canadian post-secondary institution.
- Designated Health Professionals. This includes registered nurses, midwives, registered psychiatric nurses, and physicians
- Entry Level and Semi-Skilled Pilot Project. There are select occupations in either the tourism and hospitality industry, long-haul trucking industry, or food processing industry.
A fifth category, the International Post-Graduates Pilot Project, does not require the applicant to have a permanent full-time employment offer. Instead, you would need to be a BC graduate of a masters or doctorate program in natural, applied or health sciences.
With the exception of the last category, International Post-Graduates Pilot Project, all other applications require a job offer. In these cases, both the nominee applicant and the employer would submit a joint application.
Business Immigration
This component accepts applications from experienced business entrepreneurs who intend on investing in and actively managing an eligible business in British Columbia.
There are three categories of Business Immigrants, each with different requirements for the amount of the investment, the minimum personal net worth of the applicant, the location in BC and the number of Canadian employees in the proposed business.
The three categories are:
- business skills
- regional business
- strategic projects
You can find the application forms here.
There is more than simply knowing how to apply for the BC Provincial Nominee Program – you might need help with the application itself.
Although the Provincial Nominee Program is designed to expedite the process to immigrate to Canada, it does add an extra step. After you are successful in getting nominated, you still need to apply for permanent residence with the federal government. Taking both tasks into account can feel overwhelming, but experienced Canadian immigration lawyers can assist you to properly navigate both processes, so you don’t make any mistakes.
If you are interested in immigrating to British Columbia, consider the BC Provincial Nominee Program – the province might be interested in you!