British Columbia has invited 472 Express Entry and Skills Immigration candidates to apply for a provincial nomination in a new invitation round held October 17.
The total is the most invitations issued this year in a single invitation round.
Invitations were issued to BC Express Entry candidates in the stream's Skilled Worker and International Graduate categories.
The BC Express Entry stream is ed with the federal government's Express Entry system, which manages the pool of candidates for Canada's three main economic immigration categories — the Federal Skilled Worker Class, Federal Skilled Trades Class and Canadian Experience Class.
Express Entry candidates with a provincial nomination are awarded an additional 600 points toward their Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score and their applications for permanent residence are processed through the Express Entry system, which has a guaranteed processing time of six months or less.
Skills Immigration candidates invited to apply for provincial nomination from the BC PNP in this round were drawn from the stream's Skilled Worker, International Graduate and Entry Level and Semi-Skilled categories.
Nominations for permanent residence issued to candidates in Skills Immigration categories are processed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada outside of the Express Entry system.
Candidates applying for immigration under the BC PNP generally require an indeterminate, full-time job offer from an employer in the province.
Individuals interested in applying for immigration to Canada under the Skills Immigration and Express Entry streams must first create an online profile using the BC PNP's online system and submit a complete registration form. Applicants' profiles are then assessed and assigned a score based on various factors, such as education, work experience and other factors.
If you are interested in finding out how many points you may be awarded under the BC PNP, please consult the exclusive CanadaVisa Skills Immigration Registration System Calculator.
For more information on the eligibility criteria for the BC PNP’s various categories, please visit the BC PNP page.
The minimum scores for each category in the October 17 draw were as follows:
| Date of draw | BC PNP Category | Minimum Score Required | Number of ITAs Issued |
|---|---|---|---|
October 17, 2018 | EEBC – Skilled Worker | 80 | 472 |
| EEBC – International Graduate | 90 | ||
| SI - Skilled Worker | 81 | ||
| SI – International Graduate | 91 | ||
| SI - Entry Level and Semi-Skilled | 80 |