British Columbia PNP: 148 Invited in Latest Round of Invitations

British Columbia in Canada issues 148 invitations to apply to Canadian immigration hopefuls. This is the fourth round of invitations to be held by the province this month. 

On April 26, 2022, British Columbia held four separate targeted draws on the same day, keeping with the recent trend in terms of invitations to apply (ITAs) by the province. Those invited can submit their application for a nomination by British Columbia for permanent residence in Canada, settling within the province as permanent residents. 

British Columbia is among the 9 provinces and 2 territories part of the Provincial Nominee Program, also referred to as Canadian PNP. The PNP of the province is officially known as the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP). 

The PNP offers a route to Canada PR visa that involves securing a nomination by a provincial or territorial government as the first part of the process. The Nomination Certificate can then be used to apply for permanent residence to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). 

Note. The minimum score is also known as the SIRS score as it is given following successful registration with the Skills Immigration Registration System (SIRS) of the BC PNP.

Here, EEBC stands for Express Entry BC, linked with the IRCC Express Entry system. 

Recently, British Columbia has been holding targeted draws. 67 occupations - 29 in tech, 35 in healthcare, one in childcare and two other priority occupations - are generally being targeted by the BC PNP in such draws. 

Who is invited by the BC PNP?

On a regular basis, the BC PNP issues invitations to people in the registration pool to submit their application. ITAs are issued as per the information provided by them at the time of registration with the BC PNP. 

Based on the information given, the BC PNP ranks, selects and invites candidates with the highest likelihood of meeting the economic and labour market requirements of the province. 

The BC PNP invitations might be targeted towards meeting the priorities of the provincial government, such as - 

• Facilitating strategic pilot projects, 
• Encouraging regional immigration, 
• Safeguarding the integrity of the BC PNP, and
• Supporting specific business sectors. 

Which BC PNP streams require invitations?

While certain BC PNP immigration pathways require a prior invitation to apply, other streams can be applied to directly. 

How does a BC PNP nomination guarantee an ITA for Express Entry candidate?

Canadian PNP has around 80 pathways available, each targeting a specific class of immigrants. Certain PNP streams are linked with the federal Express Entry system. A nomination - under any of IRCC Express Entry linked streams - is worth 600 ranking points. These are also known as “CRS points” as they are allotted based on the Comprehensive Ranking System. 

With the 600-point boost, the profile gets to the top of the IRCC pool of candidates. As it is the highest-ranked profiles that receive invitations to apply, that individual is guaranteed an invitation in a subsequent draw by IRCC. As on April 11, 2022, there were 200,924 Express Entry profiles. Only 810 were in the CRS 600-1,200 score range. An Express Entry candidate with a PNP nomination gets a CRS 600+ final score.