British Columbia issues invitations to 271 immigration candidates in the recent draw

The imposition of the travel restrictions by Canada left many wondering whether the country will be able to continue their immigration processing during the pandemic. But, there have been several draws since the announcement of the regulations, which indicates that the country is not ready to impose a complete hiatus on its immigration work. The IRCC has announced that officials are continuing to process applications.

With the federal government holding Express Entry draws, the provinces have refused to step back as well. Provincial draws and invitation rounds are still being organized. British Columbia hosted an event on 16th April so as to distribute invitations among candidates who want to secure a provincial nomination.

What did the draw entail?

The province issued a total of 271 invitations for immigration candidates on the day. The recipients will now be able to submit their applications for a provincial nomination, which can help them secure permanent residence in the long run.

However, this invitation round of the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) suffered because of the coronavirus measures that have been implemented by the country. The strict coronavirus rules have affected B.C. businesses negatively which is why the invitation round also had to face certain limitations.

Specific occupations had to be excluded from the April 16 invitation round because of the impact of the coronavirus prevention measures on the business located in British Columbia.

The 271 candidates who were given invitations belonged to the Skilled Immigration and the Express Entry BC stream. There was no fixed provincial score requirement. It varied on the basis of the subcategory to which the candidates belonged. The candidates chosen from the Skills Immigration stream were from subcategories like  International Graduate, Skilled Worker, Entry Level, and Semi-Skilled. The minimum score for Entry Level and Semi-Skilled candidates was 85, and it was 100 for the rest.