British Columbia PNP recorded more skilled workers with higher salaries last year

British Columbia has seen a boost in the number of skilled workers who entered the province via its Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) in 2019. According to statistics, 2019 was a big year for immigration with reference to nominees, registrants, and the Tech Pilot.

The immigration stream, Skills Immigration (SI), is managed by the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP). It targets skilled foreign workers looking to settle in the westmost province of Canada. Almost 99% of all the candidates nominated for permanent residence by the province are classified under the category. The Entrepreneur Immigration accounts for the other 1%.

The BC PNP saw the highest number of registrants in 2019. It also happened to be the most successful year for the Tech Pilot.  British Columbia issued the maximum number of provincial nominations last year, as stated by the annual statistical report. The province provided permanent residence to 6,551 people through provincial nominations.

Skills Immigration stream:

This is a pathway that is available for eligible foreign workers who want permanent residence and already have a job offer in British Columbia. The stream has five categories, and four of them work alongside the federal government’s Express Entry system.

• Skilled Worker Category — for people with a job offer and many years of experience in a particular occupation;
• Healthcare Professional Category — for psychiatric nurses, physicians, nurses, or allied health professionals who have job offers in any one of 11 eligible occupations;
• International Graduate Category — for workers who graduated in the last three years from an eligible educational institution in Canada
• International Post-Graduate Category— for people with a Master’s degree or Ph.D. in applied, natural, or health sciences, sans a job offer;

Entry Level and Semi-Skilled Worker Category — for entry-level or semi-skilled workers who have jobs in tourism, food processing, long-haul trucking or hospitality.