British Columbia

BC Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) – INTERNATIONAL GRADUATE CATEGORY

This is how to apply for permanent residence in British Columbia/Canada if you are an international student with a job offer in British Columbia.

WHO CAN APPLY:

To qualify for this category, you must:

have accepted a full-time, indeterminate job offer (a permanent job, or one with no set end date) from a B.C. employer. The job must be in a National Occupational Classification skilled occupation (Skill Type 0 or Skill Level A or B),
qualified to work in your occupation in B.C.
show you can support yourself and your dependents
have, or be eligible for, legal immigration status in Canada
have completed a degree, diploma or certificate from an eligible post-secondary institution in Canada in the past three years.

If you have a diploma or certificate, it must be from a public post-secondary institution in Canada, earned in the past three years, as indicated on the official transcripts which you have to provide with your application.

Your undergraduate or graduate degree must be from a Canadian post-secondary institution authorized to grant degrees.

If the location of your school is in B.C.:

see the Education Planner for a list of degree programs offered in B.C.
see the Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills & Training website for a list of authorized degree programs offered by B.C. private post-secondary institutions

Note: Some graduate level degrees are eligible under the Skills Immigration – International Post Graduate category (as explained at the bottom of this page).

Distance education is not acceptable.

Diplomas and Certificates from private institutions are not eligible. Language training (an ESL program, for example) does not qualify.

Your program must have been at least 8 months (two semesters) of full-time equivalent coursework (excluding co-op work terms, practicums and internships).

Co-op work terms, practicums and internships may be completed, provided the 8-month requirement of coursework has been met.

You may be requested to provide a letter from your educational institution that confirms your program meets this requirement.

Full-time equivalent study is defined by the post-secondary institution which issued the credential.

for NOC skill level B occupations, meet minimum language requirements (minimum CLB4 score)
have a wage offer in line with B.C. wage rates for the occupation

All requirements must be met at the time of application.

JOB OFFER:

Job Offer must be a full-time, indeterminate job offer (a permanent job, or one with no set end date) from a B.C. employer. The job must be in a National Occupational Classification skilled occupation (Skill Type 0 or Skill Level A or B).

Job offer must be for a position that typically requires a university or college education.

Supervisor or management positions are normally only obtained through progressively increasing experience or responsibilities.

If you have been offered a supervisor or management position, the onus is on you and your employer to demonstrate that you have obtained experience that qualifies you for the position. You must clearly demonstrate this experience in your resume.

If the offered position requires mandatory certification, licensing or registration, you must provide documentation at the time of application to the BC PNP, showing that you meet these requirements, or how these requirements will shortly be met.

Your employer must provide you with a written offer of employment on official company letterhead.

You must be establishing an employee/employer relationship with your employer. If you will be providing services as an independent contractor you are not eligible for the Skills Immigration stream of the BC PNP.

EMPLOYER:

Your employer must:

be established as an employer in good standing in B.C. (incorporated or extra-provincially registered or registered as a limited liability partnership in B.C. or be an eligible public sector or non-profit employer),
be permanently established in B.C., as defined by the federal Income Tax Act.
have operated in B.C. for at least one year,
have indeterminate, full-time employees
- If your employer is located within the Greater Vancouver Regional District, your employer must have at least five indeterminate, full-time employees (or full-time equivalents) in B.C.
- If your employer is located outside of the Greater Vancouver Regional District, your employer must have at least three indeterminate, full-time employees (or full-time equivalents) in B.C. Only individuals who are on the company’s payroll will be considered employees of the company.
provide full-time, indeterminate (permanent or with no set end date) offer of employment, (at least an average of 30 hours a week, year-round)
have a history of good workplace and business practices
sign an employer declaration
meet domestic labour market recruitment requirements (for NOC Skill Type 0 or NOC Skill Level A and B occupations, recruitment advertisement must be for at least 14 days),
offer you a wage in line with industry standards for the occupation and region in BC

These are general requirements for all employers.

Employer responsibilities

In addition to meeting the general employer requirements, your employer must:

give you a written job offer (public sector and non-profit employers can also provide you with a job offer – please see the official page for the details)
complete the employer sections of the application forms
notify the BC PNP if there are any changes in your employment status – such as whether you have been demoted, terminated, laid off, on extended leave, or if the business has closed or changed ownership

Ineligible employers

The BC PNP will not approve applications from:

employers involved in producing, distributing or selling pornographic or sexually explicit products, or providing sexually oriented entertainment or services
employment agencies and similar firms, unless they are establishing an employer/employee relationship with the registrant and/or applicant
any other type of business that by association would tend to bring the BC PNP or the Government of British Columbia into disrepute.

APPLICATION PROCESS:
Online.

First step in the process is to create a profile with BCPNP online application and registration system, BCPNP Online.

After you have submitted your online registration, you will receive a score based on your skills and job offer details.

Periodically, BCPNP invites people with the highest scores to apply for provincial nomination through BCPNP Online (there is $1150 application processing fee for this application)..

Once you have been granted provincial nomination you will have to send a separate application for permanent residence in Canada (there is a separate application processing fee for PR applications).

For BC PNP online profile you may need your IELTS or CELPIP test results and your diploma assessed in Canada. There is no fee for creating BC PNP profile. You may only have one active BC PNP registration at a time.

After that you will wait for invitation to apply for BC PNP nomination then you will send your application online (you will have 30 days to submit your application).

If nominated, you may be eligible to receive a work permit support letter so you can apply to IRCC to obtain or renew a work permit to start or continue working in B.C. for your employer while you await the decision on your permanent residence application.

The BC PNP will not nominate you if you:

are prohibited from entering Canada
are in Canada and are out of status or if your status has expired, and you cannot demonstrate you have applied for restoration of status within the 90-day eligibility period, you will be considered out of status
are working in Canada without authorization (working illegally)
have an unresolved refugee claim in Canada
are under a removal order in or outside of Canada

APPLICATION FEE:
$1150

CONTACT:
PNPInfo@gov.bc.ca

BC PNP SKILLS IMMIGRATION – INTERNATIONAL POST-GRADUATE CATEGORY

If you have recently graduated from a B.C. post-secondary institution with a master’s or doctorate degree in the natural, applied or health sciences (within the past three years from an eligible program at a post-secondary institution in B.C.), you may be eligible for the BC PNP’s International Post-Graduate category.

You do not need a job offer from an employer to apply for provincial nomination in this category.

Please note that your application will not be approved if you are in Canada and do not have valid immigration status, or if you are working without authorization.

WHO CAN APPLY:

Candidates must have graduated in the last three years with a master’s or doctorate (PhD) degree in the natural, applied or health sciences, in one of the following programs:

agriculture
biological and biomedical sciences
computer and information sciences and support services
engineering
engineering technology
health professions and related clinical sciences
mathematics and statistics
natural resources conservation and research
physical sciences

Please see the BC PNP IPG & EEBC IPG Eligible Programs of Study Document for a complete listing of eligible programs of study.

have, or be eligible for, legal immigration status in Canada (Please note that your application will not be approved if you are in Canada and do not have valid immigration status, or if you are working without authorization)
you must submit your application to the BC PNP within three years of the date shown on your official transcript indicating that you have completed all requirements of the degree program.
show their intent and ability to live in B.C. (The BC PNP generally requires that applicants in this category will reside in B.C. after graduating from an eligible program of study. Failure to demonstrate that you will reside in B.C. following your nomination may result in a refusal of your application). If you are not currently residing in B.C., you must indicate the date by which you will reside permanently in B.C.

All requirements must be met at the time of application.

JOB OFFER:
No need for a job offer

EMPLOYER:
No need for employer information

APPLICATION PROCESS:
To start the process, please create a profile with BCPNP online application system, BCPNP Online. As an International Post-Graduate applicant, you can apply directly via BCPNP Online. (No need to create BC PNP profile and wait for invitation to apply – you can apply right away).

APPLICATION FEE:
$1150 for processing of provincial nomination application
Federal government will charge separate processing fee for PR application

APPLICATION PROCESSING TIME

CONTACT:
PNPInfo@gov.bc.ca

For complete and up to date information and detailed program requirements always check the official web page of the program.

Page last updated on February 02, 2022.