B.C. invited 74 tech workers to apply for a provincial nomination on September 21. B.C. has now issued over 8,661 invitations to apply for a provincial nomination since the start of 2021. The BC PNP Tech is a stream under the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP), through which the invitations were issued. Candidates invited through B.C’s Tech draws have to meet certain criteria of one of British Columbia’s Express Entry BC and Skills immigration categories, which are managed by the Skills and Immigration Registration System (SIRS).

Candidates who received invitations in this draw were from the Skilled Worker and International Graduate subcategories and needed a minimum provincial score of 80. Invited candidates now have 30 calendar days to apply for the nomination. In 2021 so far, British Columbia has issued over 8,661 invitations to apply for provincial nomination. To know more about the PNP draw and other immigration pathways contact us at Vashist Immigration, our licensed consultants will help you with the procedures.

BC PNP Tech program

The BC PNP Tech was launched in May 2017 as a pilot project following a labor market study that found the biggest issue facing B.C.’s technology sector was access to talent. B.C made it a permanent program after the success of the project. The program is built to enable employers in British Columbia’s technology sector to continue to attract and select international talent when there is a dearth of qualified workers locally. The BC PNP Tech is a fast-track immigration pathway for in-demand tech workers and international students. Candidates need to be registered in one of B.C.’s existing provincial immigration streams and have a valid job offer of at least 12 months in one of 29 eligible occupations to qualify for the stream.

Unlike other BC PNP streams, job offers under the BC PNP Tech must be for a minimum of one year, with at least 120 days remaining at the time of application to the BC PNP. It must also be full-time and from an eligible employer in the province. Invitations through the province’s tech program are sent out weekly to the candidates who are top scorers and who meet the eligibility requirements.

Candidates who are invited to apply for a provincial nomination will need to submit a complete application. Once this is done, most tech applications will be processed within two to three months. If they are approved, candidates will receive a nomination confirmation that can be used to apply for permanent residence from Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) under the Provincial Nominee Program Class.PNP candidates earn 600 points for their score in the Comprehensive Ranking System and thus have a very good chance of obtaining an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence via Express Entry.

Alberta recently released the details of its two biggest draws of the year. On August 23, the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) held its largest draw to date, with 450 invitations to Express Entry candidates. Invited candidates required Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) scores of at least 300 on August 30, Alberta held its biggest draw since 2019 with 400 invitations to Express Entry candidates who had scores of at least 301. Alberta has now invited 4,007 Express Entry candidates to apply for a provincial nomination since it resumed invitation rounds in January 2021. It had taken a temporary hiatus in the latter months of 2020. Alberta is allowed to issue 6,250 nomination certificates in 2021. To find out more information about Alberta PNP draws contact us at Vashist Immigration, our team of trusted and licensed immigration consultants will help you with the process.

Alberta Express Entry Stream 

The Alberta Express Entry stream is an enhanced Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) that permits the provincial government to search the federal government’s Express Entry pool of candidates for profiles of people who may be eligible for a provincial nomination. Express Entry is the application management system for the three Federal High Skilled programs: Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Worker Program, and Federal Skilled Trades Program. Express Entry draws are regularly held by Canada’s immigration department, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC, inviting the highest-scoring candidates to apply for permanent residence.

For individuals, who have lower CRS scores may opt for a PNP. Provincial nominees automatically get 600 points added to their overall score. If the lowest-scoring candidates in the new Alberta draw receive the nomination, their new CRS scores will be 901, more than enough to be invited in a subsequent Express Entry draw

Alberta Express Entry Stream Eligibility

To be eligible for the provincial nomination through the Alberta Express Entry stream, you need to have work experience in an eligible occupation. Many who apply under this stream work as food service supervisors, transport truck drivers, and cooks among others. Your Express Entry profile should indicate that you have an interest in moving to Alberta. Certain factors increase your likelihood of being nominated, like having work experience, or a job offer in Alberta. A Canadian education helps too. Also, having a parent, child, or sibling who is a permanent resident or citizen in Alberta supports your application.

Ontario held its second Master’s Graduate stream draw on August 25 inviting 326 master’s graduates. Invited candidates needed an Expression of Interest (EOI) score of at least 37 to receive an invitation, a slight decrease from the first draw.

Earlier this month, the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) launched its EOI intake system for Masters’s Graduate candidates. International students who graduated with a master’s degree from an eligible Ontario institution can now register for immigration through this Ontario Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) at any given time.

There is a system you need to follow to be considered for the Master’s Graduate stream. You require signing up with Ontario’s e-Filing Portal then registering an expression of interest for your graduate stream. Ontario then invites eligible candidates to apply for a provincial nomination, which greatly supports any application for Canadian permanent residence.

Candidates do not need a job offer to apply for this program but they will have to apply for the nomination within two years of graduating. Ontario ranks EOI profiles based on several human capital factors that the province has decided will be important in selecting immigrants with the potential to thrive. You will be given points based on the skill level of your job offer as well as your Canadian work experience.

The OINP scoring system is different depending on which stream you apply for. Other than skill level and work experience, it also takes into account your wage, education, official language ability, and the region in which you study or work. The province also allocates 10 points at its discretion to respond to labor market needs.

To learn more about OINP and its scoring systems and updates contact us at Vashist immigration, our RCIC licensed consultants will help you and guide you through the process.

B.C. invites skilled workers and entrepreneurs in PNP draws

 The province of British Columbia invited over 435 immigration candidates through four Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) draws that were held on August 17, 2021. The province has been conducting two separate rounds of invitations for its PNP program since February each month. The province holds a general draw and a second draw targeting retail and wholesale-retail managers as well as restaurant and foodservice managers. The second draw is due to a high number of people registered in the BC PNP Skills Immigration Registration System (SIRS) with these two occupations, the province as per a news release issued by the province. The aim of the province by holding these additional draws is to balance the needs in all sectors of the provincial labor market. The invitations were issued to specifically those from the Skilled Worker, International Graduate, and Entry Level and Semi-Skilled sub-categories of SI and EEBC streams. The minimum scores for that draw ranged between 73 and 91 points. A total of 363 candidates were invited.

There were separate draws that were also conducted under SI and EEBC categories and targeted candidates whose occupation falls under NOC 0621 or NOC 0631. The draw resulted in 64 invitations with scores of 106.B.C. also issued eight invitations through its Entrepreneur Immigration Base Category and less than five invitations through the Entrepreneur Immigration Regional Pilot category.

The objective of BC PNP is to attract foreign workers who are in high demand in the province and who wish to become permanent residents of Canada.

The BC PNP has two immigration streams, Skills Immigration and Express Entry, both of which are divided into sub-categories. These streams are managed under B.C.’s Skills Immigration Registration System (SIRS). To apply through the SIRS, you are first required to register an account. Once this is done, you will be assigned a score based on factors such as education, work experience, and language skills. The highest-scoring candidates from each sub-category are then invited to apply for a provincial nomination to apply for permanent residency when British Columbia conducts one of its regular draws.