The British Columbia Skilled Worker program is a stream of several immigration programs included in the list of the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Programs (BC PNP). The province of British Columbia is responsible for the operating procedure of a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). The immigrants with a job offer and a high rate probability of contributing to the BC labor force are more likely to get nominated for BC Skilled Worker Program. If a candidate gets nominated for the BC Skilled Worker Program, an invitation will be sent to submit an official application further for Canadian permanent residence. If you have an active Express Entry profile, you can apply for the program and processing will be done quickly. If you have experience in a certain tech field, you will have many benefits as per the BC Tech Pilot such as accelerated application processing and much more.
Program Eligibility Requirements
Express Entry profile and connection to the province is not required, But you do need to have a job offer. The language proficiency level of CLB 4 is required. No minimum level of education. 2 years of work experience in the same occupation of the job offer. No Investment is required. We will discuss the requirements briefly ahead.
Express Entry Requirement
Candidates without an Express Entry profile are eligible to apply for the BC Skilled Worker program. Candidates with an active Express Entry profile can apply to the stream through the program and processing will be accelerated.
Job Offer
The candidate should have a full-time legitimate job offer, employed on an indeterminate basis by a BC employer. The salary should be competing if compared to the average rate of provincial salaries for the occupation. The job or employment offer should be eligible to work at National Occupational Classification (NOC) Skill Level 0, A, or B. The job offer by BC PNP doesn’t need to be approved by a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). The job offer requirements part will be different if you apply via BC Tech Pilot.
Language Proficiency
Candidates who have a job offer at NOC Skill Level B should provide their test results of CLB 4 or higher to prove their English or French language proficiency. The candidates with a NOC Skill Level 0 or a job offer are freed from the language knowledge test.
Work Experience
Candidates should have 2 years minimum of experience in the same occupation as the BC job offer. Candidates with any qualification can use any valid job experience in BC.
Settlement Funds
The candidates should meet the settlement funds terms and conditions decided by Refugees, Immigration, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). This can be proved by your own finances or by keeping a valid salary offered for employment.
Employer Requirements British Colombia Skilled Worker Program
If you are an applicant and apply to the most BC Skills Immigration programs, then you should have a job offer from a qualified BC employer. There are some specific requirements an employer should meet so their job offers are considered official.
Job Offer Requirements
The job offer requirements include full-time, indeterminate rank with a good salary. The position at the job should meet BC’s minimum salary requirements according to the candidate’s annual salary, residence location in BC, and the number of dependent members of the family.
Business Requirements
If an applicant has a business, it should be well organized and have a good reputation in the British Columbia workplace and history. The minimum employee requirements of the business are:
For Inside Vancouver: Minimum five full-time business employees.
For Outside Vancouver: Minimum three full-time business employees.
Recruitment Requirements
The employer should show that many consistent efforts were done to hire a Canadian to fill out the form for a position as a foreign national. Under the supervision of BC PNP, employers don’t need to obtain a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) to make their offered positions valid.
Application Procedure for British Columbia Skilled Worker Program
The British Columbia Skilled Worker program runs on a system of Expression of Interest (EOI). If a candidate meets the minimum stream eligibility requirements they can register their profile from the BC’s online immigration portal. It is necessary for candidates to mention on this BC profile if they are applying via the accelerated processing Express Entry system, or via the regular basis Skills Immigration system. Once the candidate is done submitting the profile, candidates will receive a score and a rank against as per the BC Skills Immigration Ranking System. If you are among the highest-ranking candidates, you will be further invited to apply to the stream of periodic intakes.
It is important for candidates to submit a complete application within 30 days once they have received an application to apply. The BC Skilled Worker program charges a fee of $700 CAD per applicant. If the candidate’s application is approved, a provincial nomination for BC permanent residence will be given. Candidates can also apply for a support letter of temporary work permit for a work permit in Canada until their application for BC permanent residence is processing. This process requires a separate application to IRCC.
Application Processing Timeframe
If the applicants have mentioned that they were applying to the BC Skilled Worker program via Express Entry, a notification of nomination will be sent on their IRCC online account. Once the provincial nomination is accepted, the applicant will get an increase of 600 points in the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), this guarantees they will receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) in the upcoming Express Entry draw for permanent residence. Once the ITA is received, the applicant should prepare all the related documents and submit an official application within the given deadline for Canadian permanent residency. It usually takes about six months for a permanent residence application to process submitted through Express Entry.
If the candidate is applying to the BC Skilled Worker Program via the regular Skills Immigration system, after the invitation there are six months of the time frame to submit a permanent residence application. They should provide all the information on a paper and submit it via mail system to the designated application center. It usually takes about 18 months for paper-based PNP applications for permanent residency to process.
