The provincial government of British Columbia is adjusting its system operations to help PNP applicants and employers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program BC (BC PNP) continues to respond to inquiries, obtain and process applications, assess final reports, process post-appointment applications and keep regular draws through its Skills Immigration (SI) Express Entry BC (EEBC) and Entrepreneur Streams.
B.C. issued 92 invitations on 12 May 2020. Invitations were made to applicants in both the Express Entry BC (EEBC) and Skills Immigration (SI) streams in the Skilled Worker and International Graduate programmes. The minimum score required for candidates in both programs was 80, marking a 5-point decline compared to last week's draw which had an 85-point cut-off.
The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) continues to respond to inquiries, accept and process applications, review final reports, process post-appointment applications and conduct regular draws through its Skills Immigration, Express Entry BC and Entrepreneur Streams.
B.C. Tech Pilot also holds weekly draws by which applicants with job offers in 29 eligible occupations are invited to apply for a provincial nomination. The goal of the Tech Pilot, launched in 2017, is to help B.C.'s technology sector hire ICT staff to tackle job vacancies.
More tech immigration applicants are invited to apply for permanent resident status in Canada through PNP draws and PNP specific Express Entry draws in B.C. and Ontario, which is due to the importance of the tech sector to the Canadian economy, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the other hand, the pandemic has had a direct effect on some markets which are more vulnerable to fluctuations in employment in B.C's economy. This has led to several occupations being temporarily excluded from recent invitation rounds of the BC PNP.
All applicants who need help, encounter delays in submitting documentation or have trouble meeting other deadlines for the program are asked to contact the BC PNP by email.
