Posted on January 07 2021

British Columbia holds first PNP draw of 2021

By
Anshul Singhal
, Editor

Updated January 11 2024

On January 5, 2021, the first Provincial Nominee Program [PNP] draw of 2021 was held by the province of British Columbia in Canada.

168 invitations to apply were issued in total across 5 streams under the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program [BC PNP].

In 2020, British Columbia invited around 9,464 Canada immigration hopefuls to apply for a nomination through the BC PNP.

Of these, while 9,310 invitations were through Skills Immigration and Express Entry BC, another around 154 invitations went out to Entrepreneur Immigration candidates.

With around 80 immigration pathways or ‘streams’ available, the PNP of Canada has various streams linked with the federal Express Entry system. That is, streams wherein the relevant province or territory searches the federal Express Entry pool for candidates with the most potential of succeeding in their local labour market.

An Express Entry candidate that is a provincial nominee is allotted 600 additional points towards their ranking score – the Comprehensive Ranking System [CRS] score – that determines as to which profiles are invited to apply for Canadian permanent residence.

No direct applications are considered for Canada PR. Only those invited can submit their complete application for permanent residence. It is the highest-ranked profiles that are issued invitations in the federal Express Entry draws that are held.

In 2020, a record-breaking 107,350 ITAs were issued by IRCC in the 37 draws held throughout the year.

Overview of the January 5, 2021 BC PNP draw

Invitations issued through the categories of Skills Immigration [SI] and Express Entry BC [EEBC].

Skills Immigration [SI]: For those with the “skills, experience and qualifications” required by the employers in BC.

Express Entry BC [EEBC]: For those with skills to fill a high-demand occupation in BC. Linked with the federal Express Entry system.

*Category*	*Minimum Score*
EEBC – Skilled Worker	99
EEBC – International Graduate	99
SI – Skilled Worker	95
SI – International Graduate	95
SI – Entry Level and Semi-Skilled	77

Note. The minimum score here is the score allotted on registration under the BC PNP’s Skills Immigration Registration System [SIRS].

As per the BC PNP, “Periodically, we invite the highest scoring registrants in each category to apply to the BC Provincial Nominee Program [BC PNP]. We then nominate successful applicants to apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada [IRCC] for permanent residence.”

Occupations excluded from the draw

Certain occupations were excluded from the January 5 BC PNP draw due to the “Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on BC businesses”.

The National Occupational Classification [NOC] codes excluded –

*NOC Code*	*Description*
0621	Retail and wholesale trade managers
0631	Restaurant and food service managers
0632	Accommodation service managers
0651	Managers in customer and personal services, n.e.c.
3236	Massage therapists
6211	Retail sales supervisors
6311	Food service supervisors
6313	Accommodation, travel, tourism and related services supervisors
6321	Chefs
6322	Cooks
6341	Hairstylists and barbers
6421	Retail salespersons
6511	Maîtres d'hôtel and hosts/hostesses
6512	Bartenders
6513	Food and beverage servers
6521	Travel counsellors
6522	Pursers and flight attendants
6523	Airline ticket and service agents
6524	Ground and water transport ticket agents, cargo service representatives and related clerks
6525	Hotel front desk clerks
6531	Tour and travel guides
6532	Outdoor sport and recreational guides
6533	Casino workers
6562	Estheticians, electrologists and related occupations
6564	Other personal service occupations
6611	Cashiers
6621	Service station attendants
6711	Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support occupations
6721	Support occupations in accommodation, travel and facilities set-up services
6722	Operators and attendants in amusement, recreation and sport
6731	Light duty cleaners