First BC PNP Tech Pilot draw of 2021

In the latest draw held by British Columbia on January 12, 2021, as many as 80 Canada immigration hopefuls have received invitations to apply for a provincial nomination for Canada PR. As this was a Tech Pilot draw, invitations went out to candidates with a job offer in any of the 29 key tech occupations.

Providing BC tech employers with “the continued ability to recruit and retain international talent”, the BC PNP Tech Pilot has been extended until June 2021.

A fast-tracked Canada immigration pathway, the BC PNP Tech Pilot is aimed at individuals with tech skills applying for Canadian permanent residence that will be able to contribute to the “shared prosperity” of British Columbia.

British Columbia is a part of the Provincial Nominee Program [PNP] of Canada. British Columbia issues provincial nominations through the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program [BC PNP].

The previous BC PNP draw – the first provincial draw by BC in 2021 – was held on January 5, 2021.

In 2020, British Columbia invited 9,000+ candidates through the Skills Immigration [SI] and Express Entry BC [EEBC] categories.

While the SI is for those with the “skills, experience and qualifications” required by the employers in BC, the EEBC category [aligned with the federal Express Entry system] is for those with the skills required to fill a high-demand occupation in BC.

600 CRS points are allotted to provincial nominees, thereby ensuring that they are issued an invitation to apply for Canada PR in the subsequent Express Entry draw to be held. ‘CRS’ here stands for the Comprehensive Ranking System [CRS] that determines as to which Express Entry candidates are invited. To be able to apply for Canada PR, the individual must first have received an invitation to apply [ITA] from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada [IRCC] for the same. A record-breaking 107,350 ITAs were issued by IRCC in 2020.

In the latest BC PNP draw, invitations to apply went out to candidates under 4 different BC PNP streams. The minimum score required was 80 across all the categories. By the minimum score here is implied the score allotted following successful registration under the BC PNP’s Skills Immigration Registration System [SIRS].

Overview of the January 12, 2021 BC PNP Tech Pilot draw

Total 80 invitations to apply issued across 4 streams

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

Category	Minimum Score
EEBC – Skilled Worker	80
EEBC – International Graduate	80
SI – Skilled Worker	80
SI – International Graduate	80

 In provincial draws that are held on a regular basis, the BC PNP invites the “highest scoring candidates in each category” to apply for a PNP nomination through British Columbia. Successful applicants can then proceed to applying to IRCC for Canada PR.

Those invited have up to 30 calendar days [from the date of invitation] for submitting a complete application through BC PNP Online.

BC PNP draws in 2021  ·       Skills Immigration [SI] ·       Express Entry [EEBC] ·       Entrepreneur Immigration [EI]
Date	Invitations issued	Categories	Details
January 5, 2021	168	SI and EEBC	Certain occupations excluded.
January 12, 2021	80	SI and EEBC	Tech Pilot draw

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