Last Updated on September 1, 2020

British Columbia immigration says it will likely continue to exclude 31 occupations from its weekly draws until the end of 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Invitations to apply have been suspended for the jobs in tourism, hospitality, retail and personal services since March 30.

B.C. believes employment in the sectors is likely to drop 70 percent this year, meaning labour market demand is not high enough to justify bringing in new immigrants.

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“This temporary measure is in response to widespread unemployment in these sectors resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said a British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) statement.

“We anticipate that these occupations will be excluded from ITAs for the remainder of 2020. We continue to monitor the impact of COVID-19 on the B.C. labour market with each BC PNP draw and will review sooner if warranted by economic circumstances.”

British Columbia has continued its weekly draws uninterrupted despite the coronavirus pandemic.

It continues to conduct general draws for its Skills Immigration streams, as well as targeted draws through the BC PNP Tech Pilot.

“We will not nominate any BC PNP applicants if it adversely impacts employment opportunities for British Columbians,” the statement added.

“We will however, continue to focus nominations on occupations that have labour shortages despite COVID-19.”

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BC PNP: Occupations Temporarily Suspended Due to COVID-19

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 and front desk clerks
6531: Tour and travel guides
6532: Outdoor sport and recreational guides
6533: Casino occupations
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
6722: Operators and attendants in amusement, recreation and sport
6731: Light duty cleaners