Nearly 650 new immigrants have been issued invitations to apply to come to Canada under British Columbia’s Provincial Nominee Program.
The invitations were made September 27th 2016 under various categories of the program, with the biggest number of 279 going to international graduates through both the Express Entry and Skills Immigration streams.
Elsewhere there were 181 invitations issued in the Entry Level and Semi-Skilled category, 177 in the two Skilled Worker streams and 10 for Entrepreneurs.
British Columbia PNP: Invitations Issued
| Category | Minimum score | Number of invitations |
| Entrepreneur | 113 | 10 |
| Express Entry Skilled Worker | 90 | 104 |
| Express Entry International Graduate | 85 | 124 |
| Skills Immigration: Skilled Worker | 90 | 73 |
| Skills Immigration: International Graduate | 90 | 155 |
| Skills Immigration: Entry Level and Semi-Skilled | 60 | 181 |
| TOTAL | N/A | 637 |
The highest scoring immigrants are invited to apply at regularly intervals depending on caps put in place at federal level, and the program’s processing capacity.
The previous round of invitations, on September 15, saw 477 new immigrants asked to submit applications.
B.C.’s 2016 plan is to accept a majority of candidates from the Skilled Worker stream (35 to 45 per cent). A sizeable proportion of immigrants will come through Express Entry (25 per cent), while between 15 and 20 per cent will be International Graduates.
The province’s government plans to make immigrants in the Entry Level and Semi-Skilled category between 10 and 15 per cent of its intake, with the Entrepreneur stream taking between 2 and 5 per cent.
The province issues minimum scores that will guarantee a candidate an invite in the next round of invitations. However, the published scores are subject to change.
Scores Needed for Guaranteed Invitation
| Category | Guaranteed Registration Score |
| Skills Immigration – Skilled Worker | 135 |
| Skills Immigration – International Graduate | 105 |
| Skills Immigration – Entry Level and Semi-Skilled | 95 |
| Express Entry BC – Skilled Worker | 135 |
| Express Entry BC – International Graduate | 105 |
B.C. Premier Christy Clark has led calls for the federal government to increase PNP caps, saying the current limits acted as a constraint to the growth of Western Canada.
The provincial premiers also released a joint statement in July, asking for the same immigration powers as Quebec.
“Canada’s Premiers call on the federal government to establish an equivalent agreement to the Canada-Quebec Accord with all provinces and territories,” read a statement from the Council of the Federation talks in Whitehorse, Yukon.
Quebec sets its own immigration quotas, currently at 50,000, but set to increase in the coming years.
B.C. businesses also recently called for increased skilled worker immigration as a way of boosting both the province’s economy and Canada’s economic performance as a whole.
The Business Council of British Columbia wants to see the following changes:
- Give more points under the Canadian Experience Class to international student graduates .
- Raise caps on Provincial Nominee Programs, from 47,800 to 80,000 by 2020.
- Introduce a skills visa aimed at technology talent.
Several of these areas are expected to be covered when the federal government announces changes to the immigration system during the fall.
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