International Graduate Category

This is one of the streams of PNP operated by the province of British Columbia. This stream prioritizes the nomination of immigrants who have completed post-secondary education in Canada and have an offer for skilled employment.

Candidates successfully nominated through this program are invited to submit an official application for Canadian PR. They do not need to have an Express Entry profile to be eligible for this stream. However, candidates meeting the eligibility criteria and having an active Express Entry profile may apply to the stream through Express Entry for expedited processing. On the other hand, candidates experienced in certain technical occupations may be eligible for expedited processing and other benefits through the BC Tech Pilot.

 

Program Requirements

Express Entry Profile

No

Connection to Province

Work Experience

Job Offer

Yes

Language Proficiency

None for NOC 0, A, or B
CLB 4 for NOC C

Level of Education

Post-Secondary, 1-Year Minimum

Work Experience

Employed in Alberta

Investment Requirement

None


Express Entry Requirement

As mentioned above, to be eligible for this stream, the candidates need not have an Express Entry profile; however, the ones who happen to meet the eligibility criteria and have an active Express Entry profile may be able to apply to the stream through Express Entry for quicker processing.

Job Offer

Candidates must have a valid full-time job offer for indeterminate employment from a British Columbian employer. Furthermore, the wages for the position must be competitive as compared to average provincial wages for that particular occupation. The offer of employment must be for work at National Occupational Classification (NOC) Skill Level 0, A, or B.
Please note that the BC PNP job offer need not be supported by a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).
*Job offer requirements may vary when applying through the BC Tech Pilot stream.

Language Proficiency

The language proficiency for candidates with a job offer at NOC Skill Level B should be at CLB 4 or higher for English or French. On the other hand, candidates with job offers at NOC Skill Level 0 or A are exempted from it entirely, which means that they do not need to show the test results for language proficiency.

Level of Education

Candidates must have successfully completed a post-secondary degree in Canada in the past 3 years. The candidates may be eligible for the British Columbia International Post-Graduate stream if they have completed a graduate degree at an eligible institution in British Columbia.

Work Experience

The candidate must have work experience of at least two (2) years in the same occupation as the BC job offer. Also, he/she must also have the qualifications required to perform the job in the province of British Columbia.

Settlement Funds

The settlement funds requirement must be met by all the candidates as determined by IRCC. The same may be demonstrated through their own finances, or through maintaining a valid offer of employment.

Employer Requirements

In order to apply to most of the BC Skills Immigration programs, the applicant must have a valid job offer from an eligible BC employer. Furthermore, the employers must also meet certain requirements in order for their job offers to be considered valid under these programs.

Job Offer Requirements

The job offered by the employer must be full-time, of indeterminate position and offer a wage meeting industry standards. Also, the position must meet British Columbia’s minimum wage requirements as per the applicant’s annual wage, location of residence in British Columbia, and the number of dependent family members.

Business Requirements

The business must be established and in good standing in British Columbia with a history of good workplace and business practices. It must also meet minimum employee requirements:
Inside Vancouver: Must have at least 5 full-time employees.
Outside Vancouver: Must have at least 3 full-time employees.

Recruitment Requirements

The employer must demonstrate that significant efforts were made to recruit a Canadian to fulfil the offered position before offering it to a foreign national. It should be noted that employers are not required to obtain a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) under the BC PNP for their positions to be valid.

Application Procedure

This stream (BC International Graduate) operates on the system of Expression of Interest (EOI). The candidates meeting the minimum stream requirements may register themselves using British Columbia’s online immigration portal. When creating a profile, the candidates must indicate if they are applying through the regular Skills Immigration system or the accelerated Express Entry system. Upon submission of the profile, the candidates are assigned a score and ranked using the BC Skills Immigration Ranking System. The candidates ranking higher are invited to apply to the stream in one of the stream’s regular intakes.
The candidates have only 30 days to submit a completed application from the day they receive the invitation to apply. A fee of $700 CAD is charged per applicant. If approved, the candidate is issued a provincial nomination for PR from the province of British Columbia. Candidates also have an option to request a letter of support for a temporary work permit to let them start working in Canada while their application is in process; however, this process requires a separate application to IRCC.
If the applicant applied to the BC International Graduate stream through Express Entry, they will receive a notification of nomination on their IRCC online account. Once the provincial nomination is accepted by the applicant, their CRS score increases by 600 points, virtually guaranteeing that they will receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for PR in the next Express Entry draw. The applicant must prepare and submit an official application for Canadian PR within the designated timeframe after receiving an ITA. Such applications are generally processed within 6 months.
If the applicant applied to the BC Skilled Worker stream through the regular Skills Immigration system, the applicant gets 6 months to submit an official application for PR. A paper-based application must be submitted by mail to the appropriate application centre in such a case. It must be noted that paper-based PNP applications generally get processed within 18 months.
 

 

British Columbia Skills Immigration Ranking System

Factor

Maximum Points

 

Economic Factors (120)

Skill Level of the B.C. Job Offer

60

Wage of the B.C. Job Offer

50

Regional District of Employment

10

 

Human Capital Factors (80)

Directly Related Work Experience

25

Highest Level of Education

25

Language

30

Total Available Points

200

         

 

Skill Level of Job Offer

Skill Level of the B.C. Job Offer

Points

NOC Skill Level A (Including Skill Type 0)

25

NOC Skill Level B

10

NOC Skill Level C

5

NOC Skill Level D

5

Bonus Points:

 

Occupation is a “00” NOC

15

Occupation identified in the BC High Demand Occupations List in the BC Labour Market Outlook 2018 Edition

10

Currently working full-time in B.C. for the employer in the occupation identified in the BC PNP registration

10

Maximum Score Available

60

Annual Wage of Job Offer

Annual Wage of the B.C. Job Offer

Points

$100,000 and above

50

$97,500 to $99,999

38

$95,000 to $97,499

37

$92,500 to $94,999

36

$90,000 to $92,499

35

$87,500 to $89,999

34

$85,000 to $87,499

33

$82,500 to $84,999

32

$80,000 to $82,499

31

$77,500 to $79,999

30

$75,000 to $77,499

29

$72,500 to $74,999

28

$70,000 to $72,499

27

$67,500 to $69,999

26

$65,000 to $67,499

25

$62,500 to $64,999

24

$60,000 to $62,499

23

$57,500 to $59,999

22

$55,000 to $57,499

21

$52,500 to $54,999

20

$50,000 to $52,499

19

$47,500 to $49,999

18

$45,000 to $47,499

17

$42,500 to $44,999

16

$40,000 to $42,499

15

$38,750 to $39,999

14

$37,500 to $38,749

13

$36,250 to $37,499

12

$35,000 to $36,249

11

$33,750 to $34,999

10

$32,500 to $33,749

9

$31,250 to $32,499

8

$30,000 to $31,249

7

$28,750 to $29,999

6

$27,500 to $28,749

5

$27,500 to $28,749

4

$25,000 to $26,249

3

Less than $25,000

0

Maximum Score Available

50

 

 

Regional District of Employment

Regional District of Employment

Points

Stikine, Central Coast, Northern Rockies, Mount Waddington, Skeena-Queen Charlotte, Powell River, Sunshine Coast, Kootenay-Boundary, Alberni-Clayoquot

10

Kitimat-Stikine, Bulkley-Nechako, Squamish-Lillooet, Strathcona, Columbia-Shuswap, East Kootenay

8

Peace River, Comox Valley, Cariboo, Central Kootenay

6

Okanagan-Similkameen, Cowichan Valley, North Okanagan, Fraser-Fort George

4

Thompson-Nicola, Nanaimo, Central Okanagan

2

Capital, Fraser Valley

2

Greater Vancouver

0

Maximum Score Available

10

 

Related Work Experience

Directly Related Work Experience in the Occupation of B.C. Job Offer

Points

60+ months

15

48 to 59 months

12

36 to 47 months

9

24 to 35 months

6

12 months to 23 months

3

Less than 12 months

1

None

0

Bonus Points:

 

At least 1 year of directly related experience in Canada

10

Maximum Score Available

25

 

 

Education

Master’s or Doctorate/PhD

17

Postgraduate Certificate or Diploma*

11

Bachelor’s Degree

11

Post-secondary Diploma/Certificate (Trades)**

11

Associate Degree

4

Post-secondary Diploma/Certificate (Non-trades)

2

Secondary School (High School) or Less

0

Bonus Points:

 

Post-secondary education completed in B.C.

8

Post-secondary education completed in Canada (outside of B.C.)

6

Educational Credential Assessment from a qualified supplier

4

Successfully completed the Industry Training Authority British Columbia (ITABC’s) challenge certification process

4

Maximum Score Available

25

Language

Canadian Language Benchmark Level

Points

10+

30

9

26

8

22

7

18

6

14

5

10

4

6

Below 4

0

No Test

0

Maximum Score Available

30

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