How to Immigrate to Canada under the Skills Immigration Program

Foreigners have the opportunity to immigrate to Canada’s province of British Columbia using the “Skills Immigration” category of the BC PNP. The Skills Immigration stream is designed to assist experienced professionals or post-secondary graduates find jobs in BC. Broadly speaking, the primary conditions to obtain permanent residence status through this immigration option requires (1) that you accept a job offer in BC, and (2) that you have the qualified skills.

IS THE “SKILLS IMMIGRATION” PROGRAM RIGHT FOR YOU?

Before applying with the BC PNP Skills Immigration program, it is important to know if you are even eligible. There are five categories to apply with under the Skills Immigration program. They are summarized below with a high-level list of the eligibility requirements for applying under the Skills Immigration category:

	CATEGORIES
REQUIREMENTS	Skilled Worker	Healthcare Professional	International Graduate	International Post-Graduate	Entry Level and Semi-Skilled
Income requirements	Depends on the size of your family and the area of BC you live in. If you have no dependents, then you will need a minimum of $19,006 per year for most of BC. This increases by around $5,000 per additional dependent.	Depends on the size of your family and the area of BC you live in. If you have no dependents, then you will need a minimum of $19,006 per year for most of BC. This increases by around $5,000 per additional dependent.	Depends on the size of your family and the area of BC you live in. If you have no dependents, then you will need a minimum of $19,006 per year for most of BC. This increases by around $5,000 per additional dependent.	N/A	Depends on the size of your family and the area of BC you live in. If you have no dependents, then you will need a minimum of $19,006 per year for most of BC. This increases by around $5,000 per additional dependent.
Language requirements	If the job offer is for a job with the Skill Level B, then you need a CLB benchmark score of 4. If the offer is any other applicable skill level, then no language test is required.	If the job offer is for a in a Skill Level B, then you need a CLB benchmark score of 4. If the offer is any other applicable skill level, then no language test is required.	If the job offer is for a job with the Skill Level B, then you need a CLB benchmark score of 4. If the offer is any other applicable skill level, then no language test is required.	N/A	For all job offers, you must have a CLB benchmark of level 4 in listening, speaking, reading, and writing
Work experience requirements	2 years minimum full time in the specific occupation offered to you;	2 years minimum full time in the specific occupation offered to you;	N/A	N/A	Must be working for the employer for nine months prior to your application. And 2 years minimum full time in the specific occupation offered to you;
Job Offer requirement	Full time, permanent offer, with an industry standard wage	Full time, permanent offer, with an industry standard wage, on an official company letterhead	Full time, permanent offer, for a position that typically requires a college education with an industry standard wage, in a skill type zero, level A or level B	N/A	Full time, permanent offer, with an industry standard wage, in an eligible National Occupational Classification of C or D occupation
Education requirements	N/A	N/A	A undergraduate degree, or eight-month certificate diploma from an eligible public post-secondary institution in Canada	Masters or doctoral degree within past three years from an eligible post- secondary institution in BC in natural, applied or health sciences	Completion of secondary education and any applicable licenses for the job offer

Labour Market Impact Assessment:

Skills Immigration: It is important to note that the BC PNP Skills Immigration may require a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) to be completed by an employer in the event that your specific category requires a job offer. This is not always requested but is often needed at the discretion of the BC PNP or IRCC. An LMIA is an independent assessment that costs extra fees and is designed to ensure a job offer wasn’t given to an immigrant in place of a qualified Canadian citizen who would have otherwise accepted the job offer.

Express Entry: Unlike the Skills Immigration program, the Express Entry program of the BC PNP does not require an LMIA. However, in the event that an LMIA has already been completed for your applicable job offer, then it still might be requested by the BC PNP or IRCC for confirmation purposes.

PROCESS:

After you have accepted a valid job offer from a BC employer, you will need to do the following steps:

Step 1 – Registration: Yo register an account with the BC PNP online immigration portal and submit your skills you will receive a “registration score” where you are ranked among other registrants.

Step 2 – Invitation: If your registration score is sufficiently high, the BC PNP will invite you to apply for the program (if you are not invited to apply within 12 months after registration, your account will be removed from the registry).

Step 3 – Application: If you have been invited to apply, then you have thirty days to submit a complete application to the BC PNP which will include an application fee of CAD $1150 plus the necessary documents verifying the claims made in your registration.

Step 4 – Nomination to IRCC: If your application is approved, you will be nominated to apply for permanent residence in British Columbia, Canada with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

Step 5 – Obtain Permanent Residence Status: Once you have applied to IRCC, if your application is approved, you will be issued permanent residence status to work in British Columbia, Canada.

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. The information and facts referred to herein may be amended, removed or otherwise changed by the applicable government authority. As such, the information contained herein is provided with no guarantees of completeness, accuracy, usefulness or timeliness.