BC nominates after provisionally suspending its entrepreneur stream

British Columbia issues fresh invitations and proclaims a temporary hiatus in the registration of new applicants under its entrepreneur program.

Inviting 383 new immigrants through the provincial nominee program, BC issues invites on July 20 through its recent draw.

Since the beginning of 2021, BC has been calling foreign aspirants through its two mainstream rounds of invitations the general draw and the second draw which focuses on managerial candidatures in retail &wholesale trades and restaurant & food services. This has come into place starting February 2021 due to the rising number of candidatures for these occupations in the BC PNP Skills Immigration Registration System (SIRS) states the British Columbia government. Hence, the BC government tries to bring a balance to the intake of new immigrants by separating the draws for general and these two occupations. Doing so will harmonize the BC PNP workforce in the near future.

Furthermore, this would bring clarity in meeting the labour market requirements of each sector in British Columbia.

Candidates selected for the provincial invitation came from the following categories of the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP):

BC Skills Immigration Stream (SI) 

• International Graduate
• Entry Level and Semi-Skilled 
• BC Express Entry (EEBC) 

Upfront, these invitations were allotted to skilled immigrants in the International Graduate pathway and Entry Level and Semi-Skilled pathway of the skilled immigration stream of BC and Express Entry BC streams.

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In the first draw, the minimum score ranged between 75 and 91 points allowing 323 candidates to apply for Canadian permanent residence. The second draw drew 60 candidates under the SI and EEBC categories with occupations in NOC 0621 or NOC 0631 and the least score of 107.

Intake of new registrations for entrepreneur stream temporarily paused

On July 19, 2021, British Columbia publicized to put a conditional hiatus on the intake of new applicants being registered under the Entrepreneur Immigration (EI) stream. The condition here is that this temporary suspension is only meant for the base category. While the EI, Regional Pilot, Strategic Projects, and Skills immigration categories are still open.

This voluntary pause will allow the immigration department to assess the viability of the program to check if it meets the requirements of the province in the light of post covid recovery.

In a press release, BC officials said - measuring the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy of BC and Canada at large, a temporary suspension of the entrepreneur stream (base) would provide sufficient time for the provincial authority to evaluate the objectives of the program. Which would further lead to the recovery of the economy and prioritizing government's support in giving the applicant a greater chance of success.

Those who have already submitted an EI registration under the province won't be affected by the sudden suspension. The expected update to resume registration in the entrepreneur stream will be issued in early 2022, till then we can see the investor pathway being shut to new high net worth immigrants.

The base category of the Entrepreneur Immigration stream is meant for ultra-high net worth immigrants who desire to invest in a business in BC.

How the BC PNP works?

The province of British Columbia like all the other Canadian provinces focuses on attracting foreign skilled workers who can contribute to the economy of the province by fulfilling the requirement of their in high demand occupations and return focus on becoming a permanent resident of Canada themselves.

The BC PNP immigration stream is easy to apply but they follow a strict immigration guideline under two of their major immigration streams. The Skills Immigration Stream; and The Express Entry Stream. These two categories are further divided into several other pathways based on the requirement of the BC provincial needs.

A candidate when registering under one of the BC PNP receives a score based on his/her selection factors by the B.C.'s Skills Immigration Registration System (SIRS). The rest is history, highest-scoring candidates receive a provincial invite to apply for permanent residency.