BC PNP invites 95 immigrants in latest Tech Draw

95 immigrants were invited to the latest British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP)s provincial draw held on March 23.

The province held a Tech Pilot draw as part of its BC PNP, in the BC Express Entry and Skills Immigration categories.

Invited applicants came from the Skilled Worker and International Graduate subcategories and were required to achieve a minimum provincial score of 80.

Tech Pilot is a new immigration pathway for in-demand IT workers as well as international students. It operates through BC's existing provincial immigration channels.

BC also announced that it is extending the Regional Entrepreneur Immigration (EI) Pilot Project until March 31, 2024.

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Eligibility for the Tech Pilot is based on the candidate's job offer or profession.

The EI Pilot project was introduced in May 2017, after a labour market survey found out BC PNP's tech sector is facing problems in accessing talent. The Tech Pilot was therefore created to support the growth of the technology sector by facilitating and accelerating the immigration of workers with in-demand skills to British Columbia.

Recently the pilot has been extended until June 2021.

Basics on BC PNP's Entrepreneur Immigration - Regional Pilot

The Entrepreneur Immigration Pilot - Regional was launched in early 2019. The pilot is helping British Columbia. work in partnership with regional communities of less than 75,000 people to welcome accredited immigrant entrepreneurs who wish to open a new business.

Communities must be located more than 30 kilometers from a population center of more than 75,000 inhabitants to be enrolled in the pilot project.

All interested entrepreneurs should make an exploratory visit to the community where they wish to set up their business and should get a recommendation from the community before registering for the pilot project.

Successful applicants receive a temporary work permit. The province can then apply for permanent residence once it has determined that the business has met all of the criteria set out in a performance agreement.

"This extension will help communities welcome new entrepreneurs to their regions and be well-positioned to support recovery from the pandemic," the government announcement said.

A total of 65 communities have signed up for the initial pilot phase.The province also expects many communities to welcome new entrepreneurs once restrictions on international travel are lifted.