British Columbia invited immigration candidates in four targeted draws under its Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) on May 10.

The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) invited 126 skilled workers and international graduates with a minimum score of 85 points through the BC PNP Tech stream.

The BC PNP Tech is a fast-track immigration pathway for in-demand tech workers and international students. Candidates need to be registered in one of British Columbia’s (BC) existing provincial immigration streams and have a valid job offer of at least 12 months in one of 29 eligible occupations to qualify for the stream.

The province also held two draws for candidates working in health occupations.

More specifically, BC invited 20 healthcare professionals who may be eligible for the Skilled Worker, International Graduate, or the Entry Level and Semi-Skilled sub-categories. In addition, the province said it invited “less than five” nurse aides, orderlies, and patient service associates to apply under the entry-level and semi-skilled sub-category. In both of these draws, candidates needed a minimum provincial score of 62.

A total of 20 early childhood educators who may be eligible for the Skilled Worker and International Graduate sub-categories also received invitations. These candidates also needed scores of at least 62 in order to be invited.

Since March, in addition to general draws, targeted invitations are being issued to support BC government priorities, such as supporting specific industry sectors, and encouraging regional immigration.

For the first time since March, B.C. also sent out invitations to Entrepreneur Immigration (EI) candidates. Less than five invitations were sent to those in the EI-regional pilot category.

While the province continues to invite and finalize applications from candidates in the EI-base category, the stream is temporarily paused. The province is currently reviewing the program and has announced that it intends to reopen it to applications in July 2022.

So far this year, B.C. has issued more than 3,200 invitations through various BC PNP streams.