On October 20, British Columbia’s Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) sent invitations to 100 candidates to apply. The Oct. 20 draw is hot off the heels of another BC PNP draw on Oct. 15 where 417 candidates were selected. 

Of the 100 candidates, 80 were sent invitations through their Tech Pilot stream that selects candidates who have a job offer in the BC tech industry. The remaining 20 candidates were selected through BC PNP’s entrepreneur streams of immigration. 

Oct. 20 BC PNP Tech Pilot draw 

Skills Immigration and Express Entry BC categories

• Number of invitations: 80
• Minimum score: 80

BC Entrepreneur Immigration draw 

Entrepreneur Immigration – Base Category

• Number of invitations: 15
• Minimum score: 122

Entrepreneur Immigration – Regional Pilot

• Number of invitations: 5
• Minimum score: 109

BC Entrepreneur Immigration program

The BC Entrepreneur Immigration programs are for candidates who wish to start or purchase a business in BC. The program is divided into two categories, the Entrepreneur Immigration Base Category and the Entrepreneur Immigration – Regional Pilot.

To be eligible to apply to the Entrepreneur Immigration Base Category, an applicant must meet the following criteria:

• A personal net worth of at least CAD$600,000
• Previous business and/or management experience
• Have lawful temporary immigration status in Canada or be eligible for legal status
• Basic language proficiency in either English or French (CLB level 4 or higher)

In addition to the abovementioned eligibility criteria, the candidate must also:

1. Start a new business or purchase and improve an existing business
2. Make a personal investment of at least $200,000 in the business
3. Create at least one new full-time job for a Canadian 

The BC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration – Regional Pilot program has more lenient selection criteria. The net worth and investment requirement is cut in half and is $300,000 and $100,000 respectively. However, the regional pilot requires a candidate to start a new business rather than purchase an existing one. 

Eligible occupations for BC PNP Tech Pilot

To be eligible for the BC Provincial Nominee Program Tech Pilot, a candidate must have a job offer from a BC employer in one of the following occupations: