British Columbia has been one of the busiest PNP’s this year. Although all Provinces have been affected by COVID-19, BC continues to welcome new immigrants and the April 27th draw is a key indicator. During the April 27th draw, 91 Invitations to Apply (ITA) were issued under the Tech Pilot Program to applicants with job offers in the 29 key technology occupations and a minimum score of 85 under BC’s eligibility criteria. This is a drop from the last Tech Pilot draw, which issued a total of 147 invitations.

Under the Tech program, applicants do not require a Labour Market Opinion (LMO); however, they do require a full-time one-year job offer. The BC PNP’s most recent all-program draw, excluded 34 occuapations due to the impact of COVID-19 on BC businesses in these sectors.  Currently, BC’s Tech Pilot Program is extended to June 2020.  As the Province has mentioned, there are many new and growing technology businesses in BC and the need for professionals in the 29 occupations is in demand.

In order to qualify for the BC PNP Tech Pilot, candidates muts apply under the existing BC PNP categories, such as the Regular and Express Entry (EE) Skilled Worker, or EE International Graduate. The supporting BC Employer must also meet the minimum program requirements at the time you register. There is priority processing under this program, typically between 2-3 months.