Foreign nationals hoping to immigrate to the West Coast province of British Columbia saw it issue up to 230 Invitations to Apply (ITA) through its British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BCPNP) Skilled Worker, International Graduate and Entry-Level and Semi-Skilled streams on Tuesday.
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In the Aug. 22 draw, British Columbia immigration officials sent out 169 ITAs to Skilled Worker stream and Skilled Worker Express Entry British Columbia (EEBC) option stream candidates with minimum scores of 106, International Graduate and International Graduate EEBC option stream candidates with scores of 109, and Entry Level and Semi-Skilled stream candidates with minimum scores of 88.
Tuesday’s draw saw BCPNP issue ITAs under occupation-targeted and general draws
In three occupation-targeted draws on the same day, the province issued up to 61 ITAs to candidates through its Skilled Worker International Graduate, including the EEBC option.
Early childhood educators and assistants, categorized under the National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 system with the code 42202, were sent 33 ITAs.
Healthcare workers with a minimum score of 60 were sent 23 ITAs.
And up to five ITAs were sent to attract veterinarians and their staff, animal health technologists and veterinary technicians, categorized under the NOC with the codes 31103 and 32104 respectively.
BCPNP Aug. 22 draw saw 230 invitations issued
| Date | Number of Invitations |
Stream | Minimum Score |
Description |
| August 22, 2023 | 169 | Skilled Worker | 106 | General draw (includes tech occupations) |
| Skilled Worker – EEBC option | 106 | |||
| International Graduate | 109 | |||
| International Graduate – EEBC option | 109 | |||
| Entry Level and Semi-Skilled | 88 | |||
| 33 | Skilled Worker, International Graduate (includes EEBC option) | 60 | Targeted draw:Â Childcare: Early childhood educators and assistants (NOC 42202) | |
| 23 | 60 | Targeted draw:Â Healthcare | ||
| <5 | 60 | Targeted draw: Other priority occupations (NOCs 31103, 32104) |
 The province started the month with draws on Aug. 1 that included a tech draw with 132 invitations issued under the Skilled Worker International Graduate stream. There were also 39 invitations to early childhood educators, 23 invitations to healthcare workers and up to five to veterinarians and their staff that same day.
A little over a week later, British Columbia issued another 139 invitations to skilled workers and international graduates, including those in tech occupations, in a general draw.
British Columbia is actively recruiting workers to resolve labour shortages
That Aug. 9 draw saw the province also issue 34 invitations to early childhood educators and 22 healthcare workers.
Then, on Aug. 15, the West Coast province issued 108 invitations with a minimum score of 88 to tech workers through the Skilled Worker International Graduate stream, 27 ITAs to early childhood educators and assistants with minimum scores of 60 and 19 healthcare workers, also with a minimum score of 60, and up to five ITAs for veterinarians and their staff.
The BCPNP is operated by the British Columbia government in partnership with the federal immigration department, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
Interested candidates must follow a two-stage process: apply for nomination to the provincial government and then, if nominated, apply for permanent residence to the federal government.