On June 26, 2018 the British Columbia Provincial Nomination Program (the “BC PNP”) clarified and/or modified several aspects of its programs.
Skilled Immigration
The more significant revisions that applicants and practitioners should be aware of are:
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- Previously, applicants to the BC PNP – Skilled Worker programs, and their spouses, could not have a combined ownership / equity stake of more than 10% in the British Columbia company that was offering them employment. Now, they cannot have held more than 10% ownership in the five pear period preceding the application and throughout the BC PNP application process.
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- Applicants to the BC PNP Tech Pilot must now qualify under 1 out of 29 eligible occupations. The job offer must be at least one year in duration, and there must be at least 120 calendar days remaining on the job offer at the time of the application.
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- The BC PNP previously would not nominate individuals if they were not lawfully admitted in their country of current residence. This requirement has been removed.
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- Post nomination the BC PNP no longer wishes for employers to notify them of any promotions, and instead wants to be notified of demotions.
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- The BC PNP has changed the wording for bonus points from bonus points to additional points. This may eliminate the ability of individuals to get bonus points in a category that they got zero points in (except for the bonus points).