BC’s Skills Immigration streams are employer-driven: almost every registrant needs a job offer from an eligible BC employer before they can enter the pool. In 2026 the doorway is much narrower than it was two years ago. British Columbia’s nomination allocation is 5,254, up from 4,000 in 2025 but well below the 8,000 available in 2024, and the program has been restructured around three objectives — Care, Build and Innovate. Streams for students and entry-level or semi-skilled workers are gone for the foreseeable future. This guide explains what employers and candidates must satisfy, and how registrations are actually selected.
Key Takeaways
- The employer must be incorporated or registered in BC, established for at least one year, and have at least five full-time employees in Greater Vancouver or three outside it.
- Registration is scored out of a grid weighing wage (up to 55 points), area of employment (up to 25), directly related experience (up to 40), education (up to 40) and language (up to 40).
- Recent invitation rounds have run on two tracks: a high-wage threshold with a TEER 0–3 job offer, or a minimum points score. In the April 22, 2026 round the thresholds were $62 per hour and $125,000 per year, or 138 points.
- Nomination normally issues together with a T13 work permit support letter; an accompanying spouse is eligible for an open work permit.
- Cut-offs, occupation lists and thresholds move round to round. Verify the current BC PNP posting before advising on any figure.
Which employers qualify
The employer test is stricter than many businesses expect. The employer must be incorporated or otherwise a registered entity in BC, must have been established in BC for at least one year, and must have a minimum of five full-time employees if located in Greater Vancouver, or three if outside it. Only employees in BC who are on payroll count — independent contractors do not — and full-time means an average of at least 30 hours per week.
Business licensing must be in place or a clear exemption must apply, with additional licensing requirements in child care and other regulated industries. Penalties, fines, criminal charges or an active investigation against the employer can result in the employer being refused outright.
Several employer categories are ineligible: sexually oriented businesses, placement agencies, disreputable employers, and — as of the May 2026 update — organizations that provide immigration advice or services. There is also an ownership bar: in the five years before the application, the applicant and their extended family members must not have held or exercised control over an ownership or equity stake exceeding 10 percent of the employer, nor can the arrangement involve the employer having purchased all or substantially all of the applicant’s or their family’s business.
Employers already familiar with the federal system should note that this is a separate compliance universe from the LMIA process described in our guide to hiring a foreign worker, with its own audit exposure — see our employer compliance guide.
Genuine need and recruitment
The employer must demonstrate a genuine need for the position. Recruitment must run for a minimum of two weeks, but unlike an LMIA there are no prescribed advertising sources. For senior executives, highly specialized senior managers and highly specialized senior professionals, commercially reasonable alternative recruitment methods may be used. Proof of recruitment is not required where the applicant is already working in the offered position, and the Health Authority stream is treated differently again.
Expect an employer interview, usually by phone. Its primary purpose is to confirm that the employer and the job offer are genuine.
The job offer
The offer must be full-time — at least 30 hours per week — indeterminate unless an exemption applies, and signed by both the employer and the applicant.
Wage is assessed against the range for the occupation and location, and must be consistent with the employer’s own wage structure. Only base salary or hourly rate counts. Bonuses, commissions, profit-sharing, tips, overtime, housing allowances and room and board are all excluded from the calculation, which matters because wage is the single heaviest scoring factor.
Three exemptions from the indeterminate requirement exist. Priority Technology Occupations listed in the program guide’s Appendix A may use a one-year job offer with at least 120 days remaining at the time of the PNP application. NOC 41200 university professors and lecturers, and NOC 41220 and 41221 kindergarten, elementary and secondary school teachers, may also qualify where the employer is public — and for NOC 41200 the applicant must hold a doctoral degree.
The streams
Skilled Worker requires an indeterminate, full-time job offer in a NOC TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 occupation, plus at least two years of full-time equivalent work experience in a TEER 0–3 occupation within the past ten years, which should be relevant to the offered occupation.
Health Authority requires an indeterminate, full-time job offer in an eligible occupation from a public health authority — the Provincial Health Services Authority, Island Health, Northern Health, the First Nations Health Authority, Fraser Health, Vancouver Coastal Health, Interior Health, or Providence Health Care. Physicians, nurse practitioners and midwives need not be directly employed by a health authority, but must show proof of public health authority support and hold the required licence to work in BC. This stream can operate independently of the invitation process that governs the others.
Temporary Rural/Remote Health Support, in effect since June 15, 2026, is a narrow initiative covering NOC 64410 security guards, 65310 light duty cleaners and 65312 janitors, caretakers and heavy-duty cleaners. It requires an indeterminate full-time offer from a public health authority in a rural or remote part of the province — the Capital Regional District, Central Okanagan Regional District and Metro Vancouver Regional District are excluded — at least nine consecutive months already worked full-time in an eligible occupation with the same health authority, and completed secondary education.
How registrations are scored
There is no registration fee for Skills Immigration; the application fee is $1,750. Registration is submitted by the applicant only, one active registration at a time, is program-specific, cannot be edited, and is valid for one year. A registration can be linked to an Express Entry profile, but the stream and the Express Entry link cannot be changed after submission.
The grid runs as follows. Hourly wage carries up to 55 points, scaling roughly one point per dollar, with $70 or more scoring the maximum and anything under $16 scoring zero. Area of employment carries up to 25 points: Metro Vancouver scores zero, Squamish, Abbotsford, Agassiz, Mission and Chilliwack score 5, the rest of BC scores 15, and a further 10 points are available for regional experience or being a regional alumnus outside Metro Vancouver.
Directly related work experience carries up to 40 points: 20 for five or more years, scaling down to 1 for under a year, plus 10 bonus points for a year in Canada and another 10 for currently working full-time in BC for the employer in the offered occupation. Education carries up to 40 points: 27 for a PhD, 22 for a master’s, 15 for a bachelor’s or a post-graduate certificate or diploma, 5 for an associate degree or post-secondary certificate or diploma, and zero for high school, with bonuses of 8 for post-secondary study in BC, 6 elsewhere in Canada, and 5 for an eligible professional designation in BC. Language carries up to 40 points: 30 for CLB 9 or above, down to 5 for CLB 4, plus 10 for proficiency in both English and French at a minimum of CLB 4.
Language tests accepted are CELPIP General, IELTS General and PTE Core for English, and TEF Canada or TCF Canada for French, valid for two years. A TEER 2 or 3 job offer requires a minimum of CLB 4; a TEER 0 or 1 offer carries no minimum language requirement, though language still scores.
A worked example makes the arithmetic concrete. A candidate with an indeterminate Metro Vancouver job offer in his current high-skilled occupation, over two years of directly related Canadian experience, an equivalent wage of $50 per hour, a foreign master’s degree and CLB 9 English scores 35 for wage, zero for area, 28 for experience, 22 for education and 30 for language — 115 in total.
Getting invited
Registration alone does not produce an application. Most streams require an Invitation to Apply, and Skilled Worker registrants are further filtered through targeted invitations tied to the Care, Build and Innovate objectives. The Innovate category has no published occupation list; in practice invitations there have been based on a minimum registration score combined with the wage of the job offer.
Recent rounds illustrate how demanding the thresholds have become. On April 22, 2026, invitations went to candidates with a minimum wage of $62 per hour and $125,000 per year plus a TEER 0–3 job offer (252 candidates), or a minimum score of 138 points (232 candidates). On February 11, 2026 the score threshold was 135; on February 4, 2026 the wage track required $70 per hour and $145,000 per year, with a 138-point alternative.
Nomination, work permit and permanent residence
Nomination is not available to applicants who are inadmissible, out of status in Canada without having applied to restore, working without authorization, holding an unresolved refugee claim, or under a removal order.
For Skills Immigration applicants, approval normally produces a Certificate of Nomination and a T13 work permit support letter together, and applicants are expected to apply for the T13 permit promptly so they can start work with the BC employer. An accompanying spouse is eligible for an open work permit. Where a bridging open work permit is the better fit, the same spousal eligibility applies — our LMIA-exempt work permits overview sets out the alternatives.
BC PNP application processing runs roughly three to four months, faster for some categories. The permanent residence application must be submitted before the nomination expires, usually six months from approval. Processing then runs roughly 18 to 24 months for non-Express Entry applications and roughly 6 to 12 months for Express Entry-based ones.
After nomination, both nominee and employer must report changes to the employer, job title, work location, job duties, wage and hours of work. Failure to comply can result in cancellation of the nomination, which may carry a two-year bar on applying to the BC PNP. Applicants must also intend to reside in BC throughout, and leaving soon after landing can raise misrepresentation concerns at the permanent residence stage.
FAQ
Does my company need an LMIA to use the BC PNP?
No. BC PNP Skills Immigration is a nomination program, not a work permit program, and it does not run through the LMIA process. Recruitment is still required — a minimum of two weeks — but without the prescribed advertising sources an LMIA demands.
How small can an employer be?
At least five full-time employees on payroll in BC if the business is in Greater Vancouver, or three if outside it, and the business must have been established in BC for at least one year. Independent contractors do not count toward the total.
Do bonuses and commissions count toward the wage score?
No. Only base salary or hourly rate is considered. Bonuses, commissions, profit-sharing, tips, overtime, housing allowances, and room and board are excluded — which can materially change a candidate’s score.
Is there a minimum language requirement?
For a TEER 2 or 3 job offer, CLB 4. For a TEER 0 or 1 offer there is no minimum, although language still contributes up to 40 points on the registration grid.
What score do I need to be invited?
It varies by round and by category. Recent general thresholds have sat around 135 to 138 points, with a parallel high-wage track. Because cut-offs move every round, check the current BC PNP invitation results rather than planning against a past figure.
Disclaimer: This article is for general information only and is not legal advice. Immigration law and IRCC/ESDC policy change frequently, and every case turns on its own facts. Reading this article does not create a lawyer–client relationship. Obtain advice tailored to your situation before you act.
Talk to a Canadian immigration lawyer. BridgePoint Law advises individuals and businesses across Canada — and on Canada–US–China cross-border matters — on provincial nominee and employer-driven immigration. Book a consultation with our team in Toronto and Kingston. We work in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese.