Increased Demand Charges for the BC Provincial Program

British Columbia announced a relative increase in application fees for its most popular provincial immigration stream. Applicants for BC’s Provincial Selection Program specialized immigration stream will have to pay an additional $450 starting August 6, with the fee increasing from $700 to $1,150. The cost of requesting a revision in the immigration request of the expert force has also increased by 150% and has reached from $200 to $500.

“The increase in fees will allow the BC PNP to continue to efficiently serve applicants and assist applicants until they receive their permanent residency,” the BC PNP announcement said. , either maintaining or reducing processing time, increasing the efficiency of the program, improving the integrity of the program, and making it possible to reach the applicants as much as possible.”

The BC PNP program imposes no cost on taxpayers and is funded entirely by program users in what is called a “cost recovery model.” BC PNP, while announcing this increase in the cost of the British Columbia program, pointed to the new costs compared to the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP), which is $2,000 per application in the Greater Toronto Area and $2,000 per application in other areas. This province receives 1500 dollars.

Since 2009, BC’s annual selection program allocation from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has more than doubled, from 3,000 candidates to 6,750 selected in 2019. There are currently over 9,500 candidates in British Columbia waiting to receive their permanent residency.

Segmentation of demanding jobs

The Skilled Immigration (SI) Group provides skilled and semi-skilled labor in the most in-demand occupations in British Columbia. These jobs are divided into five smaller sections:

Expert workforce

Therapeutic occupations

International graduates

International graduates of higher education

Beginner and semi-expert workforce

The BC PNP periodically issues Invitations to Apply (ITA) to select the highest-scoring applicants in the program’s three streams: Skilled Workforce, International Graduates, and Entry-level and Semi-skilled Workforce.

Special conditions for specialized immigration applicants

If something other than the following is mentioned in the specific conditions of each group, these conditions are necessary for all applicants for the specialized immigration program:

A full-time job offer without an expiration date from an employer in British Columbia in one of the specialty occupations (NOC Skill Type 0 and Skill Levels A and B), with acceptance of the potential applicant.

The applicant must have the necessary qualifications and experience to perform the proposed job.

Only legal work experience is accepted.

The salary offered must be commensurate with what is paid in British Columbia for the job.

Where the proposed job is classified as skill level B, C or D, applicants must demonstrate their English or French language ability at CLB/NCLC level 4 for all four skills.

In cases where the proposed job is classified as skill type 0 or skill level A, valid test results are not required at the time of registration, unless points are considered for language level; However, the BC PNP may request test results at any time during the application process.

A minimum income requirement, in accordance with the conditions of residence in British Columbia and the number of dependent family members, must be met.

Not more than 10% of the shares of the British Columbia-based company making the job offer shall not be owned by the applicant within the five years leading up to the application and during the application process.

The BC PNP must determine that there is a positive job need and/or prospect for that particular job.

Applicant must prove ability and willingness to live in British Columbia.

Applicants must submit their completed BC program application and pay the $1,150 application fee.