A guide to the BC PNP Tech for Express Entry candidates

If you are in the Express Entry pool, you have already completed the first step to get a nomination through the Express Entry BC stream. In order to eventually get permanent residence, you will have to be eligible for an Express Entry-managed program such as the Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Worker Program, or Federal Skilled Trades Program. 

From there, you have to be eligible for one of the Express Entry BC subcategories: Skilled Worker, Healthcare Professional, International Graduate, or International Post-Graduate.

There are a lot more details available on the B.C. government’s program guide, but generally speaking you will need a job offer to be eligible for most of these categories — except the International Post-Graduate.

For the BC PNP Tech in particular you need a full time job offer for one of 29 eligible occupations in the tech sector. The job offer should be for at least one year in duration with 120 calendar days remaining on the contract. B.C. holds invitation rounds every week for tech candidates. Some weeks they hold draws specifically for the tech program, other weeks it is amalgamated in a general draw.

If you are invited you will have 30 days to apply for the provincial nomination. Being invited does not guarantee you will receive the nomination, but if you do, you will have six months to use it toward a permanent residency application. In the meantime, you may be able to get a work permit support letter from the BC PNP, so that you can keep working legally in Canada while you wait for a decision.

As an Express Entry candidate with a provincial nomination, you automatically get 600 points added to your overall score. This will boost your profile to the top of the pool for a subsequent Express Entry draw, where you are very likely to receive an Invitation to Apply for permanent residence.