The British Columbia Healthcare Professional is nomination stream of BC PNP under Skills Immigration prioritizes the nomination of immigrants who have an offer of employment from a public health authority in BC
The Health Professional program is one of the nomination streams of British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) under Skills Immigration operated by British Columbia. This stream prioritizes the nomination of immigrants who have an offer of employment from a public health authority in BC and show that the candidate will able to make lasting contributions in the healthcare labour sector.
Candidates who are successfully nominated through the BC Healthcare Professional Program will be invited to submit an official application for Canadian permanent residence. Candidates do not require an Express Entry profile to be eligible for this stream. However, candidates who meet the eligibility criteria and who have an active Express Entry profile may be able to apply to the stream through Express Entry – Healthcare Professional of BC PNP for accelerated processing. Candidate those are having work experience in a certain technical occupation may be eligible for accelerated processing and some other benefits through the BC Tech Pilot Program.
Eligibility Requirements
| Requirement | |
|---|---|
| Express Entry Profile | Not required |
| Connection to Province | No |
| Job Offer | Yes |
| Language Proficiency | CLB 4 |
| Level of Education | No minimum |
| Work Experience | Same occupation as the job offer 2 years |
| Investment Requirement | None |
Job Offer
Candidates must have a valid job offer for full-time, indeterminate employment from a BC public health authority as a healthcare professional. Only the following occupations with specific job title qualify under the Healthcare Professional stream:
- Physician/Specialist Physician
- Registered Nurse / Registered Psychiatric Nurse
- Nurse Practitioner
- Allied health professionals: diagnostic medical sonographer, clinical pharmacist, medical lab technologist, occupational therapist, physiotherapist, etc.
- Midwife
Notably, the BC PNP job offer does not need to be supported by a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).
Language Proficiency
Candidates with a job offer at National Occupational Classification (NOC) Skill Level B must provide language test results proving English or French language proficiency at CLB 4 or higher. Whereas, There is no requirement of language proficiency for the candidates having a job offer at NOC Skill level 0 or A.
Work Experience
Candidate must have at least 2 years of work experience in the same occupation of which they have a job offer in BC and the candidate must have a qualification to perform that job in BC if required.
Employer Requirements
In to apply to most BC Skills Immigration programs, an applicant must have a valid job offer from an eligible BC Employer in which the employer must meet certain general requirements in order to be considered a valid job offer.
- Job Offer Requirements: The job offer must be of full time and indeterminate position with an industry standardized wage rate. Also, the position must meet the BC’s minimum wage requirements as per the applicant’s annual wage, number of dependent family members and location of residence in BC.
- Business Requirements: It must be established with a history of good workplace and business practices through good standing in British Columbia. If the business is inside Vancouver, it must have at least five full-time employees else it needs to have three full-time employees.
- Recruitment Requirements: The employer needs to explain their reasonable efforts that were made to fill the position prior to offering the position to a foreign national. Notably, for BC PNP, employers need not obtain LMIA to make their positions valid.
Application Process
The British Columbia Healthcare Professional stream is open to new applications at any time. Eligible candidates must submit an application through BC’s online immigration portal. Candidates must indicate on this application whether they are applying through the accelerated Express Entry system, or the regular Skills Immigration system. The BC Healthcare Professionals stream charges a $700 CAD application fee per applicant.
If the application is approved, the candidate will be issued a provincial nomination for permanent residence from BC. Candidates can also request to receive a letter of support for a temporary work permit so that they can begin working in Canada while their application for permanent residence is processed. Applying for a work permit with a letter of support from a province represents a separate application to IRCC.
If the applicant indicated on their BC profile that they were applying to the BC Healthcare Professional stream through the regular Skills Immigration system, the applicant has six months to submit an official application for permanent residence. They must prepare a paper-based application and submit it by mail to the appropriate application centre. Paper-based PNP applications for permanent residence are generally processed within 18 months.
