On April 14, 2025, British Columbia announced significant changes to its Provincial Nominee Program. These changes come in the wake of federal cuts to the province’s annual immigration allocation. Other provinces are also feeling the pinch as overall provincial nomination targets were reduced from 110,000 in 2024 to 55,000 in 2025.
As a result, many PNPs—including British Columbia—have paused the opening of certain streams and introduced significant changes to program eligibility and application procedures in order to manage their smaller nomination allocations effectively, prioritise provincial labour priorities and ensure fairness for existing applicants.
British Columbia’s 2025 PNP Allocation and Strategy
For 2025, British Columbia only received 4,000 nomination allocations from the federal government, despite requesting 11,000 to meet its labour shortages. This new allocation represents a 50% reduction from the previous year. This limitation has hindered the province’s ability to attract and retain workers in key sectors. The province intends to use these allocations as follows:
- Approximately 2,900 nominations will be used to process existing applications from 2024 and early 2025.
- Around 1,100 nominations are available for new applications in 2025. These will be reserved for candidates who offer high economic contributions to the province, particularly:
- Health authority employees
- Skilled workers in priority occupations
- Entrepreneur Immigration applicants
International Post-Graduate (IPG) Stream
- Applications submitted under the IPG stream between September 1, 2024, and January 7, 2025, will be waitlisted and will only be considered if nominations remain after processing higher-priority applications. With other applications received in 2024 and early 2025 being processed this year.
- Plans to launch three new student streams have been paused until the province’s allocation levels are restored.
Targeted Invitations to Apply (ITAs)
- The BC PNP will pause general and priority occupation draws throughout 2025.
- Approximately 100 targeted ITAs will be issued to candidates in the Skills Immigration stream whose work provides significant benefit to B.C.’s economy or public services.
- Invitations may be issued by the province to support its strategic goals. Of course, as the labour needs change, these factors may vary for each draw and will be published at the time of invitation.
- The first round of invitations for high economic impact candidates is expected in early May 2025.
- For educators, future targeted draws will now focus on Early Childhood Educators. Early Childhood Educator Assistants will no longer be included in the targeted draws.
Entrepreneur Immigration
B.C. will continue issuing invitations for its Entrepreneur Immigration streams in 2025. These applicants are considered high-priority due to their economic contributions and are included in the limited nomination allocation.
Health Authority Stream
The Health Authority stream remains an active and prioritized immigration pathway for individuals employed in health-related occupations with B.C.’s public health authorities.
This stream offers a direct application pathway—no pool registration is required.
The eligibility for this stream has been adjusted to focus primarily on positions that contribute directly to the provision of healthcare services such as doctors, nurses and allied health professionals.
Eligibility Criteria:
To qualify for the Health Authority stream, applicants must:
- Obtain support from a B.C. public health authority before applying to the BC PNP.
- Be a direct employee with an indeterminate (permanent), full-time job offer in one of the following occupations:
- An occupation identified by the National Occupation Classification (NOC) as a health occupation (NOC starting with “3”)
- Social workers (NOC 41300)
- Therapists in counselling and related specialized therapies (NOC 41301)
- Social and community service workers (NOC 42201)
- Physicians, nurse practitioners, and midwives who are ready to practice in B.C.
- Meet all additional program criteria.
Social and Community Service Workers will see new application guidance released in the future as the program consults with the Ministry of Health to ensure enhanced guidelines are developed for workers in this category.
Processing Timeline and Future Outlook
The BC PNP anticipates a return to its three-month processing standard for new applications submitted in 2025. The province notes it is strongly advocating with the federal government for increased allocation to help the province attract and retain critical workers.
What’s Next?
If you are currently working or studying in B.C. and are concerned about how these changes may affect your immigration plans, we’re here to help.
Schedule a personalized consultation with one of our experienced immigration consultants. Our team will assess your individual case, guide you through the appropriate immigration stream, and help you navigate the new application procedures with confidence.
Contact us today to book your consultation and secure your path to permanent residence in British Columbia.
The Team at Northern Connections Canada
