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British Columbia Invites 400+ Candidates Through Skills Immigration Draw
On February 4, the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) conducted its first Skills Immigration draw of 2026, inviting a total of 429 candidates to apply for provincial nomination.
The invitations were issued under the province’s high economic impact selection approach, which targets candidates expected to contribute significantly to British Columbia’s economy. Selection was based on factors such as wage level, job offer strength and registration score.
Draw Breakdown
Invitations were distributed across two selection streams:
- High-wage job offer stream: 206 invitations were issued to candidates with job offers in NOC TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 occupations, offering a minimum wage of $70 per hour (approximately $145,000 annually).
- Score-based selection: 223 invitations were issued to candidates with a minimum registration score of 138 points.
BC PNP also confirmed that future high economic impact draws may apply different selection criteria, depending on provincial labour market needs.
Potential Selection Factors in Future Draws
According to the province, upcoming draws may consider one or more of the following candidate attributes:
- Level, field and location of education
- Professional designation or certification in British Columbia
- Language proficiency
- Occupation and work experience duration
- Wage level and skill category of the job offer
- Intent to live and work in specific regions of the province
- Strategic labour market priorities and government initiatives
Skills Immigration Registration Pool Snapshot
The BC PNP publishes regular updates on the distribution of candidates within its Skills Immigration registration pool. As of January 6, 2026, the pool contained 11,210 registered candidates, broken down by score range.
The province noted that the top three score ranges have not yet been updated following the February 4 draw.
Limited Nomination Spaces in 2026
For 2026, British Columbia has been allocated 5,254 provincial nomination spaces. A portion of these spots is expected to be reserved for waitlisted applicants from the 2025 intake, as well as candidates under the province’s entrepreneur immigration streams.
Given the significant gap between the number of candidates in the Skills Immigration pool and the available nomination spaces, many applicants may not receive an invitation to apply this year.