Our blog update for today, we’ll be taking you through British Columbia’s PNP draw freeze.
The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) has put draws on hold for approximately a month.
Besides the Express Entry, Canada’s 11 Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) are the country’s primary source of immigrants. They exist in every province and territory, excluding Quebec and Nunavut.
However, the PNP in one Canadian province underwent a notable transformation for approximately one month.
Canada’s third most populated province, British Columbia, placed its usual weekly PNP draws on hold. This change came to effect from October 12 to November 16 this year while Canada is adjusting to the forthcoming updates to the National Occupation Classification (NOC) system. These are the first major NOC updates in the country since 2016.
What Are The Exceptions To The Hold of The PNP Draw in BC?
Even though the PNP draws are on hold for a month, the following exceptions are to be expected:
Issuance of ITAs through the Entrepreneur Immigration Program will continue in British Columbia.
BC’s Health Authority and International Post-Graduate applicants can continue to apply until November 13.
What Does This Signify?
The pause of the temporary PNP draw in British Columbia will mainly affect BC PNP candidates whose applications are already in the system and will remain in the draw freeze after October 12.
These applicants must re-submit their PNP applications when the program re-opens on November 16.
Meanwhile, BC PNP candidates who were sent an invitation to apply on or before October 12 will still hold the standard 30 days to apply for permanent residence. It is necessary to note that the applications under this group will be assessed via the present (NOC 2016) criteria instead of the new post-update criteria, which will be in effect from November.
The BC Government insists that despite the halt on the draw, applicants can still anticipate application processing times to stay within the standard service, which is three months for 80% of applications.
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