The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) has shut down several streams, temporarily halted certain draws, and will only accept 1,100 new applications in 2025.
These limited spots will be reserved for front-line healthcare professionals, entrepreneurs, and skilled workers who can contribute significantly to the province’s economy.
On April 14, 2025, British Columbia announced major changes to its Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP):
- Application Limits: B.C. will accept only 1,100 new BC PNP applications in 2025, focusing exclusively on front-line healthcare workers, entrepreneurs, and skilled workers who bring significant economic benefits.
- Draw Moratorium: General and priority occupation draws are on hold for 2025. Only about 100 high-impact candidates will be selected from a registration pool of over 10,000 individuals.
- International Post-Graduate (IPG) Program: Applications submitted between September 1, 2024, and January 7, 2025, will not be processed this year but will be waitlisted. All other IPG applications from 2024 and early 2025 will still be reviewed in 2025.
- Student Streams Delayed: The launch of three new student-focused streams has been postponed until the province’s nomination allocation is restored.
- Entrepreneur and Health Authority Streams: The BC PNP will continue to issue invitations under the entrepreneur stream. However, the Health Authority stream is now restricted to front-line healthcare positions only—previously, it was open to all roles within health authorities.
- Early Childhood Education Draws: Only certified Early Childhood Educators will now be included in targeted education draws. Assistant roles have been removed from this focus group.
- Nomination Allocation and Inventory: B.C. began 2025 with 5,200 pending applications but received only 4,000 nomination spots from the federal government. Of these, 2,900 will be used to process existing applications.
Background:
These changes follow the federal government’s October 2024 decision to cut national PNP landing allocations in half—from 110,000 in 2024 to 55,000 in 2025. In January 2025, provinces were officially informed of their reduced PNP quotas, and similar cuts were applied to the Atlantic Immigration Program. As a result, many provinces, including B.C., have paused streams and adjusted their program rules accordingly.
Major changes to British Columbia’s Provincial Nominee Program | CIC News
