British Columbia has introduced significant changes to its Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) that will take effect throughout 2025. These changes reflect a tighter provincial immigration strategy in response to reduced federal allocations.

Drastic Reduction in Applications and Targeted Focus

In 2025, the BC PNP will accept only 1,100 new applications, focusing exclusively on front-line healthcare professionals, entrepreneurs, and skilled workers who bring a high economic impact to the province. The general and priority occupation draws are now on hold for the entire year, as the province will nominate only around 100 top-tier candidates from its pool of over 10,000 registered profiles.

Key Program Adjustments

• International Post-Graduate (IPG) Stream:
  IPG applications submitted between September 1, 2024, and January 7, 2025, will not be processed immediately but placed on a waitlist. Other IPG applications submitted earlier in 2024 and early 2025 will be reviewed and processed during 2025.

• Student-Focused Streams on Hold:
  The province announced that its three new student immigration streams will not be launched until B.C.’s nomination allocation levels return to normal.

• Health Authority Stream Tightened:
  The eligibility for this stream is now limited to front-line healthcare workers only, excluding employees in non-healthcare-specific roles within Health Authorities.

• Changes to Early Childhood Education Draws:
  Early Childhood Educator Assistants will no longer be eligible for targeted education draws. These draws will now focus solely on qualified Early Childhood Educators.

• Entrepreneur Stream Remains Active:
  The PNP will continue to invite candidates under its entrepreneur immigration stream, unaffected by the broader policy changes.

Current Application Inventory and Allocation Constraints

British Columbia began 2025 with an inventory of 5,200 applications, but the province was granted only 4,000 nomination spots. Of these, 2,900 nominations are expected to be used to process applications already in the system.

Federal Immigration Policy Driving Provincial Cuts

These provincial changes stem from a federal decision announced in October 2024, which cut Canada’s total PNP landing target by 50%, dropping from 110,000 in 2024 to 55,000 in 2025. Subsequently, in January 2025, each province—including British Columbia—was officially notified of the proportional reduction in their allocations. The federal government also reduced intake targets for other programs, including the Atlantic Immigration Program.

Due to these constraints, provinces have had to pause streams, revise eligibility, and tighten application procedures in order to operate within their reduced allocations.