The British Columbia Entry Level and Semi-Skilled Worker (ELSS) stream is specifically designed to give preference to immigrants who possess semi-skilled work experience in the province and have received a job offer from a British Columbia employer. This stream aims to attract and nominate individuals with relevant work experience to contribute to the province’s labour market and economy.
Program Eligibility
Requirement |
|
| Express Entry Profile | – Need not required to be registered under the Express Entry program. |
| Job Offer | – Have a valid job offer for full-time and indeterminate employment from an employer based in British Columbia (BC) in an ELSS – eligible occupation (Tourism and Hospitality, Food Processing)
– Have their job offer be at National Occupational Classification (NOC) TEEER 4 or 5 (Previously Skill Level C or D), or – Have their wages associated with the position must be competitive when evaluated against the average provincial wages for the respective occupation. – Need not have their job offer supported by a LMIA. |
| Level of Education | – Have completed secondary education or its equivalent (within or outside of Canada). |
| Work Experience | – Have work experience of 9 months in one of the ELSS In-Demand Occupations.
– Have any qualifications or certifications to carry out the job in BC. – Work experience at NOC Skill Level C or D obtained in British Columbia’s Northeast Development Region (NDR) is acceptable even if not following under In-Demand Occupations list. – Must maintain full time employment in an ELSS – eligible occupations with supporting employer throughout the BC PNP process. – Work experience as Live-in Caregivers not eligible. |
| Language Proficiency | – Have a language proficiency in English or French at Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 4 or higher |
| Minimum Income Requirements | – Must meet minimum family income requirements according to their annual wage in BC area of residence in BC, and number of dependents. |
| Connection to Province | – Have been employed in British Columbia for the previous 9 months on a valid work permit.
– Have been working full-time in the BC, in a job that is either listed on the ELSS In-Demand Occupations. List or falls within the Northeast Development Region of British Columbia. – Demonstrate intentions to live, work and economically establish in BC. |
| Business Requirements | – Have their business be well-established and in good standing in British Columbia.
– Have their business meet the employee requirements: Inside Vancouver: Minimum 5 full-time employees. Outside Vancouver: Minimum 3 full-time employees. – Demonstrate that they made genuine efforts to recruit a Canadian candidate for a job position before extending the offer to the foreign candidates. – Need not require to obtain a Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) to validate their job positions. |
How to Apply
- Start by creating an online profile on the BC PNP’s immigration portal.
- Your profile will be assessed based on basic stream requirements and entered into the BC Skills Immigration Ranking System, where candidates are ranked using various criteria like education, work experience, language skills, and more.
- Periodically, the BC PNP holds intakes for the BC ELSS stream. If you are among the highest-ranked candidates, you will receive an invitation to apply for provincial nomination.
- Once invited, you have 30 days to submit a comprehensive application.
- As part of the application process, you must pay a non-refundable fee for the BC ELSS stream, covering processing costs.
- If your application is accepted, and you meet all eligibility requirements, you will receive a provincial nomination from British Columbia.
- You can use this nomination to apply for Canadian permanent residency through the federal government’s immigration authorities, facilitating your journey to becoming a permanent resident of Canada.
BC ELSS – In-Demand Occupation List:
Occupations in travel and accommodation
- 64314 Hotel front desk clerks
Tour and recreational guides and casino occupations
- 64320 Tour and travel guides
- 64321 Casino workers
- 64322 Outdoor sport and recreational guides
Occupations in food and beverage service
- 64300 Maîtres d’hotel and hosts/hostesses
- 64301 Bartenders
- 65200 Food and beverage servers
- 65201 Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support occupations
Cleaners (employed directly by hotels/resorts*)
- 65210 Support occupations in accommodation, travel and facilities set-up services
- 65310 Light duty cleaners
- 65311 Specialized cleaners
- 65312 Janitors, caretakers and heavy-duty cleaners
Other service occupations (employed directly by hotels/resorts*)
- 65320 Dry cleaning, laundry and related occupations
- 65329 Other service support occupations
*For the purposes of the BC PNP, a resort is defined as an accommodation facility that is associated with recreational activities. These activities can include skiing, golfing, boating, fishing, biking, swimming, horseback riding, hiking, nature-based or interpretive tours, etc.
Food processing
- 94140 Process control and machine operators, food and beverage processing
- 94141 Industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers and related workers
- 94142 Fish and seafood plant workers
- 94143 Testers and graders, food and beverage processing
- 95106 Labourers in food and beverage processing
BC Skills Immigration – Scoring Factors:
| Factor | Maximum Points | |
| Human Capital Factors (80) | Directly Related Work Experience | 40 |
| Highest Level of Education | 40 | |
| Language Proficiency (English or French) | 40 | |
| Economic Factors (80) | Area with BC | 25 |
| Hourly Wage of the B.C. Job Offer | 55 | |
| Total Available Points | 200 | |
| Directly Related Work Experience in the Occupation of B.C. Job Offer | Points |
| 5 or more years | 20 |
| Minimum 4 but less than 5 Years | 16 |
| Minimum 3 but less than 4 Years | 12 |
| Minimum 2 but less than 3 Years | 8 |
| Minimum 1 but less than 2 Years | 4 |
| Below 1 Year | 1 |
| No Experience | 0 |
| Additional points: | |
| At least 1 year of directly related experience in Canada | 10 |
| Currently working full time in BC for the employer in the occupation identified in the BC PNP registration. | 10 |
| Maximum Score Available | 40 |
| Education | Points |
| Doctoral Degree (Ph.D.) | 27 |
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