Immigrate to British Columbia: BC PNP Streams, Jobs and Settling In

British Columbia is Canada's west coast province. People move here for the mild coastal climate (by Canadian standards), the mountains and ocean, a large and diverse population, and big job markets in health care, construction, technology, film, tourism, and trade through the Port of Vancouver.

The trade-off is cost. Housing in Metro Vancouver and Victoria is among the most expensive in Canada. Many newcomers now look at regional cities such as Kelowna, Kamloops, Nanaimo, Prince George, and the Kootenays, where rents are usually lower and BC wants more immigrants to settle. BC says it expects at least 35% of nominations to go to people working outside Metro Vancouver.

BC is also home to three communities in the federal Rural Community Immigration Pilot (West Kootenay, North Okanagan Shuswap, and Peace Liard) and to Kelowna in the Francophone Community Immigration Pilot. These are separate from the BC PNP and can be good options if you have a job offer in those areas.

The federal government sets how many people each province can nominate. For 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) first gave BC 5,254 nominations, far fewer than BC asked for. On August 18, 2026, IRCC added 1,000 more, bringing BC's 2026 total to 6,254. WelcomeBC says it plans to use the full allocation by December 31, 2026.

Because space is tight, meeting the minimum rules does not mean you will be invited. BC now sends targeted invitations based on three goals it announced on April 23, 2026:

• Care: 36 priority occupations in health care, education, child care, and veterinary care.
• Build: 9 key construction trades, such as welders, electricians, plumbers, steamfitters and pipefitters, carpenters, millwrights, heavy-duty equipment mechanics, and HVAC mechanics.
• Innovate: "high economic impact" candidates in any sector, including technology.

Read the full background in our BC PNP overhaul 2026 update.

The International Graduate, International Post-Graduate, and Entry Level and Semi-Skilled streams were formally removed in the April 2026 restructure, and BC cancelled the new student streams it had planned. If you were counting on one of them, each closed stream page lists what to do instead.

Skills Immigration (Skilled Worker and Health Authority) works in two stages:

1. Register. You create a registration in the BC PNP Online system. BC gives you a score based on human capital factors (work experience, education, language) and economic factors (your wage and where in BC the job is). A registration stays active for up to 12 months or until you are invited. You can hold only one active registration at a time.
2. Get invited. BC runs targeted draws for its Care, Build, and Innovate priorities and for health authority jobs. A high score helps, but your occupation matters a lot.
3. Apply. If invited, you submit a full application with documents and pay the $1,750 Skills Immigration fee (as of September 2026).
4. Get nominated, then apply to IRCC. With the Express Entry BC option, the nomination adds 600 points to your federal Express Entry score. Without it, you apply to IRCC through the base (non-Express Entry) process.

Entrepreneur Immigration has its own registration and scoring, and most business applicants first get a work permit and only receive a nomination after they run the business in BC for a set period.

Since June 13, 2026, a list of occupations is ineligible in every Skills Immigration stream. Check the current Skills Immigration program guide on WelcomeBC before you register. Compare BC with the federal route in Express Entry vs. PNP.

BC's own priorities are the best guide to where demand is strongest for immigration purposes:

• Health care: nurses, nurse practitioners, physicians, allied health professionals, and health care support roles. Since 2022, BC PNP has nominated 3,887 health care professionals, including 475 doctors and 1,228 nurses and nurse practitioners (WelcomeBC, April 2026).
• Child care and education: early childhood educators and some teachers, including French-speaking teachers.
• Construction trades: the 9 Build trades listed above.
• Veterinary care: veterinarians and veterinary technologists.
• Technology and other high-impact roles: invited only when BC sees a high economic impact.

Major cities: Vancouver and the rest of Metro Vancouver (Surrey, Burnaby, Richmond, Coquitlam), Victoria on Vancouver Island, Kelowna and Kamloops in the Interior, Abbotsford in the Fraser Valley, Nanaimo, and Prince George in the north.

If you are hiring in BC, see our guide to PNP employer streams.

Medical Services Plan (MSP)

BC's public health insurance is the Medical Services Plan (MSP). New residents wait for the rest of the month they arrive plus two full months before coverage starts. For example, if you arrive on May 10, coverage starts August 1. Apply as soon as you arrive, and buy private health insurance to cover the gap. Some work permit and study permit holders with permits valid for six months or more can qualify for MSP. BC does not charge MSP premiums.

Driver's license

Driver's licenses in BC are issued by ICBC, the provincial insurer. As a new resident you can drive on a valid foreign license for a limited time (90 days). If your license is from a place that has an exchange agreement with BC, you can usually swap it without a road test. Otherwise, you take a knowledge test and a road test. ICBC's website lists the countries with exchange agreements and what proof of driving experience you need.

Free settlement services are available across BC for permanent residents, and many also serve people on work permits. They help with finding housing, job search, English classes, and getting documents such as a Social Insurance Number. Large agencies include ISSofBC, MOSAIC, and S.U.C.C.E.S.S. in Metro Vancouver, and there are settlement agencies in most regional cities. WelcomeBC lists provincially funded services, and IRCC's online tool finds federally funded services near you.

Cost of living: BC is one of the most expensive provinces. Rent and home prices in Metro Vancouver and Victoria are much higher than the national average, and newcomers often share housing at first. Costs are usually lower in the Interior and the north, but rental supply can still be tight. BC charges a provincial sales tax on top of the federal GST. Plan to show enough savings to cover several months of rent while you settle, and see our proof of funds guide if you apply through Express Entry.

Many jobs in BC need a provincial license or certificate before you can work in them. Examples include nurses (BC College of Nurses and Midwives), physicians (College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia), engineers (Engineers and Geoscientists BC), teachers, and trades such as electrician (SkilledTradesBC).

• Start the licensing process early. For health care jobs, BC PNP usually expects you to be licensed or eligible for licensing when you apply.
• Have your education assessed. Express Entry needs an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA); see our ECA guide. A licensing body may do its own separate assessment.
• Take an approved language test. BC PNP requires at least Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 4, and many licensing bodies and employers need a higher level.

The BC PNP is not the only option:

• Express Entry: federal selection, including category draws for health care and trades. You can live in BC after landing.
• Rural Community Immigration Pilot: West Kootenay, North Okanagan Shuswap, and Peace Liard.
• Francophone Community Immigration Pilot: Kelowna, for French speakers.
• Study permit then the Post-Graduation Work Permit: still possible, but BC no longer has a graduate PR stream, so plan on a job offer or Express Entry afterward.
• LMIA work permit: low-wage LMIAs are refused in many large cities; see low-wage LMIA refusal areas.

If you have a past refusal, a criminal record, or an unclear status, talk to a lawyer or a licensed consultant (RCIC) before you apply. See how to verify a lawyer or consultant.