B.C. Temporary Rural/Remote Health Support Initiative (BC PNP)

In April 2026, British Columbia rebuilt its Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) around three objectives: Care, Build and Innovate. As part of the Care objective, B.C. created a small, temporary initiative for support staff who keep rural hospitals and health sites running.

The Temporary Rural/Remote Health Support Initiative sits inside the Skills Immigration category, alongside the Skilled Worker and Health Authority streams. It is unusual because it covers jobs in TEER 5, which B.C. otherwise stopped accepting when it closed the Entry Level and Semi-Skilled stream.

B.C. describes the initiative as temporary and one-time. It opened for registration on June 15, 2026, with an original deadline of August 31, 2026. On August 13, 2026, B.C. extended the deadline to 11:59 pm on October 7, 2026, because of the impact of wildfires. It accepts up to 250 candidates.

The criteria below come from the Skills Immigration Program Guide that took effect on May 28, 2026, as summarized by Immigration.ca. Check the guide itself before you register.

• You work for a B.C. public health authority directly. Contractors, including staff of cleaning or security companies that hold a contract with a hospital, are not eligible.
• You work in one of three occupations:
  • Security guards and related security service occupations (NOC 64410)
  • Light duty cleaners (NOC 65310)
  • Janitors, caretakers and heavy-duty cleaners (NOC 65312)
• You have worked full-time for the health authority for nine consecutive months immediately before you register.
• You keep working full-time for the health authority throughout the process.
• You have at least a secondary (high school) education.
• Your income meets B.C.'s minimum income requirement for your family size and location.
• Your job is outside the excluded areas (see below).

Eligible health authorities

The guide lists eight: the Provincial Health Services Authority, First Nations Health Authority, Fraser Health, Interior Health, Island Health, Northern Health, Vancouver Coastal Health and Providence Health Care.

Excluded work locations

Your work location cannot be in Metro Vancouver, the Central Okanagan or the Capital Regional District. The exceptions are five islands in the Capital Regional District: Galiano, Mayne, Pender, Salt Spring and Saturna. Jobs on those islands can qualify.

Because there is no Express Entry option, nominees apply to IRCC for permanent residence through a separate (non-Express Entry) application.

The initiative is part of Skills Immigration. B.C.'s Skills Immigration application fee has been $1,750 since January 22, 2026. Confirm the fee in your invitation before you pay.

After nomination, you also pay IRCC's permanent residence fees (listed on canada.ca), plus costs for a medical exam, police certificates, biometrics and any language test you need. Check the program guide for the language requirement that applies to you, and see our language test guide.

Your employer can't charge you for supporting your application.

Registering is not the same as applying. After you register, the BC PNP reviews the pool of registrations and sends invitations to apply. Only invited candidates can submit a full application.

Once you apply, the BC PNP checks your documents and confirms your employment with the health authority. It can contact your employer and ask for more information. If you leave your job, move to part-time work or transfer to a site inside an excluded area before a decision, you may no longer qualify. The updated guide requires applicants to report changes within 15 calendar days and employers within 30 days, as summarized by Immigration.ca.

If B.C. approves you, it nominates you. You then have a limited time to send your permanent residence application to IRCC. IRCC completes its own checks, including medical exams and security screening, and makes the final decision. Non-Express Entry applications usually take longer at IRCC than Express Entry ones, so keep your work permit valid while you wait.

• Count your nine months carefully. They must be consecutive, full-time and directly before registration. A break or a switch to part-time can reset the count.
• Check who pays you. If your paycheck comes from a private contractor, you are not a direct health authority employee.
• Confirm your work location. Your site, not your home address, decides whether you are outside the excluded areas.
• Register early. The initiative accepts up to 250 candidates, and B.C. can stop accepting registrations or change the rules.
• Keep your status valid. If your work permit will expire, look into extending it. Our pages on extending your status and maintained status explain the rules.

If you have a past refusal, a status gap or other complications, talk to a lawyer or a licensed consultant (RCIC) first.

If you work for a contractor, work in an excluded area or miss the deadline, look at other routes:

• The Rural Community Immigration Pilot, which includes the B.C. communities of West Kootenay, North Okanagan Shuswap and Peace Liard.
• The Francophone Community Immigration Pilot in Kelowna, if you speak French.
• The federal TR to PR pathway for 2026, which excludes large urban areas.
• Other provinces' streams for lower-skilled workers, such as Yukon's Critical Impact Worker stream.

The British Columbia guide lists every B.C. stream and its status.