The British Columbia Entry Level and Semi-Skilled Worker (ELSS) stream is part of the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP), a program run by the British Columbia government. This stream prioritizes the nomination of immigrants with semi-skilled work experience in the province and a job offer from a British Columbia employer.
Successful nominees of the BC ELSS stream will receive an invitation to submit an application for Canadian permanent residency. It’s important to note that the program offers relaxed eligibility requirements for those with semi-skilled work experience in the Northeast Development Region of British Columbia.
Eligibility Requirements for the British Columbia Entry Level and Semi-Skilled Worker Stream
Requirement | |
Express Entry Profile | No |
Connection to Province | Work Experience |
Job Offer | Yes |
Language Proficiency | CLB 4 |
Level of Education | No minimum |
Work Experience | Employed in British Columbia |
Investment Requirement | None |
Employer Requirements
In order for an applicant to participate in most of British Columbia’s Skills Immigration programs, they must have a job offer from a BC employer that meets certain general requirements.
The employer must provide a full-time, indefinite position with a competitive salary that complies with British Columbia’s minimum wage regulations, based on the applicant’s annual salary, residence location, and the number of dependents.
The employer’s business must be established and in good standing within the province, with a proven record of responsible workplace and business practices. Additionally, the business must meet the following minimum employee criteria:
Recruitment Efforts
The employer must show that they made reasonable efforts to recruit a Canadian national for the position before offering it to a foreign worker. It is worth mentioning that under the BC PNP, employers are not required to obtain a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) for their positions to be considered valid.
Application Procedure
The British Columbia Entry Level and Semi-Skilled Worker stream is based on an Expression of Interest (EOI) model. Eligible candidates who meet the stream’s criteria can create a profile on the British Columbia online immigration portal. After submitting the profile, candidates will be evaluated and ranked against one another through the BC Skills Immigration Ranking System. Those with the highest scores will be invited to submit an application to the stream during one of its periodic intakes.
Applicants must complete and submit their application within 30 days of receiving the invitation. A non-refundable fee of $700 CAD per applicant is required. Upon approval, the candidate will receive a provincial nomination for permanent residency in British Columbia. If the candidate is not currently working for their BC employer, they may request a letter of support to obtain a temporary work permit while their permanent residency application is being processed. This request is separate from the application for permanent residency and must be submitted to IRCC.
Once the provincial nomination is received, the applicant must submit their application for permanent residency within 6 months. The application must be in paper form and sent by mail to the designated application center. On average, processing of paper-based Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) applications for permanent residency takes approximately 18 months.
BC ELSS In-Demand Occupation List
NOC Code | Occupation |
Occupations in Travel and Accommodation | |
6525 | Hotel Front Desk Clerks |
Tour and Recreational Guides and Casino Occupations | |
6531 | Tour and Travel Guides |
6532 | Outdoor Sport and Recreational Guides |
6533 | Casino Occupations |
Occupations in Food and Beverage Service | |
6511 | Maitres d’hotel and Hosts/Hostesses |
6512 | Bartenders |
6513 | Food and Beverage Servers |
NOC Code | Occupation |
6711 | Food Counter Attendants, Kitchen Helpers, etc. |
Cleaners (employed directly by hotels/resorts) | |
6731 | Light Duty Cleaners |
6732 | Specialized Cleaners |
6733 | Janitors, Caretakers and Building Superintendents |
6721 | Support Occupations in Accommodation, Travel and Facilities Set-Up Services |
Other Service Occupations (employed directly by hotels/resorts) | |
6741 | Dry Cleaning, Laundry and Related Occupations |
6742 | Other Service Support Occupations |
Food Processing | |
9461 | Process Control and Machine Operators, Food and Beverage Processing |
9462 | Industrial Butchers and Meat Cutters, Poultry Preparers and Related Workers |
9463 | Fish and Seafood Plant Workers |
9465 | Testers and Graders, Food, Beverage and Associated Products Processing |
9617 | Labour in Food, Beverage and Associated Products Processing |
9618 | Labourers in Fish and Seafood Processing |
British Columbia Skills Immigration Ranking System
Factor | Maximum Points | |
Economic Factors (120) | Skill Level of the B.C. Job Offer | 60 |
Wage of the B.C. Job Offer | 50 | |
Regional District of Employment | 10 | |
Human Capital Factors (80) | Directly Related Work Experience | 25 |
Highest Level of Education | 25 | |
Language | 30 | |
Total Available Points | 200 | |
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