A year ago, the B.C. government announced changes to the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) program.

These revisions gave employers greater scope to bring workers, including lower skilled workers, to British Columbia as well as to facilitate investment by business immigrants in small businesses throughout British Columbia.

The announcement entitled “Canada Starts Here: The B.C. Jobs Plan” was designed to attract more entrepreneurs from abroad to create jobs regionally throughout the province.

In order to facilitate potential investor immigrants finding opportunities in British Columbia, the Provincial government is establishing a new online investment matching service to link potential business immigrants to business opportunities in regions throughout the province.

There is a particular focus on small business succession in rural areas where small business owners often face challenges in finding people to buy their companies and continue to employ people locally.

Furthermore, the B.C. PNP Business program has been amended to provide that business immigrants who purchase or establish businesses in rural areas will meet their employment commitments by not only creating new jobs but also by maintaining existing jobs.

The Province intends to take aggressive marketing initiatives for the B.C. PNP Business program to attract prospective business immigrants, focussing on Latin America,  Eastern Europe, Russia and India.

There are positive changes to B.C.’s PNP Skilled Worker program as well:  the Province has made their entry level and semi-skilled pilot category a permanent program of the B.C. PNP program. The entry level and semi-skilled category is designed to help meet the needs of employers in key sectors such as tourism and hospitality.

Employees must already be working in British Columbia for employers for a period of nine months, prior to commencing their application and must remain employed with their nominee employer throughout the application process.

The Province is also modifying eligibility criteria requirements, reducing the minimum business eligibility size for outside of the Greater Regional Vancouver District from five full-time employees to three.

For more information contact Catherine Sas (csas@millerthomson.com). She is a Vancouver immigration lawyer.