Major changes to British Columbia’s Provincial Nominee Program

The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) has introduced significant changes for 2025, including the closure of several streams, a pause on certain draws, and a sharp reduction in the number of new applications it will accept—limited to just 1,100.

These limited spots will be prioritized for front-line healthcare workers, entrepreneurs, and skilled workers who can make a high economic impact. The province has also placed a moratorium on both general and priority occupation draws for 2025. From its registration pool of over 10,000 candidates, only around 100 individuals will be nominated under these restricted categories.

In addition, the BC PNP announced that International Post-Graduate (IPG) applications submitted between September 1, 2024, and January 7, 2025, will be placed on a waitlist and processed at a later date. Other IPG applications received in 2024 and early 2025 will be processed in 2025.

British Columbia has delayed the launch of its three new student-focused streams, stating that they will not begin until the province’s nomination allocation is restored.

The program will, however, continue to issue Invitations to Apply (ITAs) through its entrepreneur stream.

Notably, the Health Authority stream is now restricted to front-line healthcare roles only, whereas previously it included a broader range of occupations within health authorities.

Another key update affects the targeted education draws: Early Childhood Educator Assistants will no longer be eligible. These draws will now focus exclusively on Early Childhood Educators.

The province began 2025 with 5,200 applications already in its inventory and received only 4,000 nominations for the year. Of these, 2,900 nominations are expected to be allocated to previously submitted applications.

These updates were officially announced on April 14, 2025. 

Background

In October 2024, the federal government announced a major policy shift, cutting the national landing allocation for the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) in half—from 110,000 in 2024 to just 55,000 in 2025.

Following this decision, in January 2025, the federal government formally informed provinces of a corresponding 50% reduction in their individual PNP allocations for 2025. Similar cuts were also made to the Atlantic Immigration Program, affecting the Atlantic provinces.

In response to these significant reductions, many provinces paused the opening of PNP streams and introduced major changes to program eligibility criteria and application procedures. These measures reflect efforts to manage demand within the constraints of the reduced federal allocations.

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