Priority Occupation Stream BC PNP Canada Immigration

Explore your Canadian immigration options with lower cutoff scores through the BC PNP! Specialized streams now open for Childcare, Construction, Technology, Healthcare, and Veterinary Care professionals. Take the next step in your career with these priority occupations.

 

Program Priorities

This section outlines the priority occupations and additional criteria that support the BC PNP’s strategic initiatives.

 

Childcare

Workers with a job offer in the following occupation may benefit from targeted invitations to apply:

- 42202 - Early childhood educators and assistants

 

Construction

Workers in the construction sector must meet the following requirements to benefit from targeted invitations to apply:

- The job offer must be for an indeterminate, full-time job in one of the priority construction occupations.
- You must have a valid trade certificate issued by, or an apprenticeship registered with, SkilledTradesBC.
- Your trade certificate must correspond with the job you have been offered.

Priority construction occupations:

- 22114 - Landscape and horticulture technicians and specialists
- 72102 - Sheet metal workers
- 72103 - Boilermakers
- 72104 - Structural metal and platework fabricators and fitters
- 72105 - Ironworkers
- 72106 - Welders and related machine operators
- 72200 - Electricians (except industrial and power system)
- 72201 - Industrial electricians
- 72300 - Plumbers
- 72301 - Steamfitters, pipefitters, and sprinkler system installers
- 72302 - Gas fitters
- 72310 - Carpenters
- 72311 - Cabinetmakers
- 72320 - Bricklayers
- 72400 - Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics
- 72401 - Heavy-duty equipment mechanics
- 72402 - Heating, refrigeration, and air conditioning mechanics
- 72500 - Crane operators
- 73100 - Concrete finishers
- 73101 - Tilesetters
- 73102 - Plasterers, drywall installers, and finishers
- 73110 - Roofers and shinglers
- 73111 - Glaziers
- 73112 - Painters and decorators (except interior decorators)
- 73113 - Floor covering installers

 

Healthcare

Workers who are direct employees of a provincial health authority or who are physicians, nurse practitioners, or midwives with the support of a provincial health authority can submit an application directly to the Health Authority stream.

Workers who are not employed by a health authority (and must register in another stream) and who have a job offer in one of the following occupations may benefit from targeted invitations to apply:

Priority healthcare occupations:

- 30010 - Managers in health care
- 31100 - Specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine
- 31101 - Specialists in surgery
- 31102 - General practitioners and family physicians
- 31110 - Dentists
- 31112 - Audiologists and speech-language pathologists
- 31120 - Pharmacists
- 31121 - Dietitians and nutritionists
- 31200 - Psychologists
- 31201 - Chiropractors
- 31202 - Physiotherapists
- 31203 - Occupational therapists
- 31204 - Kinesiologists and other professional occupations in therapy and assessment
- 31209 - Other professional occupations in health diagnosing and treating
- 31300 - Nursing coordinators and supervisors
- 31301 - Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses
- 31302 - Nurse practitioners
- 31303 - Physician assistants, midwives, and allied health professionals
- 32101 - Licensed practical nurses
- 32102 - Paramedical occupations
- 32103 - Respiratory therapists, clinical perfusionists, and cardiopulmonary technologists
- 32109 - Other technical occupations in therapy and assessment
- 32110 - Denturists
- 32111 - Dental hygienists and dental therapists
- 32112 - Dental technologists and technicians
- 32120 - Medical laboratory technologists
- 32121 - Medical radiation technologists
- 32122 - Medical sonographers
- 32123 - Cardiology technologists and electrophysiological diagnostic technologists
- 32124 - Pharmacy technicians
- 32129 - Other medical technologists and technicians
- 32200 - Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and acupuncturists
- 33100 - Dental assistants and dental laboratory assistants
- 33101 - Medical laboratory assistants and related technical occupations
- 33102 - Nurse aides, orderlies, and patient service associates
- 33103 - Pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants
- 41300 - Social workers
- 41301 - Therapists in counseling and related specialized therapies
- 42201 - Social and community service workers

For the purposes of the BC PNP, only health care assistants / health care aides are eligible under NOC 33102.

 

Technology

The BC PNP offers skilled workers in select, in-demand technology occupations a pathway to permanent residence. To meet the unique needs of B.C.’s technology sector, priority technology occupations are not required to have a permanent job offer.

Requirements for workers in the technology sector:

- The job offer must be in one of the priority technology occupations.
- The job offer must be at least one year in duration (365 days).
- There must be at least 120 calendar days remaining on the job offer at the time of application.

Priority technology occupations:

- 10030 - Telecommunication carriers managers
- 20012 - Computer and information systems managers
- 21100 - Physicists and astronomers
- 21210 - Mathematicians, statisticians, and actuaries
- 21211 - Data scientists
- 21220 - Cybersecurity specialists
- 21221 - Business systems specialists
- 21222 - Information systems specialists
- 21223 - Database analysts and data administrators
- 21230 - Computer systems developers and programmers
- 21231 - Software engineers and designers
- 21232 - Software developers and programmers
- 21233 - Web designers
- 21234 - Web developers and programmers
- 21300 - Civil engineers
- 21301 - Mechanical engineers
- 21310 - Electrical and electronics engineers
- 21311 - Computer engineers (except software engineers and designers)
- 21320 - Chemical engineers
- 21399 - Other professional engineers
- 22110 - Biological technologists and technicians
- 22220 - Computer network and web technicians
- 22221 - User support technicians
- 22222 - Information systems testing technicians
- 22310 - Electrical and electronics engineering technologists and technicians
- 22312 - Industrial instrument technicians and mechanics
- 50011 - Managers – publishing, motion pictures, broadcasting, and performing arts
- 51111 - Authors and writers (except technical)
- 51112 - Technical writers
- 51120 - Producers, directors, choreographers, and related occupations
- 52119 - Other technical and coordinating occupations in motion pictures, broadcasting, and the performing arts
- 52112 - Broadcast technicians
- 52113 - Audio and video recording technicians
- 52120 - Graphic designers and illustrators
- 53111 - Motion pictures, broadcasting, photography, and performing arts assistants and operators

 

Veterinary Care

Workers with job offers in one of the following occupations may benefit from targeted invitations to apply:

Priority veterinary care occupations:

- 31103 - Veterinarians
- 32104 - Animal health technologists and veterinary technicians

 

Remember, the occupations listed in each section are not the only ones eligible for the BC PNP. Priority occupations may receive a targeted invitation once a registration is submitted.