THE redesigned BC Provincial Nominee Program application are being accepted again effective July 2, 2015.

The BC Provincial Nominee Program application has reopened after a 90-day pause that allowed the PNP to be redesigned so the Province could maximize the impact of its allocation of 5,500 nominees from the federal government for 2015.

The redesign shifts the program’s focus to high-impact workers and entrepreneurs that bring the BC Provincial Nominee program application into closer alignment with B.C.’s labour market and economic development priorities. Progress has been made during the 90-day pause in number of key areas, including:Introduction of an online application process with an electronic-payment system to make it easier and faster for applicants. Initiated development of a new intake system that will prioritize in-demand, skilled immigrant applications beginning in 2016, so that 95% of B.C.’s annual nominations will be for in-demand skilled workers. Streamlined two categories – Business Skills and Regional Business – into one Entrepreneur Immigration stream to improve efficiency and outcomes.Introduced an online Entrepreneur Registration to simplify the intake process and ensure timely processing for high-impact applications.The Fast Track Option, which has been suspended since October 2012, has been terminated. The BC Provincial Nominee program application will continue to accept applications under the Express Entry BC, Health Care Professional and Northeast Pilot Project categories. The BC Provincial Nominee program application will continue to process applications already in the Skills Immigration inventory.  To be fair and transparent to those people already in the inventory the BC Provincial Nominee program application will limit the number of new Skills Immigration applications to 200 for the rest of 2015. This limit is in place as B.C. continues to advocate for an increase to the number of BC Provincial Nominee Program nominations it receives annually from the federal government.New Entrepreneur Immigration applications will be invited from the highest-scoring registrations submitted through the new online Entrepreneur Registration process.

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Entrepreneur Immigration stream

The Business Skills and Regional Business categories have been streamlined into one under the updated Entrepreneur Immigration stream.  This category targets investment-ready entrepreneurs who support innovation and create jobs.

This stream will introduce an Entrepreneur Immigrant Registration and a registration fee of $300. Registrations will be valid for six months and the BC Provincial Nominee program application will limit the number of new registrations to 200 each month. Periodically, based on program capacity, the highest-scoring registrants will be invited to apply. There will also be an increase in the Entrepreneur application fee from $3,000 to $3,500.

Those registrants invited to apply will be required to meet a minimum net worth threshold of $600,000 and must complete a third party review of their net worth by a qualified accounting firm.

There is no change to the minimum requirements to invest of at least $200,000 in eligible expenses and create at least one new job in the B.C. business.

Source: Redesigned B.C. Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) now accepting applications again; redesign matches workers with labour market needs | Indo-Canadian Voice

The following is the opinion of a Burnaby immigration consultant working for RS Immigration Corporation that has chosen to remain anonymous. It may or may not reflect the opinion(s) of RS Immigration Corporation.