British Columbia Province is located on the west-coast of Canada ranked 5th in area and 3rd in population. It’s capital city, Victoria, is the fifteenth largest metropolitan region in Canada. It has a mild temperature averaging annually up to 12 degrees Celsius. It is also a home to the city of Vancouver, the third-largest city of Canada. The major public Universities situated in British Columbia are The University of British Columbia, University of Victoria, University of the Fraser Valley and Simon Fraser University. The recently announced British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program allows the prospective immigrants with the required skills and expertise to apply for a Permanent Residency in British Columbia, Canada. Following are the specifications of the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program for International Graduates:

Education Required to Apply:
Please be noted that this program is only for international student who have graduated from a University or college in Canada in the last three years. The University or college should be a Canadian post-secondary institution that has been given authorization to grant degrees. Your certificate of the degree acquired will be a pre-requisite for applying. Students with a diploma or certificate can also apply but the certificate should be from a public post-secondary institution in Canada and the course should have at least 8 months or 2 semesters of full-time study. Full-time study does not include internships.

Job Requirements:

• Your occupation must be listed as Skill level 0, A or B in the National Occupational Classification Matrix.
• The job should not be listed at NOC C & D level.
• The job should at least 30 hours per work.

Employer Requirements:

• The employer has to be eligible for BC PNP.
• Your remuneration should be equal to or greater than the standard pay given to workers with your level of experience.
• The employer has to provide a letterhead stating the job title, the salary, the working hours, any insurances or benefits provided in addition to those required by law, reference to collective agreement if any.

Language Requirements:

• You must meet the compulsory language requirement determined by CIC.
• The approved tests for language proof by CIC are : Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP), International English Language Testing System (IELTS), Test d’Évaluation de Francais (TEF).

Income Requirements:
You have to show proof of the fact that you will be able to pay for your housing and living in BC province. This is assessed on the basis of your income, location and number of dependents.

Other Eligibility Criteria:

• You must not have been prohibited from entering Canada and must not be illegally staying in Canada.
• You should be lawfully admitted in the country of your current residence.
• You must not be under the removal order in Canada and must not have any unresolved refugee claim in Canada.

Processing Time:
CIC has stated that 80% of complete applications issued will be processed within 6 months from the date of issue. However, this time applies only to process and not to the time required to reach a decision about granting the Permanent Residence.

Processing Fees:
A processing fee of 700$ will be charge along with your application.

Application Process:

• Submission of the application along with the fees.
• Reviewing of your application by CIC.
• In the case of your application being approved, you will be nominated for Permanent Residence and will have to make an application to Citizenship and Immigration Canada for a Permanent Residence visa.

Newfoundland and Labrador are Easterly Province of Canada and exhibit famous cliffs, waterfalls and glacial fjords. St. John’s, its capital city is Canada’s 20th largest Metropolitan City. Its climate varies from time to time and there is never a stable climate. It has the fastest growing economy and highly competitive labour market. Thus, in order to increase its skilled workforce, Newfoundland and Labrador Province has introduced its Provincial Nominee Program. Following are the details of the Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Nominee Program for International Graduates:

Education Required to Apply:

• You should have completed at least half of your studies in Canada.
• You should have completed at least a two-year, full-time diploma or degree program and a one year post graduate or degree or certificate program after that from an eligible, public Canadian college or University.
• You should have the qualification, skills and credits needed for your job in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Job Requirements:
Your offered job should be a permanent, full-time job offered by a Newfoundland and Labrador employer.

Language Requirements:
You must demonstrate passable English or French language skills required for your job in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Other Requirements:

• Your application for the NLPNP must be submitted within two years of the date on which you received your degree or diploma or during the last semester of completing your degree or diploma.
• If the application is given during the last semester of completing your degree or diploma, you should provide transcripts indicating that you will be graduating at the end of the semester.
• You must have a Post-Graduate Work Permit.
• You must have enough necessary settlement funds and resources to achieve the standard of living in Newfoundland and Labrador Province for yourself as well as any dependents if present.

New Brunswick, lying on the Eastern border of Canada, is one of Canada’s Maritime Provinces. It showcases the famous Appalachian Mountains and the Bay of Fundy known for its extreme tides and whale-watching. Located within New Brunswick is the important port city of Saint John. It is officially bilingual (English and French). New Brunswick is a safe place to work due its Workers’ Compensation Act. New Brunswick values the skills and expertise of its immigrants and therefore has launcher its Provincial Nominee Program to give justice to competent immigrants. Following are the specifications of the New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Program for International Graduates:

Education:

• Sufficient education to settle in New Brunswick and fulfill your job duties for the intended job.
• You should have completed at least a two-year, full-time diploma or degree program and a one year post graduate or degree or certificate program after that from an eligible, public Canadian college or University.

Job requirements:

• You should have at least two years of full-time work experience in the last five years of your application for NBPNP.
• Your job should be categorized in one of the following National Occupation Classification skill levels: Skill levels O, A, B, Skill levels C with Category 1, 3, 7, 8, 9 and Skill level D with Category 1, 3, 7, 8, 9.

Language Requirements:
Sufficient English or French Language skills to settle and work in New Brunswick and fulfill your job duties.

Nova Scotia, one of Canada’s Maritime Provinces, located on the Eastern border of Canada, is a home to puffins and seals and well-known for its water sports such as kayaking. Its capital city, Halifax, adorned with a star-shaped Citadel and Victorian-era Public Gardens is a feast for the eyes. Being a peninsula, it has a moderate climate due to the oceans surrounding it. Nova Scotia is a tolerant and diverse Province of Canada which has only become vibrant due the number of immigrants arriving there every year. Nova Scotia yet has a room for more immigrants and to fulfill this has introduced the Nova Scotia Provincial Nominee Program to grab the best of talents. Mentioned below are the specifications of the Nova Scotia Provincial Nominee Program for International Graduates:

Education Required to Apply:

• Graduation with at least a one year credential from any recognized post-secondary institution in Canada.
• Graduation should have been obtained not later than 36 months from the time of application.
• You cannot apply if you are still graduating.

Job Requirements:

• A full-time and permanent job offer from an employer in the Nova Scotia Province.
• A work experience of three months with an employer in Nova Scotia Province.
• The job must meet the standard wages stated by the Nova Scotia Province.

Language Requirements:

• Minimum CLB level 5
• IELTS level 4.5
• TOEFL IBT 53-64
• TOEFL CBT 153-180

Settlement Funds:

• A minimum of $1500 cash is required as settlement funds.
• In case you are planning to move with your spouse, then additional $1500 in settlement funds is the minimum requirement for your spouse too.

What is Express Entry?
The Express Entry is a new electronic system that has been implemented by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to handle applications for permanent residence under the following federal economic immigration programs:

• The Federal Skilled Worker Program
• The Federal Skilled Trades Program
• The Canadian Experience Class

Provinces and territories can also recruit candidates from the Express Entry system through their Provincial Nominee Programs to meet local labour market needs. An Invitation to Apply for permanent residence will be given to those who were accepted into the Express Entry pool. These invitations will be regularly issued throughout the year. The top candidates will be chosen regardless of when they were accepted. The 1st batch of invitations went out during the last week of January 2015.Upon receiving an invitation, you then have 60 days to submit your application for permanent residence online.Ensuring strong links between economic immigration and Canada’s labour market is the goal of Express Entry.

The Express Entry Mechanism
The Express Entry System has two steps:

1. Potential candidates first have to create and complete an online Express Entry profile:
To do this, the candidates have to fill up a secure form, online, which requires them to fill up details about the following:

• Skills
• Work experience
• Language ability
• Education
• Other details that will help CIC in assessing them

If the candidates meet the eligibility criteria for any one of the three programs supported under the Express Entry (as mentioned earlier), they will be added into a pool of candidates. The candidate pool comprises of all the candidates who have cleared this first test for express entry. This does not mean that the candidate is granted permanent residence or is issued an ITA (Invitation to Apply). A candidate can remain in the pool for a maximum of one year before receiving an ITA.

2. The highest ranking candidates present in the candidate pool are then issued an ITA (Invitation to Apply):
Based on the information filled by the candidates on their profile, they are given a rank among all other candidates using a point-based system called the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). Following this, candidates with the highest scores are issued an ITA.

Candidates are evaluated and given points based on the following factors:

• A job offer
• A nomination from a province or territory
• Skills and experience

In order to boost their points, the candidates can have one or both of the following:

• A job offer with LMIA (Labour Market Impact Assessment)
• A nomination by a province or territory

After receiving the ITA, the candidates have 60 days to submit an online application for permanent residence. CIC processes in six months or less all the complete applications that have all the necessary documents and information.

Finding your NOC
NOC stands for the National Occupational Classification (NOC). Since jobs are bunched together based on the types of work and types of job duties, the Canadian government uses the NOC, which is a system used for classifying jobs or occupations.

For immigration purposes, the main groups are:

• Skill Type 0 (zero) – management jobs
  • examples: restaurant managers, mine managers, shore captains (fishing)

• Skill Level A — professional jobs. People usually need a degree from a university for these jobs.
  • examples: doctors, dentists, architects

• Skill Level B — technical jobs and skilled trades. People usually need a college diploma or to train as an apprentice to do these jobs.
  • examples: chefs, electricians, plumbers

• Skill Level C — intermediate jobs. These jobs usually need high school and/or job-specific training.
  • examples: long-haul truck drivers, butchers, food and beverage servers

• Skill Level D — labour jobs. On-the-job training is usually given.
  • examples: cleaning staff, oil field workers, fruit pickers

Your job and previous work must be skill type 0, level A, or B to use Express Entry and apply as a skilled immigrant.

Related Pages

Summary of points per factor for Express Entry
Skilled trades
Federal Skilled Class under Express Entry program
Canadian Experience Class