British Columbia Secures Additional PNP Nominations in 2025, Clearing Part of IPG Backlog
British Columbia has received a second increase to its Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) allocation for 2025, strengthening the province’s ability to meet labour market demands and address application backlogs.
The federal government has approved 960 additional provincial nomination spaces, bringing British Columbia’s total allocation for 2025 to 6,214 nominations. This represents a significant rise from the 5,254 nominations previously granted earlier in the year.
The province confirmed the updated allocation in a public announcement dated December 15, 2025.
International Post-Graduate Applicants to Receive Relief
A key outcome of this additional allocation is progress for International Post-Graduate (IPG) applicants who have been waiting since 2024.
British Columbia has confirmed that a portion of the newly added nominations will be used to process IPG applications that were previously placed on a waitlist. Earlier this year, the province acknowledged holding 2,240 IPG applications in its inventory. With the new allocation, the province expects to finalize a portion of these cases.
This development offers renewed optimism for international graduates whose permanent residence pathways were delayed due to limited nomination capacity.
Priority Groups Identified for New Nominations
The province has stated that the additional nominations will be directed toward candidates who best align with British Columbia’s economic and workforce priorities.
The main groups expected to benefit include:
- Healthcare professionals
- Entrepreneurs
- High economic impact candidates
High economic impact candidates are defined as individuals who demonstrate strong potential to contribute to the provincial economy based on factors such as education level, occupation, and offered wage.
These priorities remain consistent with those announced during the province’s first nomination increase earlier in 2025.
Context: Recovery from Reduced Nomination Levels
Earlier in the year, British Columbia’s nomination allocation stood at 4,000 spaces. An increase announced in October raised the total to 5,254, and the latest increase brings the figure to 6,214.
Despite this progress, the province has still not fully returned to its 2024 allocation of 8,000 nominations. With the new total, British Columbia has recovered approximately 77 percent of its previous year’s nomination capacity.
The province has stated its intention to fully utilize all available nominations by the end of 2025 and plans to outline its 2026 immigration priorities in the coming months.
BC PNP Invitation Activity in 2025
Throughout 2025, British Columbia has focused its invitations on candidates who align closely with its economic objectives.
Invitation activity includes:
- Entrepreneur Immigration draws
- Eight draws under the Base Stream, issuing up to 80 invitations
- Six draws under the Regional Stream, issuing up to 30 invitations
- Skills Immigration draws
- Three draws issuing a total of 978 invitations
- Invitations targeted candidates in selected occupations or those meeting established minimum score thresholds
The province has not disclosed how many IPG applications have already resumed processing following the latest allocation increase.
Understanding Occupation Classification
British Columbia applies Canada’s National Occupational Classification (NOC) system when issuing invitations. Jobs are categorized under TEER levels 0 to 5, which reflect the training, education, experience, and responsibilities required for each role.
Higher-skilled positions fall under lower-numbered TEER levels, with TEER 0 representing the most skilled occupations.
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