Moving to British Columbia

British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP)

To meet the demand for skilled and qualified health care professionals, British Columbia introduced the BC Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP), which provides a pathway to Canadian permanent residence (PR).

The Health Match BC navigation team will support you as you navigate your application with BC PNP until you obtain PR status in Canada.

BC PNP Health Authority Stream

The BC PNP’s Health Authority Stream was created to facilitate the recruitment and retention of International Medical Graduates (IMGs). Through this stream, BC public health employers can support IMGs with an application for PR.

If you are not a citizen or permanent resident of Canada and you have accepted an offer of permanent, full-time employment with a public health employer, you may be eligible to apply for PR status via this stream.

Your public health employer must sponsor you either through the BC PNP’s Health Authority stream (recommended) or by requesting a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).

Under the Health Authority Stream of BC PNP, applicants may be eligible for either the Skills Immigration or the Express Entry pathway.

Before initiating your BC PNP Health Authority Stream application, it is recommended that you connect with Health Match BC.

Immigration Support

Health Match BC is here to help. There are several steps involved in moving to British Columbia to work as a physician, and the Health Match BC navigation team will support you as you navigate your application with BC PNP and obtain permanent resident status in Canada.

In addition to meeting the general requirements to qualify for one of the pathways of the Health Authority Stream of BC PNP, you must have:

Accepted an offer of permanent, full-time employment with a BC public health employer. The written offer must be on official company letterhead.
Meet the education, training, experience, and qualification requirements outlined by the public health employer.
Evidence that you meet the minimum income requirements.
English language proficiency (if applicable).

The BC PNP Health Authority Stream does not require applicants to have prior Canadian work experience.

If approved as a provincial nominee, you will be able to apply for a work permit and permanent resident status in Canada. Upon receipt of a temporary work permit, you will be able to start work while waiting for your permanent residency application to be approved.