British Columbia Announces 410 ITAs in First Draw Since October

(BRITISH COLUMBIA) British Columbia restarted its main economic immigration invitations on December 10, 2025, issuing 410 invitations to apply (ITAs) through the BC Provincial Nominee Program’s Skills Immigration streams after more than two months without a comparable draw. The last Skills Immigration round before this one was on October 2, 2025, and the gap left many workers and employers waiting as the province tried to stretch a smaller annual nomination allotment across competing needs.

Focus of the December 10 draw

The December 10 draw targeted what the province described as high economic impact candidates using the Skills Immigration Registration System (SIRS), a points system that ranks people in the registration pool.

British Columbia used two targeted pathways in this round:
– A pathway rewarding very high wages in higher-skilled occupations.
– A pathway inviting the top scorers across the system.

Details of the invitations:
– 96 ITAs to candidates with a job offer in NOC TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3 paying at least $87/hour ($170,000/year).
– 314 ITAs to high-scoring candidates with a minimum of 138 points in SIRS.

What the cut-offs signal

The wage threshold and score cut-offs indicate the province’s priorities:
– A minimum of $87/hour signals a push to attract people with job offers that employers are willing to pay at the very top of the market.
– The TEER grouping reflects Canada’s classification by training and responsibility level: TEER 0 generally covers management roles; TEER 1–3 cover many professional, technical, and skilled trades jobs.
– A pay cut-off like $87/hour is uncommon in routine draws, illustrating how narrow some invitation lanes became in 2025.

Comparison with the October 2, 2025 draw

The December round showed a modest easing compared with October 2, 2025, but overall invitations were fewer.

• The high-wage cut-off moved from $90/hour ($175,000/year) to $87/hour ($170,000/year).
• The high-score threshold dropped from 140 to 138 points.
• Despite slight easing of cut-offs, the total number of invitations decreased from 474 to 410.

Why the start-and-stop pace happened

A hard cap on provincial nominations constrained activity:
– British Columbia’s 2025 allocation was reduced to 4,000 nominations, a 50% drop from 2024.
– That reduction contributed to only three Skills Immigration draws in 2025.

A later federal increase provided some relief:
– The province received an extra 1,254 nominations, which helped expand fourth-quarter activity and allowed the return to Skills Immigration invitations after the October pause.

Impact on applicants and employers

The pause and selective draws affected planning and recruitment:
– A provincial nomination adds a major advantage for permanent residence, but candidates must first receive an ITA and then file a complete application.
– Many applicants must register, wait in a ranked pool, and hope their score lands above the cut-off when invitations are issued.
– The province can change selection criteria without notice, using factors such as wage, occupation, work experience, education, language ability, and regional priorities.
– That uncertainty complicates planning for job changes, contract renewals, family timelines, and employer recruitment strategies.

Size of the pool and small shifts matter

At the time referenced, the registration pool contained about 10,876 registrants. In a pool that large:
– A two-point swing in the minimum score, or a tighter focus on wages or occupations, can exclude hundreds of candidates who appear close on paper.
– Only candidates already registered before the draw date were considered; ITAs were issued only to people in the qualified pool.

Small changes in cut-offs or focus areas can separate hundreds of near-qualified candidates from those who receive invitations.

Other immigration activity during the Skills pause

Skills Immigration pauses did not halt all provincial immigration draws. Entrepreneur Immigration rounds continued:
– On November 18, 2025, British Columbia issued 24 ITAs through Entrepreneur Immigration:
– 19 under the Base stream at 121 points.
– Fewer than 5 under the Regional stream at 115 points.

The contrast between steady entrepreneur draws and the Skills interruption contributed to a perception of tighter gates and longer waits throughout 2025.

Interpretation and outlook

Observers caution that the December return was cautious, not a full reset:
– Analysis by VisaVerge.com indicates that a smaller base allocation combined with a late 1,254-nomination boost made draw timing as important as score.
– Some invitation categories became more selective than many workers had previously experienced.

Next steps for successful applicants

Candidates who received ITAs on December 10, 2025 must still complete required steps and meet stream-specific requirements:
– Applicants must prove the details that supported their registration, including the job offer and wage.
– The province’s public guidance is updated regularly; the official BC PNP Skills Immigration program guide (updated December 4, 2025) explains registrations, scoring, invitations, and assessment rules: BC PNP Skills Immigration program guide.
– After provincial nomination, candidates apply to the federal government for permanent residence through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), turning a provincial selection into a national decision that shapes long-term outcomes beyond the job that brought them to British Columbia.