Foreign workers in industries such as tourism, hospitality, long-haul trucking, and food processing can immigrate to Canada through the British Columbia program for low- and semi-skilled workers.
Workers without higher education and high qualification may immigrate to Canada under the Skills Immigration — Entry Level and Semi-Skilled category of the British Columbia Immigrant Nominee Program (BCINP).
Requirements
To be able to apply under the Entry Level and Semi-Skilled category, the applicant should meet the following requirements:
- Receive a full-time, indeterminate job offer from an employer in British Columbia. The job must be in a National Occupational Classification (NOC) occupation levels C or D
- Have been offered a wage no lower than wage rates for similar occupations in British Columbia
- Have worked full-time for 9 months in the same occupation
- Have a high school education
- Qualify to work in the occupation in British Columbia
- Show the ability to support oneself and dependent family members
- Demonstrate English or French language proficiency at Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 4 in each of the four competencies: listening, speaking, reading, and writing
Long-haul truck drivers must also provide:
- A valid Class 1 driver’s license issued in British Columbia
- Air brake endorsement
- Other certifications if required (for instance, a certification for transporting dangerous goods)
Categories and Occupations of Applicants
The Northeast Development Region of British Columbia accepts workers in any industry in occupation levels C or D (excluding live-in caregivers).
In other parts of British Columbia, eligible applicants should be occupied in the following three categories:
- Tourism and hospitality
- Food processing
- Long-haul trucking
The eligible occupations include (NOC codes are in the brackets):
- Hotel front desk clerks (6525)
- Tour and travel guides (6531)
- Outdoor sport and recreational guides (6532)
- Casino occupations (6533)
- Maîtres d’hotel and hosts/hostesses (6511)
- Bartenders (6512)
- Food and beverage servers (6513)
- Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related occupations (6711)
- Light duty cleaners (6731)
- Specialized cleaners (6732)
- Janitors, caretakers and building superintendents (6733)
- Support occupations in accommodation, travel and facilities set-up services (6721)
- Dry cleaning, laundry and related occupations (6741)
- Other service support occupations (6742)
- Process control and machine operators, food and beverage processing (9461)
- Industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers and related workers (9462)
- Fish and seafood plant workers (9463)
- Testers and graders, food, beverage, and associated products processing (9465)
- Labourers in food, beverage, and associated products processing (9617)
- Labourers in fish and seafood processing (9618)
- Long-haul truck drivers (7511)
Find out about other BCINP streams in the article “Immigration to British Columbia”.