BC PNP Statistical Report 2025: What the Numbers Reveal and What They Mean for 2027
The province's official year-end report shows a program that nominated 6,214 people while issuing fewer than 1,000 invitations. We pulled out the figures that matter for anyone planning a 2027 application.
On August 26, 2026, WelcomeBC published the BC PNP Statistical Report and Year in Review 2025, a 33-page document covering allocations, invitations, nominations by stream, occupations, wages, source countries, regional distribution and Entrepreneur Immigration. Every figure in this article comes from that report unless we say otherwise. Where we add 2026 data, it comes from WelcomeBC's news and invitations pages, and where we interpret, we label it as analysis.
2025 in One Paragraph
The report calls 2025 "a challenging year." BC's initial allocation was cut to 4,000, half of the 8,000 it received in 2024. At the same time, a late-2024 surge of International Post-Graduate (IPG) applications left the program starting the year with about 5,200 applications in inventory, more than the whole allocation. The BC PNP put IPG files on hold for an extended period and restricted new intake to healthcare professionals and a limited number of "high economic impact" workers. Two federal top-ups announced on WelcomeBC (1,254 more nominations on October 2, 2025 and 960 more on December 15, 2025) raised the allocation to 6,214, which the report says let the program clear much of its inventory. The report says almost 90% of nominees were already living and working in B.C.
Nominations by Program and Stream
| Component | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skills Immigration | 6,966 | 8,168 | 7,972 | 6,195 |
| Entrepreneur Immigration | 34 | 32 | 28 | 19 |
| Total | 7,000 | 8,200 | 8,000 | 6,214 |
The stream breakdown is where 2025 looks unusual. Half of all Skills Immigration nominations went to graduate streams that no longer accept applications.
| Stream | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skilled Worker | 996 | 656 | 284 |
| EEBC – Skilled Worker | 2,800 | 2,162 | 1,106 |
| Health Authority | 473 | 1,430 | 1,176 |
| EEBC – Health Authority | 246 | 395 | 502 |
| International Post-Graduate | 1,055 | 1,001 | 1,991 |
| EEBC – International Post-Graduate | 664 | 487 | 557 |
| International Graduate | 369 | 521 | 193 |
| EEBC – International Graduate | 1,140 | 1,097 | 349 |
| Entry Level and Semi-Skilled | 425 | 223 | 37 |
| SI total | 8,168 | 7,972 | 6,195 |
By the report's own breakdown, 22% of 2025 Skills Immigration nominations were Skilled Worker, 27% Health Authority and 50% International Graduate or International Post-Graduate. Adding up the four EEBC rows, we calculate that 2,514 nominees (about 41%) used the Express Entry BC option. The report describes the 2025 mix as "an unusual departure from previous years."
Key Takeaway
IPG nominees made up 41.1% of 2025 Skills Immigration nominees, and the IPG stream closed in early January 2025. That inventory is now largely cleared, so the 2025 stream shares are not a guide to 2026 or 2027. Expect Skilled Worker and Health Authority to carry nearly all future nominations.
The Invitation Bottleneck: 978 ITAs
This is the most striking number in the report. In all of 2025, the BC PNP issued just 978 Skills Immigration invitations to apply. Of those, 748 became applications, a 76.5% conversion rate. Nominations far exceeded invitations because the Health Authority and IPG streams do not require a registration or invitation, and because the program was processing files submitted in late 2024.
Decisions tell the same story. The BC PNP made 6,553 Skills Immigration decisions in 2025, down 25.4% from 8,784 in 2024, and 6,195 of them were nominations, an approval rate of 94.5%. Meanwhile, the report's chart of active registrations shows the pool climbing back to roughly 11,000 by late 2025, after dropping when the International Graduate part of the pool closed in November 2024.
Healthcare: The Big Winner
Healthcare grew even as the allocation shrank. The report says healthcare professionals nominated while working for a public health authority rose to 1,241 in 2025, an 84% increase over 675 in 2024. It also reports 218 physicians and 652 registered nurses and nurse practitioners nominated in 2025.
| Clinical health nominations | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working for a health authority | 376 | 641 | 1,180 |
| Working for other employers | 403 | 698 | 194 |
| Total | 779 | 1,339 | 1,374 |
| % of SI nominees | 9.5% | 16.8% | 22.2% |
You will see slightly different healthcare totals in different parts of the report (1,241 versus 1,180 for health authority workers, and 1,435 "prioritized healthcare occupations" in the performance measures). The report explains that its healthcare definitions differ from NOC-based categories; treat each figure as a separate measure rather than an error. The important trend is consistent: private-sector health employers lost ground sharply (698 to 194) while health authority employees nearly doubled.
International recruitment also shows up in the data. From the United Kingdom, physician nominees rose 139% and registered nurse nominees 17%. From the United States, physician nominees rose 290% and registered nurse nominees 208%. Including nurse practitioners, 335 physicians, nurses and nurse practitioners were nominated from those two countries alone. For the full Care occupation picture, see our Health Authority stream guide.
Other Priorities: Childcare, Vets, Construction and Tech
| Priority group | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Childcare | 842 | 1,279 | 409 |
| Veterinary care | 41 | 48 | 25 |
| Construction (prioritized from Nov 2023) | 64 | 496 | 266 |
| Priority technology | 2,490 | 1,302 | 607 |
The report credits the Tech Pilot, launched in 2017, and the priority-technology measures that followed it with 13,868 technology nominations between 2017 and 2025, but tech's share of Skills Immigration nominees fell from 30.4% in 2023 to 9.8% in 2025. It notes that many technology workers were instead included in High Economic Impact draws introduced in 2025. Childcare's drop from 1,279 to 409 reflects, in the report's words, a "temporary intensification" of ECE prioritization in 2024 to meet an acute labour gap.
Occupations: Health Rises, Sales and Service Collapse
| Occupational category (share of SI nominees) | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No listed occupation (IPG) | 21.0% | 18.7% | 41.1% |
| Health | 7.2% | 12.1% | 20.2% |
| Education, law and social, community and government services | 15.0% | 23.5% | 12.1% |
| Natural and applied sciences | 29.1% | 16.3% | 10.5% |
| Business, finance and administration | 7.7% | 8.0% | 5.3% |
| Trades, transport and equipment operators | 2.9% | 7.4% | 5.3% |
| Sales and service | 11.0% | 12.0% | 4.0% |
The smaller categories (senior management, arts and culture, manufacturing and utilities, and natural resources) were each under 1% in 2025. The fall in business, administration and sales and service foreshadowed the ineligible occupations list introduced in the 2026 program guide.
Wages: Nominees Now Earn Well Above the B.C. Median
The median wage of Skills Immigration nominees was $41.42 per hour in 2025, $12.42 higher than in 2024 and $8.93 above the B.C. median of $32.49. The report attributes the jump to fewer ECE nominations (a lower-paid occupation), more physicians and nurses, and High Economic Impact draws.
| Stream | Average 2025 salary | Median 2025 salary |
|---|---|---|
| Skilled Worker | $125,251 | $105,000 |
| Health Authority | $115,243 | $80,769 |
| International Graduate | $60,699 | $57,200 |
| Entry Level and Semi-Skilled | $44,722 | $42,685 |
| All streams except IPG | $110,236 | $80,769 |
IPG nominees are excluded because that stream did not require a job offer. The report also says over 99% of nominees with a job offer earned more than the provincial minimum wage, and that B.C.'s nominees have strong outcomes: among permanent residents admitted in 2022, BC nominees' median 2023 income was $13,600 higher than provincial nominees nationally, and 97% still lived in B.C. after one year (92% after five).
Where Nominees Came From
| World region (2025 SI nominees) | Nominees |
|---|---|
| East and Southeast Asia | 2,111 |
| South and Central Asia | 1,807 |
| North Africa and Middle East | 520 |
| Europe | 499 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 477 |
| Latin America and Caribbean | 407 |
| United States | 313 |
| Oceania | 61 |
The top five individual source countries were India, China, Iran, the Philippines and, for the first time in the three years shown, the United States, which replaced Nigeria (2024) and Brazil (2023) in fifth place. That reflects the healthcare recruitment drive described above.
Regional Distribution
38% of Skills Immigration nominees were based outside the Metro Vancouver Regional District, beating the program's 35% target. The report says this was a modest decrease from 2024, caused by the large number of IPG nominees, who were concentrated in Metro Vancouver.
| Development region | Health | SW | IPG | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mainland/Southwest | 870 | 823 | 2,207 | 4,018 | 64.9% |
| Vancouver Island/Coast | 281 | 291 | 203 | 964 | 15.6% |
| Thompson/Okanagan and Kootenay | 254 | 201 | 99 | 756 | 12.2% |
| North (Cariboo, Nechako, North Coast, Northeast) | 273 | 75 | 39 | 457 | 7.4% |
Totals also include International Graduate and ELSS nominees, which are not shown as separate columns.
Metro Vancouver received 3,836 nominees, led by the City of Vancouver (1,700, about 27% of all SI nominees), Burnaby (852), Surrey (415) and Richmond (284). Outside the Mainland/Southwest, Thompson/Okanagan had 647, the Cariboo 198, the Northeast 118, the North Coast 115, the Kootenay 109 and Nechako 26.
One detail stands out for 2027 planning. Health stream nominees were split almost evenly: 870 in the Mainland/Southwest and 808 elsewhere. And if we remove IPG nominees from the totals, our calculation is that roughly half of the remaining nominees lived outside the Mainland/Southwest region. Our Look West regional nominations guide covers how regional points work.
Entrepreneur Immigration and Program Integrity
- Base stream: 191 registrations in 2025 (up 71% from 112), of which 106 qualified for the pool and 95 received ITAs.
- Regional stream: 11 registrations, 9 qualified and 9 invited.
- Outcomes: 65 applications received, 39 work permit stage approvals and 19 nominations, all outside Metro Vancouver. The 2025 nominees created 42 jobs and invested almost $5 million. Over 2016 to 2025, EI nominees established 394 businesses and created 1,306 jobs.
- Anti-fraud: by the end of 2025, the BC PNP's Anti-Fraud and Investigations Unit had conducted more than 2,000 case reviews or investigations. See our job offer fraud guide.
The 2026 Targets the Report Sets
| Measure | 2025 result | 2026 target |
|---|---|---|
| SI nominees outside Metro Vancouver | 38% | At least 35% |
| EI nominees outside Metro Vancouver | 100% | At least 60% |
| Nominees in prioritized healthcare occupations | 1,435 | 1,620 to 2,015 |
| Early childhood educator nominees | 409 | 360 to 440 |
| Median wage of SI nominees | $41.42/hour | Within a reasonable range of the B.C. median |
What Has Already Changed in 2026
The report looks backward, but 2026 has moved fast. On WelcomeBC's pages: the 2026 allocation was set at 5,254 on December 18, 2025 and rose to 6,254 on August 18, 2026; on April 23 the program reorganized around Care, Build and Innovate; and the invitations page lists at least 6,297 Skills Immigration invitations between February 4 and October 8, 2026 (our sum, excluding rounds shown as "fewer than 5"). By our count that breaks down to about 3,974 High Economic Impact, 1,439 Care, 791 Build and 93 rural/remote health invitations. The pool stood at 7,695 registrations on October 6, 2026.
Context
978 invitations in all of 2025 versus more than 6,000 in roughly eight months of 2026 is the single clearest sign that the bottleneck has shifted. In 2025 the constraint was inventory; in 2026 it is competition among registrants for targeted draws.
What It Means for 2027 (Our Analysis)
- Healthcare stays central. The 2026 healthcare target range of 1,620 to 2,015 is above 2025's 1,435. If past patterns hold, health authority employees will remain the most reliable route, and private-sector healthcare roles will depend on targeted Care draws.
- The regional share should rise, not fall. The report itself blames the dip to 38% on Metro-concentrated IPG nominees. With IPG gone, we expect the outside-Metro share to edge up, which is consistent with the April 2026 commitment that at least 35% of nominations go outside Metro Vancouver.
- Wages will stay high. With ELSS and graduate streams closed and High Economic Impact draws using wage thresholds between $52 and $70 per hour in 2026, we expect median nominee wages to stay well above the B.C. median.
- The allocation is the swing factor. No 2027 allocation has been announced. The federal 2026–2028 levels plan set a national PNP target of 92,500 for 2027, but the 2027–2029 plan expected in November 2026 could change that. See our 2027 BC PNP outlook.
How to Use These Numbers
- Find your lane. If you are in a Care or Build occupation, your competition is the targeted draw for that group. If not, you are competing on wage or points in High Economic Impact draws.
- Benchmark your wage. A Skilled Worker median of $105,000 in 2025 tells you where High Economic Impact candidates sit. If your offer is far below that and you are not in a priority occupation, focus on raising your score.
- Consider location. Regional points and a stated 35% regional target make a genuine job outside Metro Vancouver a real advantage.
- Check your score. The BC PNP Calculator shows where you stand against 2026 cutoffs.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people did the BC PNP nominate in 2025?
The BC PNP used its full 2025 allocation of 6,214 nominations: 6,195 through Skills Immigration and 19 through Entrepreneur Immigration. The allocation started at 4,000 and was later increased by the federal government.
How many invitations to apply did the BC PNP issue in 2025?
The report says the BC PNP issued 978 Skills Immigration invitations to apply in 2025, and 748 of them led to applications, a conversion rate of 76.5%. Most 2025 nominations came from applications already in inventory, especially International Post-Graduate applications submitted before that stream closed.
What was the median wage of BC PNP nominees in 2025?
The median wage of Skills Immigration nominees was $41.42 per hour, compared with a median of $32.49 per hour for all B.C. workers. Skilled Worker stream nominees had a median salary of $105,000 and Health Authority nominees a median of $80,769.
What share of BC PNP nominees settled outside Metro Vancouver in 2025?
38% of Skills Immigration nominees in 2025 were based outside the Metro Vancouver Regional District, above the program's target of at least 35%. All 19 Entrepreneur Immigration nominees were outside Metro Vancouver.
Which countries did most BC PNP nominees come from in 2025?
The top five source countries for Skills Immigration nominees in 2025 were India, China, Iran, the Philippines and the United States. Together, East and Southeast Asia and South and Central Asia accounted for 63.2% of nominees.
When was the BC PNP Statistical Report 2025 released?
WelcomeBC announced the BC PNP Statistical Report and Year in Review 2025 on August 26, 2026. It is a 33-page PDF covering allocations, invitations, nominations by stream, occupations, wages, source countries, regional distribution and Entrepreneur Immigration.
Sources
- BC PNP Statistical Report and Year in Review 2025 (PDF), WelcomeBC
- BC PNP News (August 26, August 18 and April 23, 2026 items), WelcomeBC
- BC PNP Archived News 2025 (allocation updates), WelcomeBC
- BC PNP Invitations to Apply (last updated October 8, 2026), WelcomeBC
- Supplementary Information for the 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan, IRCC
Information current as of October 14, 2026. Program rules change often; confirm on WelcomeBC or IRCC before applying.