BC PNP Issues 16 Entrepreneur Invitations

British Columbia issued 16 invitations to apply for a provincial nomination in a BC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration draw held on August 25, 2026. Eleven went to registrants under the Base category and five went to the Regional pilot, both at a minimum score of 116.

August 25, 2026 BC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration draw

The August 25 draw is the province’s ninth Entrepreneur Immigration round of 2026 and the first since July 28. With the 16 invitations issued, British Columbia’s Entrepreneur Immigration total for 2026 rises to at least 104 invitations across the Base and Regional streams.

Regional pilot returns with a published count

The Regional component of the August 25 round is the first of 2026 for which British Columbia has published an exact figure. Every previous Regional round this year - in February, March, May and twice in June - was reported as fewer than five invitations, the threshold below which the province suppresses exact counts. The July 28 draw had no Regional component at all.

The Base cut-off also eased by a point, from 117 on July 28 to 116 on August 25. Base scores have moved in a narrow band all year, between 115 and 121.

BC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration draws in 2026

Entrepreneur Immigration is a separate stream from the BC PNP’s Skills Immigration pathway. Candidates register an expression of interest, receive a points score based on their business proposal, personal net worth, investment amount, job creation, language ability, education, and work experience, and then wait to be invited from the registration pool.

Invitations are issued to qualified registrations received before the date of the draw. An invitation allows the registrant to submit a full application; approved applicants sign a performance agreement with the province, come to British Columbia on a work permit to establish the business, and can then be nominated for permanent residence once they have met the agreement’s terms.

The Base category requires a business anywhere in British Columbia, while the Regional pilot is designed for smaller communities and carries lower investment and net worth thresholds. Full draw results are published on the WelcomeBC invitations to apply page stats.

Skills Immigration remains the larger pathway

Entrepreneur rounds are small by design. British Columbia’s Skills Immigration stream accounts for the overwhelming majority of BC PNP invitations - more than 4,800 in 2026 to date - through sector-specific draws for health care, childcare, construction trades, education and veterinary care, along with the Innovate: High Economic Impact rounds for high-wage and high-scoring candidates.

The most recent Skills Immigration round, held August 20, 2026, issued 602 invitations under Innovate: High Economic Impact - 337 to candidates with a job offer in NOC TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 paying at least $55 an hour and $110,000 a year, and 265 to candidates scoring at least 132 points.

The Skills Immigration registration pool held 8,306 registrations as of August 4, 2026, with the largest concentration - 1,651 registrations - scoring between 100 and 109 points standings.

How to check where you stand

The minimum score of 116 in the August 25 round is a BC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration registration score, which is scored on a different basis from the federal Comprehensive Ranking System. Entrepreneur candidates are not selected from the Express Entry pool.

If you are also considering a skilled worker route to permanent residence - including the BC PNP’s Skills Immigration stream, where a provincial nomination adds 600 points to your CRS score - calculate your CRS score with our free Express Entry CRS calculator to see where you stand in the federal pool: https://www.immigration.ca/crs-calculator.