Provincial Nominee Program Entrepreneur and Investor Visa

Your skills, experience, and personal net worth may make you eligible for one of Canada’s immigrant investor programs granting fast-tracked investor visas for an applicant’s contributions to developing the Canadian economy.

If you are a business owner or an investor, there is a high possibility for you to get into Canada as well. All you have to do is to proceed and apply for it via the Canada PNP program. The provinces in Canada have their own provincial nomination programs. These provincial nomination programs provide an opportunity for an application to go ahead and immigrate to Canada. If you get through this program, you will receive a PR permit from Canada. Therefore, you can proceed to the next step and settle down within that province. Invitations will be sent out to people depending on the economic needs of the province. 

Within those provinces, you will also be able to see the need for business investors and entrepreneurs. If you are one of them, you can think about obtaining your Canadian permanent residency by traveling on this path. 

Any person who is interested in starting a new business venture in Canada will be able to proceed with this program. However, you should also keep in mind that there are some requirements, which you need to cater to in order to obtain a visa. You should also keep in mind that the net worth and minimum investment requirements vary from one province to another. Due to the same reason, you need to take a look at specific information and see to what state you can go with the amount that you are willing to invest and what your net worth is. 

Entrepreneur Immigration (Base Category)

The BC PNP has temporarily paused the intake of new registrations to the Entrepreneur Immigration (EI) – Base category since July 19, 2021. The Government will post an update early in 2022 to notify people when registrations will likely resume. The temporary pause does not affect individuals who have already submitted a registration or application. They will remain active in the system and will continue to be processed through to final decisions. However, registrations have an expiry date. Should a registration expire without having received an invitation to apply, a new registration cannot be submitted during this pause.

The Entrepreneur Immigration stream is for high-net-worth businesspeople who can invest in and actively manage a valid business in BC. It is a points-based system. This stream provides a pathway to Canadian permanent residence for experienced businesspeople who can establish themselves in BC and invest in and operate a commercially viable business that can provide significant benefits to the provincial economy.

British Columbia has introduced a mandatory online registration system, known as Entrepreneur Immigration Registration (EIR), for all prospective applicants to the Entrepreneur Immigration stream of the BC Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP). A maximum of 200 registrations may be accepted per month, and the BC PNP will periodically invite the highest-scoring registrants to submit applications. Successful applicants will obtain a work permit and, if the business operation in British Columbia fulfills the requirements of the stream on an ongoing basis, they will be able to apply for permanent residence in Canada through the BC PNP.

The BC PNP encourages applicants to make an exploratory visit to BC to learn more about opportunities and the local business environment before they register. Registrants and applicants are not advised to make any investments or financial commitments prior to signing a Performance Agreement with the BC PNP and obtaining a valid work permit from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Any investment made before an applicant obtains a valid work permit is solely at his or her own risk.

Program Requirements

Applications are assessed on various factors, including

• Business and/or work experience.
• Personal net worth and source of funds.
• Adaptability; and
• Business proposal, which includes proposed investment and job creation in BC

Minimum Personal Requirements

• Active and ongoing management of the day-to-day business operations in BC
• Demonstrated residence in BC within 100 kilometers of the business. The applicant must demonstrate BC residence for at least 75 percent of the time while on a work permit.
• Admissibility to Canada. The applicant must not be prohibited from entering Canada; have been in Canada illegally; have an unresolved refugee claim in Canada or under a removal order in Canada
• Personal net worth of at least $600,000 CAD (including cash, assets in bank accounts, fixed deposits, real properties, investments, etc.) under the candidate’s name and/or candidate’s spouse’s name. The net worth must be legally obtained and verifiable.
• A minimum of 2 years of post-secondary education or experience as an active business owner-manager with 100 percent ownership of the business for at least three of the past five years. The 100 percent ownership may be shared between the applicant, the applicant’s spouse, and any dependent children.
• Work experience
  • The candidate must have enough knowledge and experience to successfully establish business in BC.
  • The candidate must have a minimum of more than three years of experience as an active business owner-manager, or
  • The candidate must have more than 4 years of experience as a senior manage, or a combination of at least one year of experience as an active business owner/manager and at least 2 years of experience as a senior manager.

  Minimum Business Requirements

  The registration must include a brief business concept that will be assigned points based on proposed commercial transferability, viability of the candidate’s skills, and economic benefits. If the candidate is subsequently invited to apply, he/she will be required to submit a comprehensive business plan. The BC PNP will consider registrations to establish a new business, purchase an existing business, form a partnership with an existing business, and partner with a local or foreign entrepreneur to establish a new business.
  
  The proposed business must be operated for the primary purpose of earning profits by providing products and/or services. Additionally, the business must have strong potential for sustained commercial success. The BC PNP does not pre-approve or endorse business proposals.
  
  Franchises may be considered as eligible businesses by demonstrating that the proposed franchise is well-established. The BC PNP will only consider the purchase of an existing franchise location as an eligible business if it includes an expansion/improvement plan that is consistent with franchiser requirements. The BC PNP will not consider a business proposal for a seasonal business unless the proposed business operates for at least eight months per year.

  Ineligible businesses

  The following types of businesses are ineligible under the BC PNP

  • An immigration-linked investment scheme pursuant to Provincial Immigration Programs Regulation section 6(e) and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) section 87(5)(b) and as defined in IRPR 87(9)
  • Any business where the terms of investment include a redemption option pursuant to IRPR 87(6)(d)
  • Bed and breakfasts, hobby farms and home-based businesses
  • Payday loan, cheque cashing, money changing and cash machine businesses
  • Pawnbrokers
  • Scrap metal recycling
  • Coin-operated laundries
  • Automated car wash operations
  • Businesses selling used goods (excluding businesses that provide value-added services such as repairs, refurbishing or recycling)
  • Real estate development/brokerage, insurance brokerage or business brokerage
  • Businesses involved in producing, distributing, or selling pornography or sexually explicit products or services, or providing sexually oriented services
  • Any other type of business that by association would tend to bring the BC PNP or the Government of British Columbia into disrepute

  The BC PNP will not consider registrations for the following businesses proposed in Regional Districts with a population more than 300,000

  • Convenience stores
  • DVD rental stores
  • gasoline service stations
  • personal dry-cleaning services
  • tanning salons

  Another prominent feature that you can find in PR permit to Canada for businessmen and investors is the requirement to have business management experience. You should be a person who has showcased the ability to manage a business in the past. Then you will be able to secure your PR with minimum hassle, without going through any difficulties. Depending on the state that you are applying for, you will be asked to showcase that you have experience in between 2 to 5 years in the management sector. In a few of the states, a minimum number of years is not imposed.
  
  When you go through the PNP business immigration program as an applicant, you will have to actively contribute to the day-to-day management of the business. In some instances, performance agreements will be required. They will impose other requirements and benchmarks. You should also keep in mind that every single program has an additional set of criteria, which range from age requirements to language requirements as well. There are exceptions for this in Quebec and Ontario provinces. Along with that, you will have to place government deposits as well. This provides an assurance that you will be making the investment that you have stated in the application.
  
  If you are an entrepreneur, who is looking forward to taking your business ventures to the next level, Canada is one of the best countries out there to consider. You will be exposed to a large number of unique and exciting opportunities while you are in Canada. Therefore, you don’t need to think too much about the return that you will get for your investment in Canada. By doing a basic investment study, you can figure out opportunities that exist. Then you can proceed to the next level and apply for Canadian PR under the PNP investor category.
  
  Provincial Nominee Program for Entrepreneurs was created to permit other to apply. Provinces and territories can design their own programs as per their individual needs. So they independently manage and control their immigrant selection criteria in accordance with their needs and priorities. There are many programs which can suite the need of all type of investors starting from small businessman to the big corporates.