- 1. The Quebec Immigration Investor Program
- 2. Start Up Visa
- 3. Self-Employed Immigration
- 4. Provincial Nominee Program – Entrepreneur
1. THE QUEBEC IMMIGRATION INVESTOR PROGRAM
The Quebec Immigrant Investor Program is open to certain qualified investors who undertake to live in Quebec and make a passive investment of $800,000 via an authorized financial institution in the province. The investment amount may be financed through certain authorized intermediaries (i.e.$220,000 at current prevailing interest rates as of August 2016). The investor must have alone or with accompanying spouse, including de facto spouse, net assets of at least $1,600,000 CAN obtained legally, excluding the amounts received by donation less than six months before the date on which the application was filed.
Investors must have experience in management in a legal farming, commercial or industrial business, or in a legal professional business where the staff, excluding the investor, occupies at least the equivalent of two full-time jobs, or for an international agency or a government or one of its departments or agencies.
2. START UP VISA
A Start-up Visa is geared at attracting foreign entrepreneurs to bring their business ideas to Canada. This revolutionary new visa is the first of its kind and results in the applicant(s) obtaining permanent resident status in Canada. However, before you can apply, you will also need to find the right financial backing in Canada. Start up visa start with 75000 CAD$.
In order to be eligible, as the applicant, you must
- Prove your business venture or idea is supported by a designated organization
- Meet the language requirements
- Meet the education requirements
- Have sufficient settlement funds
Before you apply for the start-up visa, you must convince a designated organization to support your business idea. If the designated organization supports your business idea, it will give you a Letter of Support.
You must include your Letter of Support with your application as proof that a designated organization supports your business idea.
If you do not have a Letter of Support from a designated organization or do not meet any of the eligibility requirements below, your application will be refused.
These Organizations select which business proposals to evaluate. If an organization decides to review your business proposal, it will assess your business’ growth potential and viability. Each organization has its own intake process and evaluation criteria.
They Can be either a:
- Designated Venture Capital Fund or
- Designated Angel Investors or
- Designated Business Incubator
Further, the Government of Canada does not provide financial support to new Start-up business visa immigrants.
You must show that you have enough money to support yourself and your dependants after you arrive in Canada. You cannot borrow this money from another person. You must be able to use this money to support the costs of living for your family.
You will need to provide proof of your funds when you submit your application for immigration.
The amount of money you need depends on the size of your family. These amounts are updated yearly.
| Number of Family Members | Funds Required (in Canadian dollars) |
|---|---|
| 1 | $11,115 |
| 2 | $13,837 |
| 3 | $17,011 |
| 4 | $20,654 |
| 5 | $23,425 |
| 6 | $26,419 |
| 7 Or more | $29,414 |
3. SELF-EMPLOYED IMMIGRATION
Immigration Canada and Self-Employed Persons
Currently in Canada the Entrepreneur category and Investor category of permanent residence is closed and will no longer accepting such applications. However, the self-employed category remains open for those who wish to establish a business in Canada.
This category leads to permanent resident status in Canada should the applicant be successful in satisfying an officer that have sufficient experience and ability to establish a business at will.
For the purposes of immigration, a self-employed person is a foreign national who:
- has relevant experience,
- intends and is able to be self-employed in Canada, and
- can contribute to Canada’s economy in one of the required areas.
Relevant experience for a self-employed person means at least two years of experience of experience in their intended business in Canada.
You will also need to take part in specified economic activities. These activities for self-employed individuals are selected by the province and decided by the laws of the province.
Specified economic activities for a self-employed person, means:
- cultural activities
- athletics, or
- Buying and managing a farm.
This also means that for your experience to be considered relevant it must have:
- taken part in cultural activities or athletics at a world-class level
- been self-employed in cultural activities or athletics, or
- Experience in managing a farm.
Below is the list of occupations and their associated national occupational classification codes. Your intended activity in Canada will need to be on this list:
Professional occupations in art and culture
- 511 Librarians, archivists, conservators and curators
- 5111 Librarians
- 5112 Conservators and curators
- 5113 Archivists
- 512 Writing, translating and related communications professionals
- 5121 Authors and writers
- 5122 Editors
- 5123 Journalists
- 5125 Translators, terminologists and interpreters
- 513 Creative and performing artists
- 5131 Producers, directors, choreographers and related occupations
- 5132 Conductors, composers and arrangers
- 5133 Musicians and singers
- 5134 Dancers
- 5135 Actors and comedians
- 5136 Painters, sculptors and other visual artists
Technical occupations in art, culture, recreation and sport
- 521 Technical occupations in libraries, public archives, museums and art galleries
- 5211 Library and public archive technicians
- 5212 Technical occupations related to museums and art galleries
- 522 Photographers, graphic arts technicians and technical and co-ordinating occupations in motion pictures, broadcasting and the performing arts
- 5221 Photographers
- 5222 Film and video camera operators
- 5223 Graphic arts technicians
- 5224 Broadcast technicians
- 5225 Audio and video recording technicians
- 5226 Other technical and co-ordinating occupations in motion pictures, broadcasting and the performing arts
- 5227 Support occupations in motion pictures, broadcasting, photography and the performing arts
- 523 Announcers and other performers, n.e.c.
- 5231 Announcers and other broadcasters
- 5232 Other performers, n.e.c.
- 524 Creative designers and crafts persons
- 5241 Graphic designers and illustrators
- 5242 Interior designers and interior decorators
- 5243 Theatre, fashion, exhibit and other creative designers
- 5244 Artisans and crafts persons
- 5245 Patternmakers – textile, leather and fur products
- 525 Athletes, coaches, referees and related occupations
- 5251 Athletes
- 5252 Coaches
- 5253 Sports officials and referees
- 5254 Program leaders and instructors
Things to Know about Applying as a Self Employed Individual
As a self-employed individual you can apply for permanent resident status based on your ability to demonstrate that you will make significant contribution to Canadian culture or athletics or if it is your intention to purchase and manage a farm.
The Self Employed category is a very complicated application as you will need to demonstrate intentions as well as your future plans in Canada.
Our clients who have applied for this category struggle with what documentation they could provide to demonstrate this. Typically, we assist them in producing a business plan that would satisfy an officer of their intentions. Further, use proof of previous work or completed projects as an indication of what an officer can expect them to produce in Canada.
This category will be assessed against 5 selection factors:
| Selection factors | Points |
|---|---|
| Factor 1: Business experience | Maximum 35 points |
| Factor 2: Age | Maximum 10 points |
| Factor 3: Education | Maximum 25 points |
| Factor 4: Ability in English and/or French | Maximum 24 points |
| Factor 5: Adaptability | Maximum 6 points |
| Total | Maximum 100 points |
A pass mark of 35 points is required as the minimum in order to be considered eligible.
English
- IELTS: International English Language Testing System (General Training test only)
- CELPIP: Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (General test only)
4. PROVINCIAL NOMINEE PROGRAM
The Provincial Nominee Program is a joint-program involving the provinces of Canada and the federal government, permitting provinces to design their own immigration programs and actively manage immigrant selection in accordance with provincial plans and priorities.
Applicants to all provincial nominee programs must meet federal admissibility criteria in order to enter Canada. Applicants seeking a provincial nomination from any one of the participating provinces must first ensure they meet the program criteria specific to that province, and make their applications in two parts: first to the provincial program administration and then to the federal government department responsible for immigrant selection.
Each province may run multiple programs at different times during the year based on their own needs and goals. Program requirements vary widely and are subject to change at any time.