Entrepreneur as an investor must:
- Be eligible to live and work in Canada
- Meet personal net worth requirements
- Have experience managing or operating a business
Each eligibility requirement is important. Unless each one is satisfied, the BC PNP will not invite the registrant to apply for the Investor Program. Entrepreneurs should therefore be certain they can meet all three qualifications before registering.
Several factors might prevent an entrepreneur from living or working in British Columbia. An applicant is likely to be disqualified in the following situations.
Sometimes the distinction between an indictable offense and a summary offense is not easy to understand. A potential immigrant who has a criminal record or who was suspected of committing a crime should seek legal advice to determine how the crime or conviction will be viewed under Canadian law. An entrepreneur who has concerns about immigration eligibility should obtain legal advice before proceeding with registration.
Active and ongoing management of the day-to-day business operations;
Demonstrated residence in B.C. within 100 kilometres of the business;
- The applicant must demonstrate B.C. 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
- Be or have been in Canada illegally
- Have an unresolved refugee claim in Canada
- Be under a removal order in Canada
- The applicant must not:
- Personal net worth of at least $600,000 (including cash, assets in bank accounts, fixed deposits, real properties, investments, etc) under the candidate's name or candidate's spouse's name. The net worth must be legally obtained and verifiable;
- Language proficiency (English knowledge level)
- A minimum of two 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 demonstrate that he or she has sufficient knowledge and experience to successfully establish his or her business in B.C. The candidate must have a minimum of:
- more than three years of experience as an active business owner-manager, or
- more than four 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 two years of experience as a senior manager.
BC Entrepreneur Base Category Process:
In order to apply to the EI - Base Category, you must first determine your eligibility based on the category requirements. You are encouraged to conduct an exploratory visit to B.C. to learn about business opportunities, the local market, and the best community for you to establish your business.
In some cases, an immigrant entrepreneur can also obtain a Canadian Work Visa for a key staff member. The requirements to bring a key staff member to the province are discussed in more detail below.
Not every person who registers for the BC Entrepreneur Program is invited to apply. It often helps to have legal advice and other professional assistance to present information in a way that will maximize your applicant score. The BCPNP assigns a score to every British Columbia business immigration registration. Points are assigned to registrants based on a number of factors. Eligible entrepreneurs who have the highest scores are invited to apply. It is therefore important to understand the scoring factors when deciding whether to register. Prospective applicants may also be able to improve their score by taking certain steps before registering.
To be eligible for a British Columbia Investor Visa, a candidate must have a personal net worth of at least CAD $600,000. "Personal net worth" refers to the total value of all the assets owned by the entrepreneur and his or her spouse, minus the total debts that either of them owes.
Assets Can Include:
- Cash
- Bank deposits (including certificates of deposit or their equivalent)
- Treasury bills or equivalent securities issued by a government
- Mutual funds
- Pensions and retirement accounts
- Stocks, bonds, and other market investments
- Investments in a private business
- Real estate
- Other property that has financial value
All assets must have been legally acquired and must be held in the name of the applicant or his or her spouse. An expectation of receiving a future inheritance does not qualify as an asset. If you are willing to invest in a small community in British Columbia (as opposed to a major city such as Vancouver or Victoria), you can qualify with a net worth of only CAD $300,000.
Registrants who are invited to apply for investment immigration to British Columbia will be required to establish the source and value of their assets. Necessary proof might include the following.
Proof of Assets:
- Bank statements report
- Financial accountings from an investment manager
- Deeds and other property titles
- Mortgage documents
- Promissory notes and payment schedules
- Shareholder agreements, partnership agreements, or other documents establishing a share of private business ownership and the entrepreneur's equity in the business
To establish that the assets were acquired legitimately, the entrepreneur will need proof of the source of those assets. Examples of legitimate sources of assets include proof of an inheritance or gift, earnings from a business, and income from property sales.
A Canadian immigration lawyer working with the candidate's financial advisor can help assemble the documents that are needed to establish his or her personal net worth and the source of their assets.
It is important to assure that the documents will withstand scrutiny. If an investigation by Immigration British Columbia determines that property values are substantially overstated, that claims of property ownership are falsified, or that outstanding debts were not disclosed, the potential immigrant will not be invited to apply for the program. Any BC Investor Visa that has been issued in reliance on the person's false representations may also be revoked. Making a false statement to the Canadian Government may also affect future eligibility for Canadian immigration and could even result in criminal prosecution.
Adaptability Factors
In addition to assigning points for prior business management experience, the British Columbia PNP awards points for several "adaptability factors." These factors are intended to assess the likelihood that an immigrant entrepreneur will adapt successfully to life in Canada. Adaptability factors are different from eligibility requirements. The only requirements that must be satisfied in order to be considered for the investor immigration program are the eligibility requirements discussed above. Scoring well on adaptability factors, however, increases the likelihood that a candidate will be invited to apply by the BCPNP.
An immigrant entrepreneur is not required to be proficient in English, but the ability to speak English is a factor that affects the registrant's score. At the initial registration stage, no language test scores need to be submitted. The registering businessman or businesswoman is asked to self-assess his or her English language skills. Proof of those skills in the form of test scores may be required later if the candidate is invited to apply for the program.
Approval Requirements
To be approved for a BC Investment Visa, a potential investor will need to satisfy the British Columbia PNP that certain requirements concerning the business, job creation, and the entrepreneur's residence will be satisfied. After approval, the applicant will be required to demonstrate to BC immigration officials that all these stipulations were satisfied before Canadian PR will be approved.
Entrepreneur Program BC Eligible Businesses
The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program will only approve an investment in an eligible business.
An Eligible Business Is a New or Existing Enterprise That:
- Is in British Columbia
- Will be operated for a profit (non-profit enterprises do not qualify)
- Will contribute to the economic growth of British Columbia
- Will create at least one new job
- Has a strong potential to succeed for a sustained period of time
It is important for interested parties to understand each of these BC business immigration requirements. Candidates that propose an enterprise that does not satisfy these requisites will not be approved for the Investor Program British Columbia.
The BCPNP wants to attract investment in areas that do not already have a substantial number of employers. Proposing to locate the business in a smaller community will, therefore, add points to the registration score. In addition, opening a business in a market that is already well served by similar businesses will be disadvantageous because Immigration British Columbia is less likely to view those businesses as contributing to economic growth. For example, a proposal to open a convenience store or a gas station in a market that has many similar businesses will not be scored as highly as a proposal to open a unique business or one that offers goods or services to a community that the community needs. In general, businesses that are proposed for the Vancouver area are the most difficult to get approved under the Entrepreneur Program.
Ineligible Businesses
Certain businesses do not qualify as an eligible business for the British Columbia Immigrant Investor Program.
Ineligible Enterprises Include:
- Brokerage businesses (insurance, real estate, or business sales)
- Businesses that sell pornography or sex-related services, or might otherwise be viewed as disreputable
- Coin-operated laundries and car washes
- Home-based businesses, such as a bed-and-breakfast
- Most businesses that exclusively sell used goods
- Pawnbrokers
- Payday loans, check cashing, money changing, and similar businesses
- Scrap metal recycling
In addition, investment schemes that raise capital to facilitate immigration to Canada may not qualify as an eligible business. Entrepreneurs should generally seek legal advice to make sure that the business in which they propose to invest qualifies as an eligible business under the BC Investment Program.
Business Ownership
The entrepreneur must own at least one-third of the business unless the entrepreneur invests at least CAD $1 million. While there is no minimum ownership requirement if the entrepreneur invests at least CAD $1,000,000 in the company, the investor must meet all other requirements of the business immigration BC program, including taking an active management role in the enterprise.
Business Investment
The primary applicant must make a personal financial investment in the business of at least CAD $200,000 no later than 20 months after arriving in BC and receiving a British Columbia Work Permit. If the applicant is proposing to bring a key staff member to Canada, the applicant must make a personal investment of at least CAD $400,000.
The investment must come from the entrepreneur's personal net worth. The entrepreneur will need to prove that the invested funds came from his or her own wealth. The entrepreneur may use financing to help fund the business, but the $200 thousand or $400 thousand personal investment may not be financed. Costs in excess of the minimum investment can be financed by the entrepreneur (whether by a partner's investment, through loans, or from some other source), but the details of the financing must be fully disclosed to Immigration British Columbia.
Money in the bank is not considered an investment under the scheme, even if it is officially earmarked as "cash reserves." Rather, the investment must be made in "eligible expenditures" that relate to the business. An eligible expenditure is one that is essential to establish and operate a new business or to purchase and improve an existing business. The entrepreneur may expend funds in ways that the BC PNP does not regard as essential, but those expenditures will not be counted as "eligible expenditures." Any salary paid to the entrepreneur or to the entrepreneur's family members will not be counted as an eligible expenditure.
Eligible expenditures must be invested in a single business location. They cannot be spread across multiple locations, even if the entrepreneur intends to open or purchase multiple businesses. Investments must be made after the entrepreneur is invited to apply for BC Investor Visa. Expenditures made before that date will not be counted as part of the entrepreneur's personal investment. The most prudent approach is to wait until you have signed a performance agreement with the British Columbia PNP and obtained a BC Work Permit before making any significant expenditures that you want to count as part of the official investment.
Eligible Expenditures - Starting a New Business in BC
Eligible expenditures for the development of a new business in British Columbia under the BC Investor Program include the following.
Eligible BC Entrepreneur Program Expenditures
- Purchase of inventory and equipment
- Improvements to leased premises
- Marketing costs
- Operating expenses (such as rent, utilities, and employee salaries)
While inventory for a new business will generally be regarded as an eligible expenditure, the initial inventory purchase must be reasonable given the size of the business and anticipated demand for the goods. In general, Investor Program British Columbia authorities will not consider more than three months of start-up inventory to be a reasonable investment.
A purchase of real estate will be considered an eligible expenditure only if it is essential to the business. The BC Provincial Nominee Program is unlikely to designate a real estate purchase as an eligible expenditure if it is also used as the entrepreneur's residence. If real estate is approved as an eligible expenditure, no more than $150,000 will count toward satisfying the minimum required investment. The businessman or businesswoman will need to make additional eligible expenditures to meet the minimum required investment of CAD $200,000 (or CAD $400,000 if a key staff member is approved).
A business vehicle will be considered an eligible expenditure only if it is absolutely essential to the business. For example, a delivery truck might be essential to a business that sells appliances, but a car that the owner uses to run errands would probably not be regarded as essential. Entrepreneur Program British Columbia officials are unlikely to designate the purchase of a vehicle as an eligible expenditure if the vehicle is also used as the entrepreneur's personal vehicle. If a vehicle is approved as an eligible expenditure, no more than $25,000 will count toward satisfying the minimum required investment.
Payment of operating expenses will be considered an eligible expenditure during the first six months that the new business is in operation. However, if the new business consists of a new franchise location of an existing business, operating expenses will be considered an eligible expenditure only during the first three months that the business is in operation.
Eligible Expenditures - Purchasing an Existing Business in BC
Rather than starting a brand new business in order to qualify for British Columbia investor immigration, entrepreneurs may purchase an existing business in the province. When an entrepreneur elects to purchase an existing business, only CAD $150,000 or the actual purchase price, whichever is less, will be counted toward the minimum investment requirement. If the entrepreneur's minimum required investment is CAD $200,000, he or she will need to make up the difference by investing at least another CAD $50,000 in eligible expenditures to improve, expand, or upgrade the enterprise. The purchase of additional real estate for an existing business does not qualify as an eligible expenditure. Opening a separate business or establishing a second location for the purchased company will also not qualify as an eligible expenditure.
Paying routine operating expenses of the business, such as rent or utilities, does not qualify as an eligible expenditure to improve or expand the business. While operating expenses cannot be used to satisfy the $50 thousand additional investment needed to improve or expand the business, three months of operating expenses (including wages) can be counted as part of the acquisition
cost if the purchase price was less than $150,000 Canadian dollars. If the total of the purchase price and three months of operating expenses exceeds $150 thousand, however, only that amount will count as an eligible investment under the program.
Paying wages to maintain existing positions will not qualify as an expenditure to improve or expand the business. However, wages paid to employees in additional, newly created positions will be regarded as eligible expenditures that expand the business. The cost of maintaining the existing level of inventory of the purchased business will not qualify as an eligible expenditure. However, the cost of increased inventory will qualify as an eligible expenditure if the new inventory consists of products that are substantially different from products that the business sold before the entrepreneur purchased it.
In order to be granted permanent residency in Canada, participants in the BC Entrepreneur Immigration Program will need to satisfy BC immigration authorities that his or her business will create at least one new job for a Canadian citizen or lawful permanent resident within 20 months of arrival in British Columbia. If the applicant's proposal for a key staff member is approved, however, the entrepreneur will need to create at least three new jobs in the province.
The more jobs an aspirant proposes to create, the higher their score will be in the Job Creation section of their British Columbia Investor Program registration. The entrepreneur must be realistic, however, because if they are approved to participate in the Canada investment immigration program, the entrepreneur will be expected to create those jobs as a condition of being nominated for permanent residence. All jobs must be full-time, meaning the employee will work at least 30 hours per week and that the employment will be continuous. The new employees must also work in British Columbia at the primary location of the business.
Proposed wages for the new jobs must be consistent with average wages in BC for the skill level of the position created. Independent contractors are not regarded as employees and cannot be used to satisfy the job creation requirement. To be approved for nomination for Canada PR under the British Columbia Entrepreneur Program, the required number of jobs must have been in existence for at least six months.
Points Are Based on the Entrepreneur's:
- Direct experience (having worked in the same industry or economic sector as the proposed business)
- Indirect experience (having worked in an industry or economic sector that is similar to the proposed business)
- Unrelated experience
Points are awarded for experience as an owner-manager and as a senior manager. The highest point total (60 points) is earned by an entrepreneur who was an owner-manager with direct experience for more than five years. The lowest point total (2 points) is awarded to a senior manager with one year of experience in an unrelated industry. Points between those extremes are based on a selection grid that considers the nature of the person's experience as well as the length of his or her experience.
Economic Benefits
The potential economic benefits of a proposed British Columbia Entrepreneur Investment Program business are scored according to the factors discussed above (see the section titled "Contribution to Economic Growth").
BC Business Immigration Scoring Considers Whether the Proposal:
- Involves a key sector of the economy
- contributes a significant economic benefit
- serves a region of British Columbia with a smaller population
No regional points are awarded for a business that will be established in Greater Vancouver. The maximum numbers of regional points are awarded when the candidate proposes to locate the startup in a regional district that has a population of fewer than 35,000 people. Varying points are assessed if the candidate proposes to locate the startup in an area with a population of more than 35,000 but fewer than 500,000 people, such as Kelowna or Kamloops.
Assistance in Registering for BC Investor Program
Prospective immigrants may obtain the assistance of another person to help them register for BC entrepreneur immigration. The identity of any representatives who acts on behalf of the registrant must be disclosed. If the representative is compensated in any way, that fact must also be disclosed. Only Canadian lawyers and approved immigration consultants may receive compensation for assisting people in the British Columbia business immigration registration process. To protect themselves from fraud, entrepreneurs should be certain that they engage a Canadian immigration lawyer or immigration consultant who is a member in good standing of a professional organization specified by law.
British Columbia Entrepreneur Program Registration
Initial registration for the BCPNP Investor Immigration Program is done online. Only 200 people are permitted to register their interest each calendar month. It may, therefore, be wise to submit a registration early in the month.
The candidate must create a profile that includes identifying information, including a physical address and an email address, as well as a telephone number and passport information. Candidates can log onto the BC PNP registration site after creating a password and security questions. Information in the profile can be updated if it changes by logging into the website. Other sections of investor immigration registration cannot be changed after the registration is submitted. After completing a profile, the candidate must complete each section of the registration form for entrepreneur migration.
British Columbia Business Immigration Points Grid:
Candidates are not required to complete their Entrepreneur Program registration in a single session. It is possible to save answers in the system and to log on later. Answers can also be changed or updated before the registration is submitted. Once the registration is officially submitted, BCPNP assigns points to each section. Most of the scoring is done immediately by software, but the business concept is manually scored by evaluators. It frequently takes approximately four weeks to complete the business concept scoring, although BC Investor Program processing times can vary. The entrepreneur will be notified of their final score after BC PNP computes it.
Invitation to Apply for BC Entrepreneur Immigration
Registered investors who are invited to apply to the Entrepreneur Immigration Program are notified by email. They must submit a complete investment immigration application within four months of the date they were invited to apply. The application must include an extensive business plan and a verification of personal net worth.
BC Investor Program Business Plan
The business plan component of the British Columbia PNP Entrepreneur Program is a comprehensive description of the proposed business. Immigration BC expects the business plan not to exceed 8 to 10 pages, although a number of supporting documents may be attached to it.
Business planners and lawyers can help BC Investor Program candidates prepare a professional business plan that is optimized for success.
BC Entrepreneur Immigration Verification of Personal Net Worth
As part of the British Columbia Investor Program application process, the personal net worth of the primary applicant must be verified by a qualified supplier. The entrepreneur must pay the cost of this verification and must give permission to release the results of the net worth review to BCPNP evaluators. A qualified supplier is a provider of accounting services that has been approved by BC immigration officials. The invitation to apply includes a list of qualified suppliers from which the applicant may select.
The qualified supplier should be selected promptly as it may take up to 60 days to finish the review. The cost of the review is typically in a range of CAD $3,000 to CAD $5,000. The applicant must give the qualified supplier access to all documentation (such as bank statements, investment statements, and proof of property ownership) that the qualified supplier needs to verify his or her net worth.
Attend Personal Interview
Assuming there is no issue with the entrepreneur's personal net worth and the business plan is acceptable, the entrepreneur will be invited to a personal interview at the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program office in Vancouver. An applicant who needs a Visitor Visa to attend the interview will be given a letter of support for the Canada Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) application. The interview gives British Columbia business immigration officials an opportunity to ask any questions they might have about the business plan or the entrepreneur's business experience. An entrepreneur who is concerned about his or her ability to communicate in English may obtain the services of a certified interpreter to assist with the interview process.
If BCPNP agrees to permit the entrepreneur to participate in the program, it will provide the entrepreneur with a performance agreement. The performance agreement is a contract between the entrepreneur and Immigration British Columbia.
The performance agreement will include the specific requirements that the entrepreneur must satisfy, including:
- The nature and location of the business that the entrepreneur will open or purchase
- The investment amounts and deadlines for investing
- The positions to be created
- Residency requirements
- Other conditions that the entrepreneur must meet
- A time frame in which the conditions must be performed
The entrepreneur will be expected to satisfy the terms of the performance agreement before being nominated for Canadian permanent residence.
Interested candidates: Find out whether you qualify for Canada by completing our free on-line evaluation. We will provide you with our evaluation within 1-2 business days.