British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program
British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) for Business Immigration offers accelerated immigration for investment-ready and qualified entrepreneurs ready to invest and settle in BC, and become permanent residents of Canada.
With effect from July 2, 2015 the BC PNP has changed the requirements and process of the program. A mandatory registration system has been introduced for all prospective applicants of the Entrepreneur Immigration stream.
Please note that there are program requirements for each stage of the process including the application and nomination.
British Columbia –Entrepreneur Category
The candidates must meet the minimum scores in each section in order to be entered into the selection pool. The maximum total score available is 200. There is no minimum overall score threshold. As long as the candidates make the minimum score for each section, they are eligible to enter the pool of candidates.
The prospective candidates are ranked according to the scores for their business experience (20) and if ownership is 100% then additional (4), Net Worth (12), personal investment (20), proposed job creation (20), location (12), adaptability (32) (including age, language proficiency, education, previous visits to B.C., and previous work or study in Canada) and business concept (including Commercial viability, transferability of skills Economic benefits) (80).
Eligibility Requirements
- Personal net worth of at least $600,000 (including cash, assets in bank accounts, fixed deposits, real properties, investments, etc) should be there under the candidate’s or the spouse’s name. The net worth must be legally obtained and verifiable;
- 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 manager, 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.
- Make an eligible personal investment of at least $200,000 in the business.
- Create at least one new full-time job for a Canadian citizen or permanent resident in the business.
- Establish a new business or purchase and improve an existing business.
After Entrepreneur Immigration Registration (EIR), if a candidate has entered into the selection pool, his or her final registration score will be ranked along with other registrants. Periodically, the BC PNP will invite the highest-ranked registrants to apply to the Entrepreneur Program. If a candidate is invited to apply, he/she will receive an email notification and will have up to 120 days (approximately four months) from the date of invitation to submit a complete application. Applicants who are invited to apply will need to engage a qualified supplier to verify their personal net worth and accumulation of funds as part of the nomination process.
If requested, he or she will be required to attend an in-person interview at the BC PNP office in Vancouver, Canada. After submission of complete package. If the application is approved, he or she will sign a Performance Agreement and will have up to 20 months to implement a business proposal in B.C.
After receiving signed performance agreement, the BC PNP will issue a Letter of Confirmation. This serves as a work permit support letter in order to apply for a two-year work permit to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). This will enable the applicant, along with his or her family, to move to B.C. and implement the business plan. The letter of confirmation is valid for 90 days. He/she must apply for work permit prior to the expiry date mentioned on the letter of confirmation.
After signing the Performance agreement, he/she must arrive in B.C with a valid work permit within 365 days from the date of Letter of Confirmation.
Once the successful applicant is living and working in B.C., he or she must demonstrate the following in order to be eligible to make an application for permanent residence under the BC PNP:
- Active and ongoing management of the day-to-day business operations,
- Demonstrated residence in B.C. and
- Admissibility to Canada.
