British Columbia Entrepreneur stream is also a part of PNP operated by the province of British Columbia. This stream targets experienced business owner-managers or senior business managers who want to live in BC. Successful applicants will be required to purchase and manage a new or existing business in British Columbia. Once the business is operated for at least 550 days, the applicant may be nominated for permanent resident status.
First of all, the interested candidates should register their profiles with the British Columbia PNP, after which they are assigned a score on the basis of the BC Entrepreneur Ranking System. The applicants with the most competitive scores are sent invitations to submit an official application. Foreign corporations that wish to establish a branch office or operating facility in British Columbia can submit their application through the Strategic Projects initiative. This initiative allows the eligible companies to send up to 5 foreign staff members to British Columbia in order to actively manage the proposed operation.
Program Requirements
|
Requirement |
|
|
Express Entry Profile |
No |
|
Connection to Province |
No |
|
Job Offer |
No |
|
Language Proficiency |
A minimum of CLB Level 4 in English or French |
|
Level of Education |
Post-secondary, or sufficient business management experience |
|
Work Experience |
Business ownership / Management 3 years |
|
Investment Requirement |
Investment: $200,000 CAD Personal Net Worth: $600,000 CAD |
In order to be eligible for this stream, the candidates must be educated at least up to post-secondary level. It should be noted that the candidates with 3 years of experience as an active business owner-manager with 100% ownership in the last five (5) years are exempted from this requirement.
The interested candidates must have sufficient work experience to successfully establish and run a business in BC. The candidate may demonstrate this either by showing 3 years of experience as an active business owner-manager, more than 4 years of work experience as a senior manager, or a combination of at least 1-year experience as an active business owner-manager and at least two 2 years of experience as a senior manager. The work experience must prove the candidate’s role to be active and participating in day-to-day business operations. It should not be only as a passive business investor.
The interested candidates must be able to prove that they are able to invest in and establish a business in the province of British Columbia. Therefore, they must invest at least $200,000 CAD in a new or existing business and also demonstrate a personal net worth of at least $600,000 CAD. The candidate must also own at least one-third (33.33%) of the business. The investment goes up to a minimum of $1,000,000 CAD (in equity purchase) if the candidate owns less than one-third of the business. They must also sign a performance agreement with the province of British Columbia.
Performance Agreement: It is an agreement signed with the province of British Columbia outlining the conditions under which the candidate will receive a nomination for PR. British Columbia will also issue a provincial nomination to the candidate upon meeting all of the conditions of the agreement and maintain their residence in BC within 100 kilometres of the location of the business and spend at least 75% of their time there while on a temporary work permit.
A candidate can submit the application with a co-registrant who proposed shared ownership of the British Columbia business.
This stream (BC Entrepreneur) operates on the system of Expression of Interest (EOI). The candidates meeting the minimum stream requirements may register themselves using British Columbia’s online immigration portal by paying $300 CAD fee. Upon submission of the profile, the candidates are assigned a score and ranked using the BC Skills Immigration Ranking System. The candidates ranking higher are invited to apply to the stream in one of the stream’s regular intakes.
The candidates have only 120 days to submit a completed application to the stream from the day they receive the invitation to apply. The application must include a business concept along with verification of personal net worth and supporting documents. The application fee is $3,500 CAD for the main applicant, plus an additional $1,000 for every key staff member. All the candidates and key staff members may need to attend an interview with BC PNP staff in Vancouver. If the application gets approved, the candidate and the key staff are invited to sign the performance agreement with British Columbia. Once signed, the candidates are issued a letter of confirmation, also known as work permit support letter, allowing the applicant and key staff members to apply to IRCC for a 2-year temporary work permit; however, this process requires a separate application to IRCC.
Upon receiving the temporary work permit, the candidate and key staff members must come to British Columbia to implement the business plan, for which they get up to 20 months to satisfy the performance agreement. If the conditions of the performance agreement are met, the candidate and key staff members are issued a provincial nomination for permanent residence from BC.
Upon receiving a provincial nomination, the applicant has 6 months to submit a federal application for Canadian PR. The applicants must complete and submit a paper-based application for permanent residence and submit it by mail to the appropriate application centre. It must be noted that paper-based PNP applications generally get processed within 18 months.
The following points system is used by the BC Entrepreneur Immigration stream to rank candidates with registered profiles. Only the candidates with the most competitive scores get an invitation to apply to the program.
|
Scoring Sections |
Points |
|
Self-Declared |
|
|
Experience |
20 |
|
Ownership |
4 |
|
Net Worth |
12 |
|
Total Personal Investment |
20 |
|
Jobs |
20 |
|
Regional District |
12 |
|
Adaptability |
32 |
|
Self-Declared SUBTOTAL Score |
120 |
|
Business Concept |
|
|
Commercial Viability |
30 |
|
Transferability of Skills |
20 |
|
Economic Benefits |
30 |
|
Business Concept SUBTOTAL Score |
80 |
|
Maximum Score Available |
200 |
|
Experience Total Duration |
Points |
|
Business Owner-Manager Experience |
|
|
Less than 12 months |
0 |
|
12 to 24 months |
4 |
|
25 to 36 months |
6 |
|
37 to 48 months |
12 |
|
49 to 60 months |
15 |
|
More than 60 months |
20 |
|
Senior Manager Work Experience |
|
|
Less than 24 months |
0 |
|
24 to 48 months |
4 |
|
49 to 60 months |
8 |
|
More than 60 months |
12 |
|
Maximum Score Available |
20 |
|
Ownership Amount |
Points |
|
Business Ownership |
|
|
Less than three years of 100% business ownership in the past five years |
0 |
|
100% ownership of a business for at least three of the last five years |
4 |
|
Maximum Score Available |
4 |
|
Personal Net Worth |
Points |
|
Total Current Assets (Cash and Liquid Funds) |
|
|
Less than $50,000 |
0 |
|
$50,000 to $199,999 |
2 |
|
$200,000 to $399,999 |
3 |
|
$400,000 or more |
4 |
|
Total Personal Net Worth |
|
|
Less than $600,000 |
0 |
|
$600,000 to $799,999 |
5 |
|
$800,000 to $1,999,999 |
6 |
|
$2,000,000 to $4,999,999 |
7 |
|
$5,000,000 or more |
8 |
|
Maximum Score Available |
12 |
|
Total Personal Investment |
Points |
|
Less than $200,000 |
0 |
|
$200,000 to $399,999 |
8 |
|
$400,000 to $599,999 |
10 |
|
$600,000 to $999,999 |
11 |
|
$1,000,000 to $1,999,999 |
12 |
|
$2,000,000 to $3,999,999 |
14 |
|
$4,000,000 to $7,999,999 |
16 |
|
$8,000,000 or more |
20 |
|
Maximum Score Available |
20 |
|
Total Proposed Full-Time Jobs |
Points |
|
Less than 1 |
0 |
|
1 job |
8 |
|
2 jobs |
9 |
|
3 jobs |
10 |
|
4 jobs |
11 |
|
5 jobs |
12 |
|
6 jobs |
13 |
|
7 - 9 jobs |
15 |
|
10 - 19 jobs |
16 |
|
20 or more jobs |
20 |
|
Maximum Score Available |
20 |
|
Location Based on B.C. Regional District |
Points |
|
500,000 people or more |
0 |
|
200,000 to 499,999 |
1 |
|
100,000 to 199,999 |
3 |
|
70,000 to 99,999 |
6 |
|
60,000 to 69,999 |
8 |
|
35,000 to 59,999 |
10 |
|
Fewer than 35,000 people |
12 |
|
Maximum Score Available |
12 |
|
Adaptability Factors |
|
|
Adaptability Factor |
Points |
|
English Language Proficiency |
|
|
None or minimal, similar to CLB 3 and below |
0 |
|
Basic understanding, similar to CLB 4 |
2 |
|
Intermediate and advanced, similar to CLB 5 and above |
4 |
|
Education Level |
|
|
Secondary school or less |
0* |
|
Associate degree |
2 |
|
Diploma / certificate (non-trades) |
2 |
|
Diploma / certificate (trades) |
2 |
|
Bachelor’s degree |
5 |
|
Post-graduate diploma / certificate |
5 |
|
Master’s degree |
8 |
|
Doctorate / PhD |
8 |
|
Age |
|
|
Less than 25 |
0 |
|
25 – 34 |
4 |
|
35 – 44 |
8 |
|
45 – 54 |
6 |
|
55 – 64 |
4 |
|
65 or older |
0 |
|
Business Exploratory Visits |
|
|
No, or visited B.C. more than 3 years ago |
0 |
|
Yes, visited B.C. 1 – 3 years ago |
1 |
|
Yes, visited B.C. less than 1 year ago, but did not visit the Regional District of the proposed business |
2 |
|
Yes, visited the Regional District of the proposed business less than 1 year ago |
4 |
|
Canadian Work Experience, Business Experience, or Studies from Within Canada for at Least 12 Months |
|
|
No |
0 |
|
Yes |
8 |
|
Maximum Score Available |
32 |
|
Overall Commercial Viability |
Points |
|
Business Model |
10 |
|
Unsatisfactory / Unclear |
1 |
|
Fair |
5 |
|
Good |
10 |
|
60,000 to 69,999 |
8 |
|
Market & Products/Services |
4 |
|
Does not satisfactorily address any of the Market/Product factors |
1 |
|
Addresses at least one of the Market/Product factors, and is consistent with Business Model |
4 |
|
Eligible Personal Investment |
4 |
|
Less than $200,000 or less than $50,000 of eligible expansion investments |
0* |
|
$200,000 to $399,999 |
1 |
|
$400,000 to $599,999 |
2** |
|
$600,000 to $799,999 |
3 |
|
$800,000 or more |
4 |
|
Assessment of Proposed Personal Investment |
6 |
|
Investment proposal does not correspond to the type or scale of the business |
0 |
|
Investment proposal corresponds to the type and scale of the business |
4 |
|
Investment proposal corresponds to the type and scale of the business, the market, the proposed products and/or services, the business model, and the industry standard. |
6 |
|
Ownership Percentage |
4 |
|
100% ownership |
4 |
|
More than 50% and less than 100% |
3 |
|
33 1/3% to 50% |
2 |
|
Less than 33 1/3% ownership* |
0 |
|
Risk Factors |
2 |
|
- proposing external financing OR - proposing to invest more than 50% of PNW OR - proposing to partner with a co-registrant |
0 |
|
None of the above |
2 |
|
Maximum Score Available |
30 |
|
Transferability of Skills |
Points |
|
Business Experience Only |
20 |
|
12+ months of experience in an unrelated industry |
2 |
|
12 months or less of direct experience or 12 to 36 months of related experience |
5 |
|
13 to 24 months of direct experience or 37+ months of related experience |
8 |
|
13 to 24 months of direct experience and 37+ months of related experience |
10 |
|
25 to 36 months of direct experience |
12 |
|
25 to 36 months of direct experience and 37+ months of related experience |
14 |
|
37 to 60 months of direct experience |
16 |
|
37 to 60 months of direct experience and 37+ months of related experience |
18 |
|
More than 60 months of direct experience |
20 |
|
Work Experience Only |
14 |
|
12+ months of experience in an unrelated industry |
2 |
|
12 months or less of direct experience or 12 to 36 months of related experience |
4 |
|
13 to 36 months of direct experience or 37+ months of related experience |
6 |
|
13 to 36 months of direct experience and 37+ months of related experience |
8 |
|
37 to 60 months of direct experience |
10 |
|
37 to 60 months of direct experience and 37+ months of related experience |
12 |
|
More than 60 months of direct experience |
14 |
|
Language Ability |
2 |
|
Minimal to none (Similar to CLB 3 or below) |
0 |
|
Basic language proficiency (Similar to CLB 4) |
1 |
|
Intermediate or above language proficiency (Similar to CLB 5 or above) |
2 |
|
Maximum Score Available |
20 |
|
Overall Economic Benefit Points |
Points |
|
Key Sector & Significant Economic Benefit |
12 |
|
Does not identify or substantiate any key sectors or any significant economic benefits |
3 |
|
Substantiates at least 1 key sector or at least 1 significant economic benefit |
8 |
|
Substantiates at least 1 key sector and at least 1 significant economic benefit |
12 |
|
Jobs Assessment |
6 |
|
The business concept does not support the creation of at least 1 FTE position, or, if proposing a key staff, the creation of at least 3 FTE positions |
0 |
|
Jobs plan does not correspond to the type and scale of the business |
1 |
|
Jobs plan corresponds to the type and scale of the business |
6 |
|
High-skilled Jobs (NOC 0, A or B) |
4 |
|
Business concept does not propose or substantiate hiring any high-skilled positions |
0 |
|
Business concept substantiates the creation/maintenance of 1 high-skilled position |
2 |
|
Business concept substantiates the creation/maintenance of 2 or more high skilled positions |
4 |
|
Regional Development |
8 |
|
Lower Mainland / Southwest |
2 |
|
Vancouver Island and Coast |
4 |
|
Thompson / Okanagan |
4 |
|
Cariboo |
6 |
|
Kootenay |
8 |
|
Nechako |
8 |
|
North Coast |
8 |
|
Northeast |
8 |
|
Maximum Score Available |
30 |
