BC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration – Regional Pilot

The British Columbia Entrepreneur Immigration — Regional Pilot (BC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration — Regional Pilot) is an immigration route for foreign nationals wishing to start and operate a business in smaller communities across British Columbia.

Overview

The BC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration — Regional Pilot is an immigration route for foreign entrepreneurs, dedicated to businesses established in a small community outside the major cities.

The pilot is designed to address demographic challenges in these communities, including young people moving to more populous cities in British Columbia in search of better opportunities.

British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP)states that the pilot aims to help distribute the economic benefits of immigration to British Columbia more evenly across the province.

International entrepreneurs approved through the Entrepreneur Immigration — Regional Pilot receive a temporarywork permitin order to establish and operate their business in British Columbia for at least 12 months in accordance with the terms of the Performance Agreement established.

Where the business is subsequently assessed by the BC PNP as meeting the requirements of this agreement on an ongoing basis, the entrepreneur receives a provincial nomination and may apply for permanent residence to the Government of Canada.

The pilot was launched on 14 March 2019 and has been extended to 31 March 2024.

The main features of the BC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration – Regional Pilot stream

• An active role for the community:Participating communities take an active role in selecting prospective candidates. Designated community representatives meet prospective entrepreneurs, hear their business proposals and refer them to the BC PNP where a proposal is selected. Communities and local partners also provide settlement support services to help entrepreneurs when they arrive.
• Referral to the BC PNP:Participating communities may refer immigrant entrepreneurs to the BC PNP. To be referred, an entrepreneur candidate must make an exploratory visit to the community and the proposed business must meet the community’s economic development priorities.
• Community support:Participating communities may benefit from a dedicated Community Support Officer assigned through the pilot to support their immigration needs.
• Invitations and priority:Immigrant entrepreneurs with a community referral are entered into a separate candidate pool for the Entrepreneur Immigration — Regional Pilot. The BC PNP prioritises eligible applications and invitations are issued monthly.

Requirements for the community

To be eligible, a community in British Columbia must have a population of fewer than 75,000 and must be at least 30 km from a city with a population of more than 75,000.

The community must demonstrate that it can provide the new entrepreneur with a network of settlement and business agencies. Community representatives are responsible for attending training on immigration and the pilot before hosting exploratory visits and referring prospective candidates to the Entrepreneur Immigration — Regional Pilot.

Look up thecommunities in British Columbia eligible to take part in the Entrepreneur Immigration — Pilot stream.

A community referral

The Entrepreneur Immigration — Regional Pilot is for entrepreneurs wishing to establish a new business in a small, regional community in British Columbia. International entrepreneurs who have purchased or wish to purchase an existing business may consider applying under theBC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration — Base category.

To register for business immigration under the BC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration — Regional Pilot, international entrepreneurs must request a referral from a registered community in British Columbia. Before visiting a participating community in British Columbia, prospective entrepreneur immigration candidates are encouraged to familiarise themselves with the eligibility requirements and application process of the BC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration — Regional Pilot.

The process

Determining eligibility

To be considered eligible for the BC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration — Regional Pilot, a prospective entrepreneur candidate must:

• Have a minimum personal net worth of CAD 300,000.
• Have business ownership and senior management experience within the past 5 years, comprising:
  • 3 years or more of experience as an actively managing business owner.
  • 4 years or more of experience as a senior manager.
  • A combination of at least 1 year of experience as a business owner or active manager and 2 years or more of experience as a senior manager.
• Demonstrate a minimum language proficiency equivalent toCanadian Language Benchmark (CLB)level 4.
• Provide a business plan to establish a new eligible business in a registered community in British Columbia.
• Hold a post-secondary qualification or have experience as a business owner or manager with 100% ownership of the business for at least 3 of 5 years.
• Demonstrate that they will own at least 51% of the shares in the proposed business.
• Be able to make a minimum eligible business investment of CAD 100,000 in the proposed business (only where invited to apply). The BC PNP does not consider any investment made before the date the invitation is received.

Making a community exploration

All prospective candidates must make an exploratory visit to the community in which they intend to establish the business. During the exploratory visit, Entrepreneur Immigration — Regional Pilot candidates are expected to present a business proposal to the community representative.

The purpose of the visit is to obtain a community referral, which is a requirement for registering with the BC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration — Regional Pilot.

The business proposal and the referral request

In the business proposal, the candidate must provide a business plan to establish a new business in the participating community in British Columbia. The business must be established for the sole purpose of earning a profit by providing products and/or services to the local community. The business must also demonstrate the potential for long-term financial success.

Ineligible businesses include bed and breakfasts, hobby farms and home-based businesses, real estate development/brokerage, insurance brokerage or business brokerage.

To obtain a community referral, the candidate must:

• Learn about the registered community and its priority industry sectors.
• Understand the business conditions, the local market and the support services available for establishing a business.
• Propose and develop a business idea consistent with the priority industry sectors identified by the registered community.
• Meet the designated community representative to discuss the business idea.
• Request a referral from the registered community so that they can submit an online registration with the BC PNP.

Submitting a registration to the BC PNP and receiving a registration score

After receiving the community referral, prospective candidates must submit an online registration to the BC PNP providing information such as work or business experience, level of education, language ability, net worth and details of the proposed business.

Entrepreneur Immigration — Regional Pilot registrants must also submit a copy of the community referral and test results demonstrating their official language ability.

Registration results in candidates being scored out of a maximum of 200 points based on the following analysis:

Scoring section	Points
Self-declared
Business owner-manager or senior management experience	22
Ownership (100%)	2
Net worth	6
Total personal investment	10
Jobs created and/or maintained	15
Location: the population size of the registered community	6
Location: the regional district of the registered community	12
Adaptability: minimum language proficiency	23
Adaptability: level of education	16
Adaptability: age	16
Adaptability: family in the community of the proposed business	4
Adaptability: work, business or study in Canada	9
Total self-declared sub-score	140
The business idea
Commercial viability: the business model	12
Commercial viability: the market and the product/service	4
Commercial viability: eligible personal investment	4
Commercial viability: assessment of the proposed investment	8
Commercial viability: ownership share	2
Transferability of skills	15
Economic benefit: significant economic benefit	5
Economic benefit: assessment of jobs	10
Total business idea sub-score	60
MAXIMUM TOTAL SCORE	200

Submitting a complete application to the BC PNP

The BC PNP periodically invites the highest-ranked candidates to submit a complete application to the programme.

When invited to submit an application to the BC PNP, the candidate may be required to attend an interview in Vancouver to discuss the information provided in the application.

Applications are assessed within 4 months of receipt.

Establishing the business and nomination

If the application is approved, the candidate must sign a Performance Agreement setting out in detail all the requirements and conditions to be met before a provincial nomination for permanent residence is issued by the Government of British Columbia. After signing the Performance Agreement, the BC PNP issues the entrepreneur candidate a confirmation letter (that is, a work permit support letter), allowing them to apply for a 2-year work permit to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

The candidate arrives in British Columbia on a valid work permit to establish the business, make the investment and create jobs within 365 days (12 months) of the date the confirmation letter is issued. An arrival report must be completed and submitted to the BC PNP within 60 days of arriving in the province. The candidate’s accompanying spouse or common-law partner is eligible for an open work permit during this period.

At this stage, the entrepreneur must:

• Make a minimum eligible business investment of CAD 100,000 in the proposed business within 610 days (about 20 months) of arriving in British Columbia on a BC PNP-supported work permit.
• Create at least one full-time equivalent position for a Canadian citizen or Canadian permanent resident.
• Actively manage their business in British Columbia for at least 12 months in order to receive a provincial nomination.
• Reside in the registered community in which the business is established for at least 75% of the time while using the BC PNP-supported work permit.

Applying for Canadian permanent residence

After operating the business successfully for at least 12 months, the candidate may submit a final report to the BC PNP. The BC PNP assesses the report and considers whether the candidate has met the terms and conditions of the Performance Agreement. Final reports are usually assessed within 4 months.

If the BC PNP approves the final report, the entrepreneur is issued a provincial nomination certificate and may then apply for permanent residence toImmigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.