HOW BUSINESS PEOPLE IMMIGRATE TO BC?

If you own a business in your home country for more than 10%, or you have senior management experiences and you want to live in BC and do business here, The BC PNP Entrepreneur Stream is a potential option for you, however, an assessment is needed before you move forward.

The BC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration (EI) stream is for experienced entrepreneurs who are ready to invest in and actively manage a business in B.C.​

Free Assessment

BCPNP has the following 3 streams:

* The Base Entrepreneur Stream

Personal requirements:
1-personal net worth of at least CAD$600,000
2-business and/or management experience; if no business experience, must have the equivalent of a 2-year post-secondary diploma
3-basic English or French language skill equal to Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 4 or higher
4-have been lawfully admitted in the country where you currently live
have, or be eligible for, legal immigration status in Canada


Business, job and investment requirements
1-establish an eligible new business or buy and improve an existing business
make an eligible personal investment of at least CAD$200,000 in the business
2-create at least one new full-time job for a Canadian citizen or permanent resident

* The Regional Pilot Stream

WHAT IS BCPNP ENTREPRENEUR IMMIGRATION – REGIONAL PILOT

The EI Regional Pilot is a partnership between communities and the province, focused on attracting motivated entrepreneurs from around the world to establish new businesses in regional communities to meet the community’s specific needs. These new businesses will create jobs in priority sectors creating exciting new opportunities that keep people in the community.

Applicant criteria

The criteria targets entrepreneurs with a desire to start a business and settle in regional communities (populations of fewer than 75,000):

  • exploratory community visit
  • minimum of $100,000 in eligible business investments
  • minimum personal net worth of $300,000
  • minimum of 51% ownership
  • minimum of 1 new job created

As part of the exploratory visit, the foreign entrepreneur will present their business idea to the community’s designated contact person. The contact person will prepare a referral form for submission as part of the applicant’s BC PNP registration.

The Regional Pilot is intended for entrepreneurs who are starting a new business. Entrepreneurs wishing to purchase existing businesses are able to register/apply under the Entrepreneur Immigration category of the program.

Community eligibility

To be eligible for the EI Regional Pilot, communities must have a population of fewer than 75,000, be located beyond 30 km of a municipality of more than 75,000, and demonstrate their capacity to support foreign entrepreneurs through an established network of settlement and business support agencies.

This initiative is intended to maximize the economic benefits of immigration to B.C. to support shared prosperity across the province.

Immigration and pilot-specific training will be offered to community representatives and must be completed before confirming the enrollment. Communities will then be in a position to host exploratory visits and issue referrals for potential applicants.

You must have community referrals to apply for this program.

To Apply for the program, we do not suggest you to use the DIY option, as professional advice will be needed in preparing for the business plan and connecting you to the local community for exploratory trip.

To assess whether you are eligible for this program, please complete the following assessment!

Find out which region you plan to invest:

Process for the BCPNP Entrepreneur Programs

* Strategic Projects Stream

The Strategic Projects category of the BC Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) Entrepreneur Immigration stream is for foreign corporations who have identified strategic investment opportunities in B.C. to establish operations that are integral to the growth and expansion of their core business.

This category enables foreign corporations to permanently transfer key staff with the corporate knowledge and expertise to B.C. The foreign corporation may apply for provincial nomination to support the permanent residence of up to five of its current senior employees. These employees will actively manage the B.C. operation.

To be eligible, the foreign corporation must meet the following requirements:

  • be well-established and in good financial standing
    demonstrate investment readiness and capacity for international expansion into B.C.
  • provide significant economic benefit to the province by making a high value investment in B.C.

To be eligible as key staff, the individual(s) must meet the following requirements:

  • be current senior employees of the foreign corporation who have the qualifications and experience that are essential to establish and operate the business in B.C.
  • is being appointed to an executive or senior managerial position, or has specialized knowledge essential to the proposed B.C. operation
  • will be employed in a permanent full-time capacity at the B.C. operation
  • is offered a wage commensurate with his/her expertise and consistent with industry and corporate compensation structures

The foreign corporation must:

  • make a minimum equity investment of at least $500,000 directed toward the corporation’s operations in B.C.
  • establish new or purchase and expand an eligible business in B.C.
  • create at least three new full-time equivalent jobs for Canadian citizens or permanent residents for each foreign key staff member proposed (to a maximum of five key staff)

The following types of businesses are ineligible under the BC PNP:

  • an immigration-linked investment scheme pursuant to Provincial Immigration Programs Regulation section 6(e) and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) section 87(5)(b) and as defined in IRPR 87(9)
    any business where the terms of investment include a redemption option pursuant to IRPR 87(6)(d)
    any business that may be a passive investment pursuant to IRPR 87(6)(c)
  • bed and breakfasts, hobby farms and home-based businesses
  • payday loan, cheque cashing, money changing and cash machine businesses
  • pawnbrokers
  • tanning salons
  • DVD rental stores
  • coin-operated laundries
  • automated car wash operations
  • scrap metal recycling
  • businesses selling used goods (excluding businesses that provide value-added services such as repairs, refurbishing or recycling)
  • real estate development/brokerage, insurance brokerage or business brokerage
  • businesses involved in producing, distributing or selling pornography or sexually explicit products or services, or providing sexually oriented services
  • any other type of business that by association would tend to bring the BC PNP or the Government of British Columbia into disrepute