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Alberta is one of the hottest provinces for immigration in 2023. As an entrepreneur or investor, do you know all your program options for this province?
It has affordable housing, has one of the safest urban cities in Canada, namely Calgary, and has a huge influx of investment in its oil and gas sector, and now it’s promoting its IT and Media production industries as well as their Startup ecosystem.
Today we will do a deep dive into Alberta’s best business immigration programs.
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Canadian business immigration are programs that are categorized under either permanent or temporary programs. Under the permanent programs, business immigration for Federal programs includes Startup Visa, Quebec Investor Program, and the Self-Employed program. These Federal business immigration programs are direct permanent residency programs that can be applied from outside or inside the country.
The permanent business & investor programs which are provincial are categorized under economic immigration such as the Entrepreneur Provincial Programs (PNP). Canada also offers temporary business immigration programs under the Federal initiative known as the International Mobility Program, allowing investors and business professionals to start or buy a business in Canada through LMIA-exempt work permits, which are renewable after the applicants obtain the necessary approvals from the government.
These temporary business programs include Intra-Company Transfer, C10 and C11 investor/self-employed work permits, and other bilateral agreements and specialized temporary programs facilitating LMIA-exempt work permits for the benefit of Canadians and/or reciprocal opportunities in other countries through bilateral agreements. It is possible to combine and convert temporary business immigration programs in Canada to permanent ones from inside the country. You would be required to consult with an experienced person in this field to guide you on this conversion or transition from one category to the next.
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Officially, Alberta advertises 4 business immigration programs which are catered to entrepreneurs, and some for recent graduates, as well as farmers. The 4 programs are specifically provincial entrepreneur programs promoted by Alberta which are work permits to PR streams. Each one caters to a different profile of entrepreneur and investor which we will cover in the sections below.
Alberta’s focus to attract investors and business entrepreneurs is based on rural regions of Alberta outside of Calgary and Edmonton regions where they are seeking the most investment (under the rural entrepreneur programs), and young innovative entrepreneurs (under the foreign and international student graduate programs) who are not restricted by geographic locations as per the Alberta provincial programs and can implement their businesses in Calgary or Edmonton or anywhere else in the province.
Passive income businesses or non-value add businesses are not accepted under the Alberta business immigration streams such as real estate development or import and distribution and/or trading businesses.
Traditionally Alberta has been a hub for cattle farming in Canada, therefore they have a general farm business program as well for serious farmers – mainly because of the province’s tradition in this industry and maintaining their farming industry.
At INGWE, we are experts in Business Immigration. If you’re interested in immigrating with your family through business, you’re at the right place. Get a FREE email assessment with us, and we will support you throughout the process. Fill out our form, click here.
These are the provincial programs that we will be covering in this article: The Rural Entrepreneur program, the Graduate Entrepreneur program, the Foreign Graduate Entrepreneur program, and the farm program for investors.
This is one of the only entrepreneurial programs in Alberta being offered which does not require you to be a recent foreign graduate in the last 10 years or an international graduate student or a farmer. The Alberta Rural Entrepreneur Stream allows investors to start a new business or buy into an existing business within designated rural communities in the province of Alberta. Rural communities are defined by the province as any community with less than 100,000 population. The province updated the minimum investment of this program in April of 2023 to make it more competitive compared to other programs such as the BC Regional Pilot program.
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Key Features & Eligibility of the Alberta Rural Entrepreneur Stream
To become eligible for this program you need to be investing in a designated rural community that is outside of the Calgary and Edmonton Metropolitan regions. There are 50 communities who are participating in this program, which is the most rural communities in all of Canada, so there are a lot of choices for investors.
The key features and eligibility for the Alberta Rural Entrepreneur stream you should know about this entrepreneur program are:
* You can buy or start a business in those specific communities.
* You require an endorsement support letter from the community you plan to invest in.
* An exploratory trip is required.
* A remote / video conference interview will be conducted by the Alberta Provincial immigration office.
* You are required to make a minimum investment of $100,000 minimum investment (lowered from $200,000 when the program first launched).
* You require a minimum net worth of $300,000 to be eligible to apply for this program, and the $100,000 investment is calculated within this net worth. Assets can be considered as liquid funds, deposits, equities & bonds, real estate, and equity in businesses that would have official valuation reports by third-party CPA firms. These assets can be in the name of the main applicant or the spouse or common-law partner.
* The language exam has to be available at the time of submitting your profile online as an EOI, which should be a minimum of CLB 4.
* You require a minimum of 3 years of active business ownership experience of 4 years of senior management experience in the past 10 years from the date of application. The work experience must be documented, and you should have been paid for the period for which you are claiming.
* The business you plan to establish, if it’s a new business, should create at least 1 full-time job for a Canadian – unless you are purchasing an existing business.
* You require at least a high school diploma to be eligible under this program, although they do give priority to applicants who have post-secondary education, but not mandatory.
* Run your business on a work permit for 12 months and then apply to be nominated for permanent residency from inside Canada.
Are you interested in applying for the Canada Investor Visa? At INGWE we are EXPERTS and we can support you throughout the process, we have licensed business immigration professionals ready to help. Get a FREE email assessment, click here.
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Alberta Rural Entrepreneur Stream
Here are the advantages and disadvantages of the Alberta Rural Entrepreneur Stream for anyone who is contemplating applying for this stream:
Advantages of the Alberta Rural Entrepreneur Program:
* It is one of the lowest investment and entrepreneur programs in all of Canada.
* For the net worth verification, the assets can be under the spouse's or common-law’s name.
* This program is not a pilot program, unlike the BC Regional Pilot Entrepreneur program which is also one of the lowest investment programs available across Canada.
* Your application will be prioritized if you are purchasing a business (100% transfer) or you have relatives in Alberta.
* Your business ownership and/or managerial experience can be calculated from the past 10 years.
Disadvantages of the Alberta Rural Entrepreneur Program:
* You cannot have a co-applicant or partner for your proposed business unless they are a Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident.
* The Alberta provincial office prioritizes applicants who are between the ages of 21 to 49 and/or have a post-secondary diploma, certificate, or degree of at least 1 year or more.
* The program is only possible for rural communities, and you cannot apply for it if you plan to invest and reside in Calgary or Edmonton or the surrounding regions of these 2 major cities in Alberta.
Remember that we’re always posting about these key details for provincial business immigration programs and other programs for professionals and entrepreneurs – and if that’s what you are interested in, you can subscribe to our YouTube channel for more deep dive videos.
This program is specifically for international students who graduated, and is a great option if you are considering coming to Canada as a mature student, don’t want to be bothered with finding a job to actually convert to Permanent Residency after you graduate, and do not want to invest outside of Calgary or Edmonton and do not meet the minimum investment and net worth requirements of the Rural Entrepreneur Program.
If you are interested in applying for immigration to Canada through the Canada Investment Visa, look no further, that’s our specialty here at INGWE Canada. We have successfully supported applicants from +49 different nationalities. Get a FREE email assessment, click here.
Key Features & Eligibility of the Alberta Graduate Entrepreneur Stream
The Alberta Graduate Entrepreneur Stream is one of the most popular international student graduate programs in all of Canada due to the fact that it has the most relaxed eligibility criteria amongst any of the other programs in the other provinces. There is no minimum net worth, no minimum investment, no minimum job creation, or minimum work experience as mandatory requirements.
The eligibility criteria and key features of the Alberta Graduate Entrepreneur program are as follows:
* You should have completed a 2-year post-secondary degree or diploma from a publicly funded school in Alberta which should have been eligible for a Post-Graduate Work Permit.
* You require a valid Post-Graduate Work Permit.
* A language exam score of CLB 7.
* Minimum 34% ownership of the new or existing business.
* Run your business on a work permit for 12 months and then apply to be nominated for permanent residency from inside Canada.
As you may have noticed, this program has one of the easiest eligibility criteria you can come across for a business immigration or international student graduate entrepreneur program across all provinces in Canada.
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Alberta Graduate Entrepreneur Stream
Here are the advantages and disadvantages of the Alberta Graduate Entrepreneur Stream for anyone who is contemplating coming to Alberta, study, graduate and apply for their own path to permanent residency:
Advantages of the Alberta Graduate Entrepreneur Stream:
* The eligibility as we discussed has no mandatory investment or job creation or net worth or even work experience requirements.
* You can invest in business or start a business anywhere in Alberta, which includes Calgary and Edmonton. So, you are not restricted to a specific rural region of the province.
* You could technically have no investment funds for this business but would have external financing from an institution or private investors as part of your proposed business plan.
* If you are already on a PGWP, you could technically gain some work experience in Alberta while studying or even after, and then start your own business – without having to risk starting something without prior business experience in the province.
Disadvantages of the Alberta Graduate Entrepreneur Stream:
* You need to complete a post-secondary degree or diploma of at least 2 years in the province before being eligible. Even if your spouse studies, you would not be eligible to apply as the main applicant.
* Priority is given to applicants who have a minimum of 6 months of work experience although this is not mandatory, and the program is not so competitive that you would not be selected if you did not have this work experience.
* A valid post-graduate work permit is mandatory at the time you apply for your EOI to this program.
This is a favorite program for many solo entrepreneurs as we have coined the name ‘Provincial Startup Visa Program’ for this specific Alberta stream. It is a provincial replica of the very popular Federal Startup Visa Program (SUVBP), with a few key differences that we will cover in this section.
Key Features & Eligibility of the Alberta Foreign Graduate Entrepreneur Stream
The Alberta Foreign Graduate Entrepreneur Stream or also known as the Provincial Startup Visa can be considered the lowest business & investment immigration program in all of Canada for applicants who did not study in Canada or Alberta, but have graduated from any other country. It is a work permit to permanent residency program which can be applied from outside Canada and does not require an exploratory trip in advance of your application.
The key features and eligibility for the Alberta Foreign Graduate stream that you should consider before making a decision are:
* A letter of Support from a designated organization as per the Alberta Provincial Immigration website (there are only 2 designated organizations approved for this program). The designated organization will help and guide you on the required pitch deck and business plan required for this program.
* A post-secondary degree from outside Canada which has been completed in the past 10 years calculated from the date of applying your expression of interest in the AAIP portal.
* A language exam score of at least CLB 5.
* You should own the new business with at least 51% if it’s in Calgary or Edmonton regions, or min. 34% if it’s outside these regions.
* Minimum 6 months documented work experience in a business or working with an incubator or accelerator.
* A minimum investment of $50,000 in the proposed new business in the rural regions of Alberta, or minimum $100,000 investment if you propose a new business venture in the Calgary or Edmonton metropolitan regions.
* Run your business on a work permit for 12 months and then apply to be nominated for permanent residency from inside Canada.
* An innovative business concept within the industries which have been outlined by the provincial office as listed below:
If you are interested in applying for immigration to Canada through the Canada Investment Visa, look no further, that’s our specialty here at INGWE Canada. We have successfully supported applicants from +49 different nationalities. Get a FREE email assessment, click here.
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Alberta Foreign Graduate Entrepreneur Stream
Advantages of the Alberta Foreign Graduate Entrepreneur Stream:
* You are not required to study or graduate from any Canadian institution.
* You can apply directly from outside Canada.
* No geographic restrictions in terms of where in Alberta you can reside and start the business – except for the minimum investment amount which is affected by your location.
* There is no exploratory trip required.
* Work experience requirements are the lowest out of any business program in Canada.
* The investment is one of the lowest available amongst Canadian business immigration programs for applicants who did not study inside Canada.
* One of the incubators which is designated for this program is ‘pay to play’ type incubator, which means if you can pay their invoice and follow their instructions, you will receive a Letter of Support.
* Unlike the Federal Startup Visa program, the provincial Startup Visa is straightforward and has a high success rate.
Disadvantages of the Alberta Foreign Graduate Entrepreneur Stream:
* Only applicants who have completed a degree from overseas in the past 10 years are eligible to apply.
* A net worth audit of your assets will be conducted, even though there is no minimum investment amount mandatory for this program.
* The business should be linked to the specific industries and be a new Startup venture, which should be innovative. This means you cannot just run a regular coffee shop or restaurant or non-innovative business through this program.
* Unlike the Federal Startup Visa program, it is only possible to apply as a sole-founder, and not with other co-founders in a group.
The Alberta Farm Stream is a traditional Farm entrepreneur program for serious farmers only.
It is very niche, and there is no flexibility in trying to apply for this program if you are not a 100% full-time farmer. This program has been part of the Alberta provincial business programs for quite some time and continues to be a core part of the province’s initiatives.
Eligibility of the Alberta Farm Stream
The key features and eligibility for the Alberta Farm Stream are quite simple. You need to invest a minimum of $500,000 and be a full-time documented farmer. This is a serious program for farmers only. We do not recommend anyone else applying for this program if you are a part-time farmer, or own farms but do not operate them, or do not have documentation to prove your farm operation and ownership. The provincial immigration officers will know in less than 3 minutes when they interview you if you are a serious farmer. And if you know anything about farmlands in Canada, you know that you won’t be able to purchase any real farmland for $500,000.
Please leave this program to the serious farmers only.
What if you are not eligible for any of the Alberta provincial entrepreneur programs?
If you are not eligible for any of these programs which we outlined today in this article, you do not need to worry. You can actually apply for Federal LMIA exempt work permit programs and settle in Alberta, or you can consider some other provincial business programs such as Manitoba, BC, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and Saskatchewan. They have some great programs and features such as some provinces not requiring a language exam score upfront, or other key features that may be a better option for you if you have no connections to Alberta or do not qualify for any of the programs we discussed today.
Three of the top alternatives to the Alberta Provincial Business Immigration Programs would be:
1: Manitoba Provincial Entrepreneur Program
3: Federal Startup Visa program
If you cannot take your language exam score before applying, you can also consider The Ontario Entrepreneurial program as an alternative.
If you have watched any of our previous videos or read our articles, you will know that you can also apply under the LMIA exempt investor work permits such as the C10 category to purchase or start a business in any province in Canada – without needing to meet the specific provincial eligibility requirements. Another popular Federal program is the Intra-Company Transfer program which can be combined with the Alberta Provincial Skilled Immigration program to convert yourself to permanent residency – while skipping the provincial business eligibility criteria.
If you are from a country with specific bilateral agreements with Canada, allowing mobility of a specific group of professionals and investors, you may have more options to start or buy a business in Canada to settle in any province based on Federal LMIA exempt work permits.
If you are seriously considering applying for any of these Alberta provincial business & entrepreneur programs, keep in mind the following tips:
* Try not to apply with the bare minimum eligibility requirements.
* Besides the Foreign Graduate Stream, also known as the Provincial Startup Visa Program, an exploratory trip to the region or community you want to invest in is a critical first step.
* Try to come up with a business concept which would match the province’s priorities in terms of investment attraction.
* Make sure you are 100% aware of the business plan you are submitting as part of your application, as it will be the blueprint for implementing the business and being nominated for your Canadian permanent residency.
* Keep in mind that most of the programs are 2-3 stages, and you would need to be prepared for each stage and follow the specific timelines in terms of reporting to the provincial office in Alberta
The key to your success in applying for an Alberta business immigration program is to prepare in advance and do your research.
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