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Beautiful British Columbia, also known as BC, where you have these popular cities such as Vancouver, Victoria in Vancouver Island, Okanagan, Kamloops, Surrey, Coquitlam, Burnaby, Richmond, and so on. How does the BC Provincial program work for Entrepreneurs, also known as the BC PNP Entrepreneurial base category? Read this article and find out.
If you’re interested in applying for the BC Entrepreneur Program, you’re at the right place! We can help you throughout the process. Get a FREE assessment with one of our business immigration specialists, fill out our form by clicking here.
The BC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration stream is for experienced entrepreneurs who are ready to invest in and actively manage a business in B.C as a direct path to Permanent Residency in Canada for the main applicant and their dependents (i.e. spouse/partner and children).
There are three main categories under the Entrepreneurial program in BC: The base category which we will cover in this article, considered the ‘main’ stream. They also have the Rural business immigration program and the Strategic Projects stream which is for larger international corporations who want to invest and move their staff to BC for a key investment – with higher investment amounts than the main category we will be focusing on in this article.
The BC Entrepreneur Immigration program (Base category) is temporarily paused and is not accepting new registrations at this time. It will be re-opened to new intake in July 2022 with potential changes coming up to the program.
The other BC Entrepreneurial programs are continuing to accept new registrants such as the Rural Pilot program and the Strategic Projects category. All the Skills Immigration categories also remain open at the date of this article.
If you are considering BC as a destination to move your business and family, the process of preparing an application and EOI (Expression of Interest) does take time, so don’t wait around until the main category re-opens to start planning. You need a minimum of 45 to 60 days to prepare your business concept, perhaps visit BC for an exploratory trip (it does give you bonus points and it is HIGHLY recommended by the BC immigration office), find local partners, fine-tune the plan, prepare your application and documentation, have a thorough review, and here is the key: if you’ve never visited BC and you are planning to submit an Expression of Interest to the BC PNP office, you better do your homework!
Do you need any help regarding your business concept? We have successfully supported applicants from +47 countries with their Business Immigration processes. Get a FREE assessment with us, click here.
Here are the key steps to expect during the registration and application process under this program:
Step 1) Do your research for your business idea or partnership, and complete an exploratory trip (this is highly recommended by the BC immigration office, or at least have a business partner as part of your application who has the local experience to be your ‘eyes’ and ‘ears’ in terms of market research)
Step 2) Register your profile details and business concept on the BC Provincial Nominee Program portal and within a few weeks receive your score. This step requires a payment of $300 through the BC government portal. Your initial registration is only valid for six (6) months. If your registration expires and you have not received an invitation to apply, you can pay the $300 again and re-enter the pool.
Step 3) If you are selected in their draws which occur every 2-3 months, you are invited to apply with your documents. The net worth audit report is also required at this step. At this stage, with the application submission, you are expected to pay $3,500 Canadian dollars to the BC Provincial Nominee Program office to process your application. If you claimed language ability, at this point you do need to also upload your language exam scores such as IELTS/CELPIP/TEF or TCF.
Step 4) You are expected to attend an in-person interview to go over your business plan with an officer at the BC immigration office. During the pandemic, they also allowed online interviews, now they expect you to travel to downtown Vancouver, where their office is located, and have an in-person interview. They will grill you at this stage about your business plan, and how you came up with the market research and concept.
At this stage, this program has the most refusals. If you can get past this step, you’re good to go (i.e., get your work permit, start your business, and after 18 months submit your report to be nominated for your PR in Canada).
Please keep in mind that the BC Provincial office will issue you an invitation letter up to 2 times maximum for you to obtain a visitor visa to attend the interview. If you are refused both times, at their own discretion they may refuse your entire application. Be careful and plan ahead.
For our own applicants, we typically apply for the visitor visa beforehand if possible and ask them to do the exploratory trip first before the registration step, but this is not mandatory. During the interview, you are allowed to have an official translator with you. This basically means you don’t need an IELTS or language exam right away when applying under this program, but you do need it later after you land in Canada and run your business before you are nominated for PR.
Step 4) Within approx. 3 months after your final application, and review by the BC Provincial Nominee Program office, if they approve your application, you are expected to sign a performance agreement – which basically outlines all the minimum requirements of your investment, job creation, and business plan. This agreement summarizes what you are expected to complete within the time you are allowed to work in BC.
When all of them are approved, a Letter of Confirmation from the BC immigration office is issued which allows you to apply for a work permit to come and start or take over your business in BC. Of course, you can apply for your family together to have your spouse or partner in a work permit status and your children in study permit status.
Step 5) You receive your work permit from the Federal government and arrive in BC to start or take over your business.
Step 6) Arrival report in BC with your work permit, you need to submit an arrival report after 60 days to the BC PNP office. If you’re working with us, don’t worry, we’ll take care of all these details!
Step 7) After running your business for a minimum of 18 months, you can submit your final report to the BC Provincial Nominee Program office for them to audit your business accomplishments against the performance agreement you signed.
At this step, they would check how much time you resided in BC, how far you lived from your work, if you hired and created Canadian jobs, invested in the minimum amount you promised, and if the investments were legitimate (with supporting documents) and for the right purposes as per the business plan.
Sometimes if they’re close enough to your location, they may even visit your business, but during COVID-19 this hasn’t really happened. They basically want to verify that your business is legitimate and that you did what you promised you would when you signed the performance agreement after the interview. If they’re happy with what they see, then they will issue you a nomination certificate with your dependents to apply for your Canadian permanent residency.
It is also very important to note at this point that you do need to provide a minimum score of CLB 4 in an approved language exam in either English or French such as IELTS/CELPIP/TEF or TCF. You do not need any language when you apply or while you have a work permit, but to be nominated to apply for your PR, it is 100% mandatory at that point to achieve and submit the language score to the BC provincial immigration office.
Step 8) Apply directly to the Federal government for your Canadian PR, but while you continue to manage and operate your business. You cannot stop running your business at this point. You literally are expected to continue to at least the point where you receive your PR card in your hand. After that, you can decide what you want to do, nobody can force you to do anything after you become a PR. However, since you’ve invested all that time and money, we hope you can continue and make your business profitable for you and your family. You also have the option to apply for your work permit extension through a bridging work permit while you wait for your PR processing. The PR processing can take anywhere from 12-20 months.
We all know this process could be overwhelming! That’s why we are here to support you throughout the entire process. Get a FREE assessment with one of our licensed immigration professionals by filling out our form, click here.
Let’s look at the minimum requirements of the BC Provincial Nominee Entrepreneurial Program:
*In the past 10 years have had min 3 years of business ownership experience, min 4 years of senior management experience (or a combination of both, +1 year as owner and +2 years as senior management)
*Your net worth should not be less than $600,000. Net worth includes liquid assets such as cash, bonds, equities, etc, and your fixed assets such as properties and company shares. A net worth audit will have to be completed by a designated organization from the BC PNP to verify your net worth in your home country.
*They do require a post-secondary degree, or as an alternative in case you don’t have the education requirements, you can prove 3 years of business ownership experience in the past 5 years as 100% owner.
*You need a business plan for a new business setup or already planned to purchase an existing business anywhere in BC.
*You need to own a minimum of 33% of any business you plan to operate in BC.
*The bare minimum investment by any applicant should not be less than $200,000 as eligibility criteria to apply under the program.
*At least 1 full-time job created for a Canadian Permanent Resident or Citizen.
*An interview is mandatory after you have been selected.
Find out if you’re eligible for the BC Entrepreneur Program! At INGWE we speak +8 languages and we have successfully helped applicants from +47 countries. Get a FREE assessment with our licensed immigration professionals, click here.
*Partnering up with a local businessperson is allowed.
*Co-registrant allowed when applying together.
*Your business DOES NOT have to be profitable while you are managing it in BC. This is NOT a requirement of the BC Entrepreneurial program, although they would love it if you did become profitable and expanded your business.
*You don’t need a language exam score at the time of registration for this program and you can have an official translator with you during the interview.
Be aware:
*Don’t buy or start your business BEFORE you submit your registration, application and receive your approval from the BC Provincial Nominee Program office.
*If you don’t know the details about your business plan, the market research, and the reason and justification for your business, you may be refused by the BC PNP Office.
*You have a maximum of 12 months to arrive in Canada to start your business after you sign your performance agreement (i.e. the clock starts ticking before you even apply for your work permit)
*There are nomination conditions on the BC PNP nomination certificate issued for you to apply for your PR in Canada
*If you can’t complete the project and need more time with an extended work permit while inside Canada, your work permit can be extended at the discretion of the BC Provincial Nominee Program office to issue a support letter to extend while you are inside Canada.
Watch out for these final report requirements before you are nominated for your PR:
*After running your business for a minimum of 18 months, you are allowed to submit your final report to the Provincial Nominee Office in BC to wait for your final nomination certificate to apply for your Permanent Residency in Canada.
*You also need to submit your language exam score of minimum CLB 4 in English or French at the final stage before your PR.
Let’s look at the Points-based system for this program, which is out of a total of 200 points:
*80 points are allocated for the business concept (40% of the entire score). Remember that the business concept is just a summary/short version of your business plan, so you do need to have your plan ready BEFORE you submit your business concept (this is a best practice we use for our applicants)
*In 4-6 weeks after you submit your EOI, your score is given to you on the online portal.
The latest draws or minimum points which are needed to be invited to apply under the BC PNP Entrepreneurial program are as follows as per the table below. As of now, the BC PNP Entrepreneur program base category is paused, and hence no draws. In 2022, the BC PNP has had 2 Rural pilot program draws [See tables below] and the table for 2021 indicates a minimum score of 118 for the BC base category of the Entrepreneurial program. Typically, candidates should target 120-130 points to be guaranteed selection under the base/main category of the BC Provincial Nominee Entrepreneurial program.
If you are deciding on applying for the BC PNP Entrepreneur program and need support from somebody or a team of professionals who knows what they’re talking about, then that’s us at INGWE. This is our specialty. We will guide and support you throughout the process. Our team in Canada speaks over +8 languages, and we are licensed to help applicants like yourself and your families. We have 1-million-dollar liability insurance which protects you and us from mistakes or fraud as well as a dedicated client trust account in Canada. We help applicants from over 47 different countries if you require assistance with your Business Immigration process. Get a FREE assessment now, click here.
