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Do you want to get your PR in Canada as a mature student? Do you want a serious PR option before your PGWP expires? Are you losing hope in the Express Entry point system and see no chances of being invited for PR?
Are you an international student who is going to graduate or has already graduated from a public institution and you want to be self-employed and convert to PR? Everyone knows that most job offers and Express Entry streams do not allow self-employed work experience.
But in these 6 provinces all international students can take control of their own destiny by nominating themselves for PR through their own companies. There are some eligibility criteria which we will cover today. Don’t go around begging your employers for sponsorships or nominations or go through all that stress, and partner up with another fellow graduate to start a business together (see specific provincial restrictions below) – take control of your PR path on your own terms!
Previously there were only 3 provinces which offered the International Graduate Entrepreneur program, but now there 6 provinces out of the total 10 and territories which are offering this specific option for their students.
In a nutshell, this program is for international students who have or will graduate successfully from a public post-secondary institution in one of the eligible provinces, and start or buy a business, become self-employed, meet the program eligibility, and then apply under these provincial programs to be nominated for PR. Basically this means you’ve created your own business or bought an existing business, and issued yourself a job offer for PR through the provincial program – that’s what it basically comes down to.
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The original 3 provinces were all in the Atlantic region including Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and New Brunswick. Then the rest of the provinces caught on and copy/pasted these programs as well including Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba (which has a pilot program). These are the 6 provinces as per December 2022 which offer these specific self-employed international student entrepreneur programs for PR.
Out of the 6, we have ranked them in order of best options/flexibility programs for your PR!
1: Alberta (any international student from any province accepted)
2: Manitoba (6 months fast-track)
3: Saskatchewan (great flexibility and can combine application with another graduate)
4: Nova Scotia
5: Newfoundland
Some key Eligibility Criteria shared across most of these provinces for this specific international graduate stream are:
1: Must have a valid Post-Graduate Work Permit (PGWP).
2: Must live in the province,as well as to own & manage your business.
3: Need to own min 33.33% of the business (except for Manitoba which requires a minimum of 51% equity to be controlled by the applicant, and Alberta which is slightly higher at min 34% control of the business).
4: Need to run & operate it for min 1 year inside the province (except for Manitoba which is 6 months).
5: Have completed a 2-year post-secondary degree or diploma from a public institution such as a college or university in the province (All provinces).
6: Need an IELTS 6 or CLB 7 CELPIP or French equivalent score before applying (All provinces).
7: Must have lived in the province during initial studies (all provinces except Alberta).
8: Min age 21 (all provinces except Alberta). Manitoba also has an age limit of 35 unlike other provinces.
9: Need to be able to pay yourself a salary as owner as per Low Income Cut-Off table (LICO) published on the government of Canada website (example: $26,620 for 1 adult as per 2022 figures, which will be adjusted each year, and depends on your family size). This is a requirement for all provinces under this stream.
10: It needs to have revenues and be of sound financial health (i.e., no losses) – but also doesn’t have to be profitable as long as you can pay yourself and everyone else’s salaries and business expenses without losses and have positive cash flow with potential to become profitable in the future.
11: A financial audit of the company will need to be conducted before you are nominated.
12: The business should have economic benefit for the province.
13: If buying a business need to keep all jobs.
14: In person interview at the local PNP office.
For these specific provincial programs, after your expression of interest, invitation, application & audit, you will be interviewed and then processed for a provincial nomination to apply for your PR (and of course you can be eligible to extend your PGWP at this point if it is expiring to remain in Canada until your PR is processed). Remember that you should be nominated first and apply for your PR to be able to become eligible for a Bridging Open Work Permit.
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Your PGWP has to be valid for another 24 months at the time of application.
* Your Business Performance Agreement should be for 2 years (24 months), but you can apply for nomination after 12 months of operating your business in the province..
* This specific province allows joint applicants to apply together to run a business and be nominated (so you could pool your funds together to buy or start a business with a fellow graduate).
* There are some specific industries or businesses they do not approve of such as wholesale trading or import/export without added value. Refer to the SINP website for the detailed list from the PDF guide.
* It's easy to get 20 to 35 points in the SINP points matrix just based on your age, education, and minimum language exam score. If it’s tech related or outside the capital region, you can potentially claim an additional 30 or more points. And another 20 bonus points right off the bat if your partner or spouse has also studied in this province or has employment of min 6 months while you have been studying or working.
* Need to create an equivalent full-time job for Canadian PR or citizens.
* If you meet the minimum eligibility criteria for this program and have at least 3 years previous work experience in the last 10 years in TEER level 0,1 or 2 – which can be from overseas, then you will score 42 points. To get to 47 points you just need some age points (between 21-55 to get at least 5 bonus points) or have your spouse or partner submit a CLB 4 language score or have 1 year work experience in the province. It’s that simple! You could also get bonus points by purchasing a business, which will allow you to claim an additional 5 points. Remember, you only need 47 at this point to be invited by the Nova Scotia Provincial Nominee Office.
* Nova Scotia first draw after 1 year on November 22, 2022: 6 nominations with min 47 points.
* Attending an information session before you apply at the PNP office of Manitoba is mandatory for all applicants.
* Applying and having your business plan approved before you start the 6-month operations.
* There is no points-based system for this stream in Manitoba, unlike the other provinces such as Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan.
* 20 students per year can be approved as per the quota of this province
* Run the business for min 6 months before nomination.
* The Maximum accepted age of applicants is 35.
* Net worth verification of your source of funds will have to be completed by a designated third party approved by the province.
* Own minimum 51% of the business equity.
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* Applicants can start the business before they are invited or approved, but this is not mandatory.
* If you have any partners for this business, they need to be Canadian PR’s or citizens – no exceptions in this province (refer to Saskatchewan for better options to partner up with a fellow alumni).
* These factors will increase your chances of being approved and invited by the provincial nomination office in Alberta for PR: A) Having minimum 6 months of prior work experience of managing or owning a business inside or outside Canada. You can also skip this if you completed an entrepreneurship program as part of your studies which are approved by the Alberta PNP. B) Hiring Canadians or setting up in the rural parts of the province, buying a business, having incubators or angel investors or VC’s supporting you, having intellectual property. Or being between the ages of 21 to 49 (although this is not mandatory, but just a preference).
* Having relatives in the province or having your spouse/partner study/work in the province or prove language ability is also a bonus to increase your chances of selection.
* Use this official government self-assessment tool on the AINP website to check your eligibility within a few minutes, click here.
* International graduates who have already established businesses in Alberta and are currently operating them will not be required to operate their business for an additional one year after applying to the AAIP.
* International graduates from ANY province who own and operate a business in Alberta and residing here (after graduating from another province) are also eligible if they have been running their business for min 12 months in the province before applying
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* You can start your business even while you’re still studying, and don’t need to wait to start it when you have a PGWP. You can only apply for these listed provincial programs when you do have a PGWP, but if you have had a successful business paying yourself a salary and having Canadians hired, then you could hack the 12-month waiting period to apply for this provincial program. Pay specific attention to these exceptions to this hack: The Saskatchewan program requirements which require you to run the business for min 12 months after your business plan is approved, and the Manitoba program which requires approval of the business plan and attendance of a local info seminar.
* Study an entrepreneurship program in Alberta to gain additional bonus points for relevant business experience if you do not have any from before you came to Canada.
* If you studied in another province, Alberta allows you to move there to run your business.
* Another interesting factoid here, is that if none of these programs fit you or the destination province is not your preferred choice, the original Entrepreneur programs anywhere in Canada can accept international student graduates who want to and qualify to invest for PR (such as BC PNP base category Entrepreneur or Ontario PNP, and so on) – so your options are endless. These programs have stricter criteria in terms of qualifications and investment but if you are a mature student with previous history, that can also be another option for you.
If you need help connecting with existing approved and vetted businesses for sale inside Canada, or help with the application process or business plan – our team is ready to jump in and help at a moment’s notice. Get a FREE email assessment now, click here.
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