Canada is possibly one of the best countries in the world for businesses. The country boasts an educated and skilled labor pool, relatively low business operation costs, competitive tax rates, and a diverse corporate landscape.
Any entrepreneur would be excited about the prospect of investing in and immigrating to Canada. This is made possible thanks to the B.C. Entrepreneur Program. This program is a special immigration stream that caters to entrepreneurs who plan to establish a new business or take over an existing British Columbia one.
This program can be broken down into two subcategories. These are:
- Entrepreneur Immigration – Base Category: This category is suited for entrepreneurs who wish to establish a brand new business or take over and develop an existing British Columbia business.
- Entrepreneur Immigration – Regional Pilot: This category is suited for entrepreneurs who wish to participate in regional communities and establish brand new businesses that aid with their development.
Any entrepreneurs that wish to apply for either of the immigration categories above will need to meet certain requirements. One of these requirements is related to investments. Let’s examine each of these programs’ investment requirements and how you can become eligible for them.
Minimum Investment Requirements for Entrepreneur Immigration – Base Category
When registering for business immigration to Canada, prospective entrepreneurs must provide information regarding their proposed investments for their business concepts.
Personal Investment Amount
Prospective entrepreneurs must make a qualifying personal investment of at least $200,000. This investment must be performed for the proposed business within 610 days of their arrival in British Columbia on their BC PNP work permit. This minimum personal investment amount must also be derived directly from your personal net worth. In addition to this, the investment can be directed to only one business location.
What Eligible Personal Investment Includes
Your eligible personal investment can be spent on a variety of things. This includes:
- Purchasing new equipment
- Improvements for leaseholds
- Costs for marketing
- Ordinary operating expenses, including rent, utilities, and wages
- New inventory or startup inventory that is related to your business expansion plans
- Cost of purchasing an existing business
You may be wondering what makes a proposed investment eligible. The BC PNP requires that these expenditures are essential for establishing or operating the business. Alternatively, they could be to purchase, improve, and run a pre-existing business. This also means your total personal investment amount could be different from your eligible personal investment amount.
Investments When You Are Purchasing an Existing Business
Under the BC PNP, an entrepreneur’s eligible investment can be used to purchase a business for a price up to $150,000.
You will need to commit to making an eligible investment of at least $50,000 for improving, upgrading, and/or expanding the business. Some additional terms to follow include:
- That the investment is used to improve, upgrade, and/or expand the business through capital purchases, equipment, and job creation.
- That the improvement or expansion doesn’t include ordinary operating expenses.
- That establishing a new location won’t be considered an improvement or expansion.
- That purchasing real estate does not count as an eligible investment for improving or expanding the business.
Investment When Purchasing a Business Vehicle
A vehicle’s purchase will be considered an eligible investment only if you can demonstrate the vehicle is essential for business operations. This investment can be for an amount up to $25,000.
Minimum Investment Requirements for Entrepreneur Immigration – Regional Pilot Category
Many of the Regional Pilot category’s investment requirements are different from that of the Base Pilot Category. For the Regional Pilot category, entrepreneurs must invest at least $100,000 in their proposed business within 610 days of their arrival in British Columbia on their B.C. PNP work permit. This investment amount must also be derived from their net worth.
What Eligible Personal Investment Includes
Your eligible personal investment in the Regional Pilot category can be spent on a variety of things. This includes:
- Purchasing new equipment
- Improvements for leaseholds
- Costs for marketing
- Ordinary operating expenses, including rent, utilities, and wages
- New inventory or startup inventory that is related to your business expansion plans
As with the Base Category, entrepreneurs must prove that their proposed investment is on essential expenditures to establish and operate their new business.
Investment When Purchasing a Business Vehicle
As with the Base Category, a vehicle’s purchase will be considered an eligible investment only if the entrepreneur can demonstrate the vehicle is essential for business operations. This investment can be for an amount up to $25,000.
Why Choose Elaar Consulting
After reading this guide, it should be clear that entrepreneurs who wish to apply for Canada Business Immigration will need to invest a significant investment. However, once they meet the BC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration requirements, they can look forward to conducting business in one of the greatest countries in the world.
If you require guidance with your BC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration application as well as your investments, you should get in touch with Elaar Immigration Consulting. Our team of immigration consultants is led by Keshav Sharma, a regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant with extensive immigration and business management experience.
We have helped numerous entrepreneurs from across the globe immigrate to Canada under the BC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration program. Please set up a meeting with our special immigration experts to learn more about this program and how we can help you with it.
