Buy a Business in Canada and Get PR: A Step-By-Step Guide

Many people wish to settle in Canada and operate businesses in this country. This is because Canada is known to have a stable economy and a Government that supports local businesses.

The great news is that you may be eligible to purchase a Canadian business and use it to get permanent residence. Many Federal and Provincial immigration programs allow you to do this. This means you can buy a business and move to Canada immigration program.

In this special business immigration guide, we will go over buying a business in Canada and obtaining permanent residence.

You must meet each of the following business immigration requirements if you wish to buy a business and move to Canada:

• Be a foreign investor who possesses relevant business ownership or management experience.
• Possess enough funds to purchase a business in Canada
• Display the English or French language proficiency required to manage the business in Canada actively

The following steps describe buying a business in Canada as a foreigner.

Step 1: Perform Research and Select a Business

You must perform adequate research before choosing to purchase a Canadian business. Any business you do consider must meet the following requirements:

Active Status

Your chosen business must have been active for the last 12 months or longer.

Minimum Gross Sales

The business must have produced high gross sales in the past 2 to 3 years. There is no exact criteria for what constitutes “high” gross sales. However, you should typically aim for a business that pulls in at least $250,000 in gross sales per year.

You should also check if the business is profitable, as these sales numbers can’t tell you about the business’s profitability until you know the annual operating costs too.

Relevance to the Applicant

You must ensure the type of business you intend to purchase is relevant to your background. For example, if you have experience operating a restaurant in your home country, purchasing a restaurant in Canada would be best.

Attempting to purchase a business you have no experience operating can be risky, and Canadian immigration authorities may reject your application.

Significant Benefit

You must ensure that your business activities will significantly benefit Canada. You can do this in one of three ways, such as:

• Purchasing a business that belongs to important economic sectors or industries
• Purchasing a business that is already carrying out activities that offer a significant benefit to the
• Canadian economy. This includes driving innovation, developing novel products, boosting exports to Canada, or engaging in research and development.
• Investing in a business and creating new jobs for Canadian citizens and Canadian permanent residents

Step 2: Prepare Your Business Plan

The next step is to create a strong business plan that includes:

• An executive summary
• Market research with stats and figures
• An industry analysis
• Your intended business model
• Your business’s structure
• A staff hiring plan
• Profitability analysis
• Sales forecasts
• An in-depth Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis

Your business plan will be used to pitch your business idea to Canadian immigration authorities. For this reason, you must ensure it is comprehensive.

Step 3: Submit a Labour Market Impact Assessment and Obtain Your Work Permit

Once you have created a strong business plan, you must complete a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). If you receive a positive LMIA result, you will be eligible to apply for a temporary work permit.

Step 4: Move to Canada and Operate Your Business

You can enter Canada once you receive your work permit. Following this, you must operate your business according to Canadian rules and regulations.

Step 5: Apply for Permanent Residence

Some business immigration programs allow you to apply for permanent residence as soon as you come to Canada and have begun operating your business. Others require you to operate your business for at least one year before becoming eligible to apply for permanent residence.

Thousands of prospective business owners and entrepreneurs apply to purchase businesses and move to Canada. However, many of these people fail to meet Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) strict requirements and are rejected. If you plan to buy a Canadian business and settle in the country, please contact Elaar Immigration.

Our skilled team of Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants understands what is required to purchase a Canadian business and obtain permanent residence. They have helped numerous business owners and entrepreneurs complete this process successfully. Please contact Elaar Immigration to start doing business in Canada soon.