Canadian Immigration Programs for Entrepreneurs, Self Employed and Business Persons
Nova Scotia’s 2 entrepreneur streams:
NS International Graduate Entrepreneur – 50 Nominations per year
General requirements:
- Applicants must have completed a full-time, in-person, post-secondary diploma or degree from a NS university or NSCC of at least 2 years in length
- 21-55 years old
- English or French language capability at CLB 7
- Must be receiving a salary from the business (meeting LICO) and the business must be in sound financial health
- Business must 100% owned and actively managed by international graduate and be ongoing for at least 1 year prior to application. At least 1 full-time position must have been created for a Canadian citizen or permanent residence, in addition to other criteria to demonstrate the business is genuine and successful.
NS Entrepreneur – 50 Nominations per year
General requirements:
- Minimum $600,000 in net business and personal assets
- 3 years of business ownership or 5 years of senior management in the last 10 years
- Capital investment of $150,000 in the NS business
- English or French language capability at CLB 5
- High school diploma or equivalent (verified by an Education Credential Assessment)
- Intention to own at least 1/3 of the business and provide active and ongoing management
- If business is selected by the province, the applicant is required to secure a 1 year work permit (based on NSOI selection) and after 1 year of work in the business in NS, can apply for nomination and permanent residence
- Business cannot be co-owned by other applicants in the program
Canadian Start-Up Business Class
This is a program with a cap of 2750 applications per year. You need post-secondary education, decent ability in French or English and a commitment from a designated investment fund.The forms are posted online:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/start-up-business.asp
The designated Venture Capital Funds and Angel Investors can be found here:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/business/start-up/eligibility/entities.asp
Self-Employed (artists and athletes)
This is a notoriously obscure and slow permanent residence application process. But when it fits, it is a wonderful option. There are no “strings” attached to the permanent residence status as there are in the other business categories and there is no age limit for applicants.