The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program issued 18 invitations to apply to candidates registered in the Entrepreneur Immigration — Regional Pilot on April 6. The minimum score requirement for this draw was 107, the lowest score for this stream since October 2019.

The Entrepreneur Immigration (EI) stream is for experienced business people seeking a pathway to Canadian permanent residence and who can settle in B.C. and invest in and operate a commercially viable business that can provide significant benefits to the provincial economy.

This was the fifth EI draw of 2020, with 62 invitations issued so far.

Entrepreneurs interested in moving to B.C. may choose from one of two EI stream categories:

• The Entrepreneur Immigration — Base Category for experienced entrepreneurs who intend to establish new businesses or take over and expand existing businesses in B.C.
• The Entrepreneur Immigration — Regional Pilot aimed at attracting entrepreneurs to participating regional communities in order to establish new businesses that correspond to the communities’ economic development needs.

The Entrepreneur Immigration — Regional Pilot project was launched in 2019 to enable communities to actively participate in attracting foreign entrepreneurs whose business concepts align with their economic priorities.

Foreign entrepreneurs are referred to the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) by participating communities.

The foreign entrepreneur must have visited the community and presented their business proposal to the community’s designated pilot representative, who will then submit a referral form to the BC PNP as part of the candidate’s registration.

The personal net worth and investment criteria are reduced for the pilot project compared to the EI — Base Category. This reflects the lower costs of starting a business and settling in B. C.’s smaller communities compared to Vancouver or more densely populated urban centres of the province.

To be eligible for the BC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration — Regional Pilot candidates must

• conduct an exploratory community visit;
• have a minimum of $100,000 in eligible business investments;
• have a minimum personal net worth of $300,000;
• have 3+ years of experience as an active business owner-manager or 4+ years as a senior manager within the last 5 years;
• take on a minimum of 51 per cent ownership;
• create a minimum of one new job for a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada.

All candidates receive a score upon registering and the highest-scoring candidates are invited to submit a full application to the BC PNP through monthly invitation rounds.

Find out if you are eligible for any Canadian immigration programs

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