British Columbia set to launch a new pilot program for Entrepreneurs

The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program is launching a new immigration pilot in 2019. The program is devised to attract immigrant entrepreneurs towards the less populated regions of the province. The pilot is designed to help smaller communities in British Columbia attract businesses that meet local needs, provide employment and contribute to the local economy.

The Entrepreneur Immigration — Regional Pilot, has currently been planned for two years. Through this pilot, the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) will partner with communities of less than 75,000 residents. This initiative intends to promote the settlement of newcomer entrepreneurs in those communities.

The community must be located more than 30 kilometers away from an urban center of more than 75,000 people to be considered for this program.

The British Columbia government recently announced that the province’s small regional communities are facing economic and demographic challenges as the population is aging. Further, those communities lack in opportunities for younger residents.

“This initiative is intended to maximize the economic benefits of immigration to B.C. to support shared prosperity across the province,” the BC PNP government said.

The businesses created will have to address specific needs identified by the participating communities and, in exchange, the communities and local partners will be required to support selected entrepreneurs as they settle.

If all the criteria outlined in the Performance Agreement of the program is met, the BC PNP will issue a nomination for permanent residence to the candidate. Moreover, the successful candidates will be granted a temporary work permit.

Conditions To Apply:

Before registering to the BC PNP, the individuals need to make an exploratory visit to the community where they intend to establish a new business. This is required to have an official referral from the respective community.

On the exploratory visit, candidates will present their business proposal to the designated pilot representative of the community. The representative will then submit a referral form to the BC PNP for the candidate’s registration. Registrations to the program will open in early January and will run for an initial period of two years.

By registering, all candidates will receive a score and the highest-scoring candidates will be invited to submit a full application to the BC PNP. The invitations shall be sent through rounds made by BC on monthly basis.

Other eligibility requirements include:

• a minimum of $100,000 investments in an eligible business;
• a minimum personal net worth of $300,000;
• business and/or work experience of 3+ years as an active business owner-manager or 4+ years as a senior manager within the last 5 years;
• the creation of at least one new job for a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada.
• a minimum of 51 per cent ownership of the proposed business.

Find your eligibility:

You can apply for the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program if you wish to contribute to the business community. The representatives at Immigration Experts can help you file your application.
Contact us on our email wecare@immigrationexperts.pk or call us on 051-8439994-7, 0308-5857777.

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