Business Immigrants: (Four types)

Investors (Federal)

Canada has always allowed and encouraged successful business owners and managers to immigrate by investing $400,000 CDN for 5 years, interest free, into a Government guaranteed Immigration Fund. Unlike the entrepreneur program, Investors and their family members are given an unconditional immigrant visa, and are free to live anywhere in Canada.

To qualify as an Investor, applicants destined for any province in Canada other than the Province of Québec must meet 3 conditions:

1. They must have “Business Experience”;
2. They must have a legally obtained net worth of $800,000 CDN; and
3. They must invest $400,000 without interest for 5 years into the Federal Immigrant Investor program.
Many banks will lend you monies to invest in the fund, so that you just need a down payment of about $120,000 CDN.

Investor Immigrants must also earn at least 35 points on the Investor/Entrepreneur Point Assessment Grid. Investor Immigrants destined for Quebec must apply to immigrate under the Quebec Investor Immigrant Program.

Business Experience

There are 2 ways that you can qualify for “Business Experience” as an Investor: as a Manager of a business, or as an Owner/Manager. The criteria are as follows:

1. Business Manager: You must show that you have managed at least 5 full-time employees per year for at least two years out of the past 5 years. This is a significant advantage over the Entrepreneur definition of Business Experience, and is a flexible criteria for most businessmen to meet.

2. Owner/Manager: You can also prove Business Experience if you have managed a business and owned shares in that business in 2 of the last 5 years, that meets 2 of the following criteria (depending upon the percentage of the business owned)

Percentage Owned	100%	50%	25%	10%
Annual sales	$500,000	$1,000,000	$2,000,000	$5,000,000
Net Profit	$50,000	$100,000	$200,000	$500,000
Net Assets	$125,000	$250,000	$500,000	$1,250,000
Full Time Employees	2	4	8	20

All funds are shown in Canadian Dollars

Investors under the Quebec Program

To qualify as an Investor under the Québec Investor Immigrant program, you must meet the following conditions:

1.Management Experience:
You must have at least three years of managerial experience in a profitable commercial, industrial or agricultural business or, alternatively, at least three years of managerial experience in a government, governmental organization, or international organization;

2.$800,000 Net Assets:
You must have accumulated a net worth of at least CAD$800,000 through legitimate economic activities; and

3. $400,000 Investor Immigrant Fund:
You must invest CAD $400,000 for five years in a Québec-approved investment fund. However, many banks will lend you money to invest in the fund, so you just need a down payment of about CAD $120,000.

4. Destined to Québec:
You have to intend to immigrate to the province of Québec.