This stream of the BC PNP is for experienced entrepreneurs who want to invest in and manage a business in British Columbia. Applicants must be referred by one of the program’s participating communities in BC.
Interested candidates must first register a profile with the BC PNP. After registering a profile the candidate will be assigned a score based on the British Columbia Regional Entrepreneur Pilot Ranking System. The applicants with the most competitive scores will be invited to submit an official application to the program. Foreign entrepreneurs may also wish to consider the base category of the BC Entrepreneur PNP.
Interested candidates must participate in an exploratory visit where they travel to one of the program’s participating communities and meet with a program representative. All applicants to the program must be referred to the PNP by a participating community
To be eligible, entrepreneurs must submit a business proposal to establish a new business in a participating community. The applicant must own at least 51% of the business and must create at least one full-time equivalent job for a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.
All candidates must demonstrate English or French-language proficiency equivalent to the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) Level 4. Applicants will be required to submit valid language test scores issued within the two years prior to applying.
Candidates must have obtained a post-secondary educational credential or have experience as an active business owner-manager for at least 3 of the last 5 years with 100% ownership in the business
Within the 5 years prior to applying, candidates must meet one of the following three scenarios:
Candidates must have a personal net worth of at least CAD $300,000 and invest a minimum of CAD $100,000 in the creation of their business. Candidates who are invited to apply will be required to obtain a new worth verification report.
All applicants are required to sign a Performance Agreement with the BC PNP. Only after completing the conditions set out on their performance agreement will a candidate receive their nomination and be able to apply for Canadian permanent resident status.
In order to apply to the BC Entrepreneur Regional Pilot, a candidate must be referred by one of the province’s participating communities. To be referred, candidates are required to make an exploratory visit to BC and meet with the program representative from the community in which they wish to create their business. The Entrepreneur Regional Pilot operates on an Expression of Interest (EOI) system. Once a candidate has a referral from a participating community, they can register a profile using the BC’s online immigration portal and submit their EOI. The BC Entrepreneur Regional Pilot charges a CAD $300 fee
Once the profile has been submitted, candidates will be assigned a score and ranked against one another using the BC Entrepreneur Regional Pilot Ranking System. The highest ranking candidates will be invited to submit an official application. The official application must include a business concept, verification of personal net worth, and supporting documents. If the application is approved, the candidate will be invited to sign a performance agreement with British Columbia. Once the performance agreement is signed, candidates will be issued a letter of confirmation. This letter, also called a work permit support letter, allows the candidate to apply for a two-year temporary work permit.
After receiving the work permit, the candidate must travel to BC to launch their new business.Between 12 and 20 months after arriving in BC, the candidate must submit a final report showing that they met the terms of their performance agreement. If the final report is accepted, the applicant officially receives provincial nomination and can apply to IRCC for permanent resident status.
The British Columbia Entrepreneur Regional Pilot uses the following points-grid to rank candidates who have registered profiles. Only those candidates with the most competitive scores will be invited to apply to the program.
Senior manager work experience only