BC Entrepreneur Regional Pilot

The BC Entrepreneur Regional Pilot 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.

Eligibility Requirements

Requirement
Express Entry Profile	No
Connection to Province	Exploratory Visit & Community Referral
Job Offer	Establish a business with at least 51% ownership
Language Proficiency	CLB 4
Level of Education	Post-Secondary; or 3 years experience as 100% business owner-manager
Work Experience	Within last 5 years: 3+ years as business owner-manager; or 4+ years as a senior manager; or 1+ year as business owner manager and 2+ years as senior manager
Investment Requirement	Personal Net Worth: CAD $300,000 Investment: CAD $100,000

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Connection to Province

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.

Language Proficiency

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.

Level of Education

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.

Job Offer

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.

Work Experience

Within the 5 years prior to applying, candidates must meet one of the following three scenarios:

3+ years of experience as a business owner-manager; or
4+ years of experience as a senior manager; or
1+ year of experience as a business owner-manager and 2+ years of experience as a senior manager.

Investment Requirement

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.

Performance Agreement

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.

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Application Process

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.

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BC Entrepreneur Regional Pilot Ranking System

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.

Scoring Sections	Points
Self-Declared
Experience and ownership	24
Net Worth	6
Total Personal Investment	10
Jobs	15
Community Population	6
BC’s Regions	12
Adaptability	67
Self-Declared Subtotal:	140 maximum
Business Concept
Commercial viability	30
Transferability of skills	15
Economic benefits	15
Business Concept Subtotal:	60 maximum
MAXIMUM SCORE available	200 points

Experience and Bussiness ownership

Total Duration	Points
Senior manager work experience
*Minimum Required Score*	*8 points*
Maximum Score Available	24 points
Less than three years of 100% business ownership in past 5 years	0
Less than 24 months	0
Less than 12 months	0
Business ownership
Business owner-manager experience
60 months or more	22
60 months or more	12
49 to 59 months	19
49 to 59 months	8
37 to 48 months	16
25 to 48 months	4
25 to 36 months	12
12 to 24 months	7
100% ownership of a business for at least 3 of the last 5 years	2

Net Worth

Personal Net Worth	Points
Your total current assets (cash and liquid)
Less than $10,000	0
$10,000 to $49,999	1
$50,000 to $199,999	2
$200,000 or more	3
Your total personal net worth
Less than $300,000	0
$300,000 to $999,999	2
$1,000,000 or more	3
Maximum Score Available	6 Points
*Minimum Required Score*	*2 points* for personal net worth

Total Personal Investment

Amount	Points
Less than $100,000	0
$100,000 to $349,999	6
$350,000 to $599,999	8
$600,000 or more	10
Maximum Score Available	10 points
*Minimum Required Score*	*6 points*

Job Creation

Number of Propsed FTE Jobs Created	Points
Less than 1	0
1 job	10
2 to 4 jobs	11
5 to 7 jobs	13
8 jobs or more	15
Maximum Points Available	15 points
*Minimum Required Score*	*10 points*

Community Population

Community Population	Points
10,000 – 14,999	4
15,000 – 19,999	3
20,000 – 39,999	2
40,000 – 75,000	1
5,000 – 9,999	5
Less than 5,000	6
Maximum Score Available	6

BC’s Regions

BC’s Regions	Points
Lower Mainland / Southwest	1
Vancouver Island and Coast	2
Thompson-Okanagan	6
Cariboo	10
Kootenay	10
Nechako	12
North Coast	12
Northeast	12
Maximum Score Available	12 points

Adaptability

Adaptability Factor	Points
Language Proficiency
CLB 3 or below	0
CLB 4	5
CLB 5	10
CLB 6	15
CLB 7 or higher	23
Education Level
Secondary school or less	0
Associate Degree, Diploma, Certificate	6
Bachelor’s Degree, Post-Graduate Diploma	14
Master’s Degree, Doctorate	16
Age
Less than 25	2
25 – 29	8
30 – 44	16
45 – 54	10
55 – 64	4
65 or older	0
Canadian Experience
Less than 12 months	0
12 to 24 months of work or studies in Canada	4
More than 24 months of work or studies in Canada	8
Family member living in the community for at least 12 months
No	0
Yes	4
Maximum Score Available	67 points

Commercial Viability

Commercial Viability	Points
Business Model
Unsatisfactory / Unclear	1
Fair / Good	8
Excellent	12
Market & Product
Does not address Market/Product factors	1
Addresses at least on Market/Product factor	4
Eligible Personal Investment
Less than $100,000	not eligible
$100,000 to $299,999	1
$300,000 to $499,999	2
$500,000 to $799,999	3
$800,000 or more	4
Assessment of proposed personal investment
Does not correspond to type or scale of business	0
Corresponds to type and scale of business	5
Corresponds to type and scale of business, the market, the proposed products, the business model, and the industry standard	8
Ownership Percentage
100% ownership	2
Between 51% and 99.99%	1
Less than 51%	not eligible
Maximum Score Available	30 points

Transferability of Skills

Transferability of Skills	Points
Senior manager work experience only
Maximum Points Available	15 points
Less than 12 months	0
Less than 12 months	0
Business owner-manager experience only
60 months (related experience)	12
60 months (related experience)	8
60 months (direct experience)	15
60 months (direct experience)	10
36 to 59 months (related experience)	6
36 to 59 months (related experience)	5
36 to 59 months (direct experience)	10
36 to 59 months (direct experience)	6
12 to 35 months (related experience)	2
12 to 35 months (related experience)	1
12 to 35 months (direct experience)	5
12 to 35 months (direct experience)	4

Economic Benefit

Economic Benefit	Points
Significant economic benefits
Does not identify/substantiate significant economic benefit	0
Substantiates at least one significant economic benefit	5
Jobs assessment
Business concept supports creation of 0 FTE positions	not eligible
Jobs plan does not correspond to the type and scale of the business	1
Jobs plan corresponds to the type and scale of the business	10
Maximum Score Available	15 Points