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 |
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.
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.
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 |
Participating Communities Organized by Development Regions.
Kootenay
- Akisqnuk First Nation
- Canal Flats
- Castlegar
- Invermere
- Kimberley
- Midway
- Nelson
- Radium Hot Springs
- Regional District of Central Kootenay (Area J)
- Regional District of East Kootenay (Area F)
- Regional District of East Kootenay (Area G)
- Regional District of Kootenay Boundary – Electoral Area E (West Boundary)
- Rossland
- Shuswap Indian Band
- Trail
Nechako
- Burns Lake
- Regional District of Bukley-Nechako – Electoral Area A (Smithers Rural)
- Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako – Electoral Area B (Burns Lake Rural)
- Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako – Electoral Area C (Fort St. James Rural)
- Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako – Electoral Area D (Fraser Lake Rural)
- Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako – Electoral Area E (Francois/Ootsa Lake Rural)
- Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako – Electoral Area F (Vanderhoof Rural)
- Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako – Electoral Area G (Houston Rural)
Mainland/Southwest
- Gibsons
- Hope
- Sechelt
- Squamish
- Sunshine Coast Regional District – Egmont and Pender Harbour (Area A)
- Sunshine Coast Regional District – Halfmoon Bay (Area B)
- Sunshine Coast Regional District – Roberts Creek (Area D)
- Sunshine Coast Regional District – Elphinstone (Area E)
- Sunshine Coast Regional District – West Howe Sound (Area F)
Thompson-Okanagan
- Barriere
- Clinton
- Columbia-Shuswap Regional District – Sorrento and Electoral Area C
- Columbia-Shuswap Regional District – Falkland and Electoral Area D
- Columbia-Shuswap Regional District – Malakwa and Electoral Area E
- Columbia-Shuswap Regional District – Scotch Creek and Electoral Area F
- Thompson-Nicola Regional District Area I – Spences Bridge
- Thompson-Nicola Regional District Area M – Nicola Valley North
- Thompson-Nicola Regional District Area N – Nicola Valley South
- Merritt
- Osoyoos
- Peachland
- Penticton
- Salmon Arm
- Vernon
