British Columbia (BC) Entrepreneur
The British Columbia Entrepreneur stream targets experienced business owners and managers who wish to live in British Columbia permanently.
The British Columbia Entrepreneur stream is one of the streams of the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP), a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), operated by the province of British Columbia.
This initiative is designed to target experienced business owner-managers or senior business managers who want to live in British Columbia.
Successful applicants must start a new business or buy an existing business in which they participate in the day-to-day management duties. After operating the business for a minimum of 550 days, the entrepreneur may be nominated for permanent resident status.
BC Entrepreneur Category
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 Entrepreneur Ranking System.
The applicants with the most competitive scores will be invited to submit an official application to the program.
Foreign-controlled corporations wishing to establish a branch office or operating facility in BC may be eligible to submit an Entrepreneur application through the Strategic Projects initiative.
This initiative allows innovative companies to transition up to five foreign staff members to BC to actively manage the proposed operation.
The Program Requirements
Requirement | |
|---|---|
| Express Entry Profile | No |
| Connection to Province | No |
| Job Offer | No |
| Language Proficiency | A minimum of CLB Level 4 in English or French |
| Level of Education | Post-secondary, or sufficient business management experience |
| Work Experience | Business ownership / Management 3 years |
| Investment Requirement | Investment: $200,000 CAD Personal Net Worth: $600,000 CAD |
Investment Requirement
Candidates need to demonstrate that they are able to invest in and establish a business in British Columbia.
Candidates must therefore demonstrate a personal net worth of at least $600,000 CAD, and make a minimum investment of $200,000 CAD in a new or existing business that they purchase.
The candidate must demonstrate that they will own at least one-third (33.33%) of the business.
If the candidate will own less than one-third of the business, they may be eligible if they invest a minimum of $1,000,000 CAD in an equity purchase. Candidates must sign a performance agreement with the province.
Work Experience
Candidates must have sufficient work experience to successfully establish and run a business in British Columbia.
This can be demonstrated through at least three (3) years of experience as an active business owner-manager, more than four (4) years experience as a senior manager, or a combination of at least one (1) year experience as an active business owner-manager and at least two (2) years of experience as a senior manager.
Work experience must have been in an active role, meaning that the candidate participated in day-to-day operations rather than as a passive business investor.
Level of Education
To be eligible for the BC Entrepreneur stream, candidates must have at least post-secondary level education.
Note that some candidates may be exempt from this requirement if they have three (3) years of experience as an active business owner-manager with 100% ownership in the last five (5) years.
Performance Agreement:
A performance agreement is an agreement signed with British Columbia that outlines the conditions under which the candidate will receive a nomination for permanent residence.
BC will issue a provincial nomination to the candidate if they meet all of the conditions of the performance agreement, and maintain residence in BC within 100km of the location of their business and for at least 75% of their time while on a temporary work permit
Co-Registrants
A candidate may be able to submit an application with co-registrants who propose shared ownership of the BC business.
Application Procedure
The British Columbia Entrepreneur stream operates on an Expression of Interest (EOI) system.
Candidates who meet the minimum stream requirements can register a profile using the BC’s online immigration portal. The BC Entrepreneur stream charges a $300 CAD registration fee.
Once the profile has been submitted, candidates will be assigned a score and ranked against one another using the BC Entrepreneur Immigration Ranking System. The highest ranking candidates will be invited to apply to the stream in one of the stream’s periodic intakes.
⭕️Candidates must submit a complete application to the stream within 120 days from when they receive the invitation to apply.
This application must include a business concept, verification of personal net worth, and supporting documents. The BC Entrepreneur stream charges a $3,500 CAD application fee, plus an additional $1,000 CAD if the applicant includes a key staff member.
Candidates and key staff members may be required to attend an interview in Vancouver with BC PNP staff. If the application is approved, the candidate and key staff (if applicable) 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 of confirmation, also called a work permit support letter, allows the candidate and key staff member to apply to IRCC for a two-year temporary work permit.
Note that applying for a temporary work permit represents a separate application IRCC.
If the applicant receives a temporary work permit from IRCC, they must come to British Columbia to implement their business plan.
The applicant will have up to 20 months to implement the business plan and satisfy the performance agreement. If the candidate meets the conditions of the performance agreement, they will be issued a provincial nomination for permanent residence from British Columbia.
After receiving a provincial nomination, the applicant has six months to submit a federal application for Canadian permanent residence.
Applicants in this program must complete and submit a paper-based application for permanent residence and submit it by mail to the appropriate application Centre.
Paper-based PNP applications for permanent residence are generally processed within 18 months.
British Columbia Entrepreneur Ranking System
The British Columbia Entrepreneur 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 | 20 |
| Ownership | 4 |
| Net Worth | 12 |
| Total Personal Investment | 20 |
| Jobs | 20 |
| Regional District | 12 |
| Adaptability | 32 |
| Self-declared SUBTOTAL score | 120 |
Business concept | |
| Commercial Viability | 30 |
| Transferability of Skills | 20 |
| Economic Benefits | 30 |
| Business concept SUBTOTAL score | 80 |
| Maximum Score Available | 200 |
Experience Total Duration
| Experience Total Duration | Points |
|---|---|
| Business owner-manager experience | |
| Less than 12 months | 0 |
| 12 to 24 months | 4 |
| 25 to 36 months | 6 |
| 37 to 48 months | 12 |
| 49 to 60 months | 15 |
| More than 60 months | 20 |
| Senior manager work experience | |
| Less than 24 months | 0 |
| 24 to 48 months | 4 |
| 49 to 60 months | 8 |
| More than 60 months | 12 |
| Maximum Score Available | 20 |
Ownership Amount
| Ownership Amount | Points |
|---|---|
| Business ownership | |
| Less than three years of 100% business ownership in the past five years | 0 |
| 100% ownership of a business for at least three of the last five years | 4 |
| Maximum Score Available | 4 |
Personal Net Worth
| Personal Net Worth | Points |
|---|---|
| Your total current assets (cash and liquid funds) | |
| Less than $50,000 | 0 |
| $50,000 to $199,999 | 2 |
| $200,000 to $399,999 | 3 |
| $400,000 or more | 4 |
| Your total personal net worth | |
| Less than $600,000 | 0 |
| $600,000 to $799,999 | 5 |
| $800,000 to $1,999,999 | 6 |
| $2,000,000 to $4,999,999 | 7 |
| $5,000,000 or more | 8 |
| Maximum Score Available | 12 |
Total Personal Investment
| Total Personal Investment | Points |
|---|---|
| Less than $200,000 | 0 |
| $200,000 to $399,999 | 8 |
| $400,000 to $599,999 | 10 |
| $600,000 to $999,999 | 11 |
| $1,000,000 to $1,999,999 | 12 |
| $2,000,000 to $3,999,999 | 14 |
| $4,000,000 to $7,999,999 | 16 |
| $8,000,000 or more | 20 |
| Maximum Score Available | 20 |
Total Proposed FTE Jobs
| Total Proposed FTE Jobs | Points |
|---|---|
| Less than 1 | 0 |
| 1 job | 8 |
| 2 jobs | 9 |
| 3 jobs | 10 |
| 4 jobs | 11 |
| 5 jobs | 12 |
| 6 jobs | 13 |
| 7 – 9 jobs | 14 |
| 10 – 19 jobs | 16 |
| 20 or more jobs | 20 |
| Maximum Score Available | 20 |
Location Based on B.C. Regional District
| Location Based on B.C. Regional District | Points |
|---|---|
| 500,000 people or more | 0 |
| 200,000 to 499,999 | 1 |
| 100,000 to 199,999 | 3 |
| 70,000 to 99,999 | 6 |
| 60,000 to 69,999 | 8 |
| 35,000 to 59,999 | 10 |
| Fewer than 35,000 people | 12 |
| Maximum Score Available | 12 |
Adaptability Factor
| Adaptability Factor | Points |
|---|---|
| English language proficiency | |
| None or minimal, similar to CLB 3 and below | 0 |
| Basic understanding, similar to CLB 4 | 2 |
| Intermediate and advanced, similar to CLB 5 and above | 4 |
| Education level | |
| Secondary school or less | 0* |
| Associate degree | 2 |
| Diploma / certificate (non-trades) | 2 |
| Diploma / certificate (trades) | 2 |
| Bachelor’s degree | 5 |
| Post-graduate diploma / certificate | 5 |
| Master’s degree | 8 |
| Doctorate / PhD | 8 |
| Age | |
| Less than 25 | 0 |
| 25 – 34 | 4 |
| 35 – 44 | 8 |
| 45 – 54 | 6 |
| 55 – 64 | 4 |
| 65 or older | 0 |
| Business exploratory visits | |
| No, or visited B.C. more than 3 years ago | 0 |
| Yes, visited B.C. 1 – 3 years ago | 1 |
| Yes, visited B.C. less than 1 year ago, but did not visit the Regional District of the proposed business | 2 |
| Yes, visited the Regional District of the proposed business less than 1 year ago | 4 |
| Canadian work experience, business experience, or studies from within Canada for at least 12 months | |
| No | 0 |
| Yes | 8 |
| Maximum Score Available | 32 |
Overall Commercial Viability
| Overall Commercial Viability | Points |
|---|---|
| Business model | 10 |
| Unsatisfactory / Unclear | 1 |
| Fair | 5 |
| Good | 10 |
| Market & products/services | 4 |
| Does not satisfactorily address any of the Market/Product factors | 1 |
| Addresses at least one of the Market/Product factors, and is consistent with Business Model | 4 |
| Eligible personal investment | 4 |
| Less than $200,000 or less than $50,000 of eligible expansion investments | 0* |
| $200,000 to $399,999 | 1 |
| $400,000 to $599,999 | 2** |
| $600,000 to $799,999 | 3 |
| $800,000 or more | 4 |
| Assessment of proposed personal investment | 6 |
| Investment proposal does not correspond to the type or scale of the business | 0 |
| Investment proposal corresponds to the type and scale of the business | 4 |
| Investment proposal corresponds to the type and scale of the business, the market, the proposed products and/or services, the business model, and the industry standard. | 6 |
| Ownership percentage | 4 |
| 100% ownership | 4 |
| More than 50% and less than 100% | 3 |
| 33 1/3% to 50% | 2 |
| Less than 33 1/3% ownership* | 0 |
| Risk factors | 2 |
| – proposing external financing OR – proposing to invest more than 50% of your PNW OR – you are proposing to partner with a co-registrant | 0 |
| None of the above | 2 |
| Maximum Score Available | 30 |
Transferability of Skills
| Transferability of Skills | Points |
|---|---|
| Business experience only | 20 |
| 12+ months of experience in an unrelated industry | 2 |
| 12 months or less of direct experience or 12 to 36 months of related experience | 5 |
| 13 to 24 months of direct experience or 37+ months of related experience | 8 |
| 13 to 24 months of direct experience and 37+ months of related experience | 10 |
| 25 to 36 months of direct experience | 12 |
| 25 to 36 months of direct experience and 37+ months of related experience | 14 |
| 37 to 60 months of direct experience | 16 |
| 37 to 60 months of direct experience and 37+ months of related experience | 18 |
| More than 60 months of direct experience | 20 |
| Work experience only | 14 |
| 12+ months of experience in an unrelated industry | 2 |
| 12 months or less of direct experience or 12 to 36 months of related experience | 4 |
| 13 to 36 months of direct experience or 37+ months of related experience | 6 |
| 13 to 36 months of direct experience and 37+ months of related experience | 8 |
| 37 to 60 months of direct experience | 10 |
| 37 to 60 months of direct experience and 37+ months of related experience | 12 |
| More than 60 months of direct experience | 14 |
| Language ability | 2 |
| Minimal to none (Similar to CLB 3 or below) | 0 |
| Basic language proficiency (Similar to CLB 4) | 1 |
| Intermediate or above language proficiency (Similar to CLB 5 or above) | 2 |
| Maximum Score Available | 20 |
Overall Economic Benefit Points
| Overall Economic Benefit Points | Points |
|---|---|
| Key Sector & Significant Economic Benefit | 12 |
| Does not identify or substantiate any key sectors or any significant economic benefits | 3 |
| Substantiates at least 1 key sector or at least 1 significant economic benefit | 8 |
| Substantiates at least 1 key sector and at least 1 significant economic benefit | 12 |
| Jobs assessment | 6 |
| The business concept does not support the creation of at least 1 FTE position, or, if proposing a key staff, the creation of at least 3 FTE positions | 0 |
| 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 | 6 |
| High-skilled jobs (NOC 0, A or B) | 4 |
| Business concept does not propose or substantiate hiring any high-skilled positions | 0 |
| Business concept substantiates the creation/maintenance of 1 high-skilled position | 2 |
| Business concept substantiates the creation/maintenance of 2 or more highskilled positions | 4 |
| Regional Development | 8 |
| Lower Mainland / Southwest | 2 |
| Vancouver Island and Coast | 4 |
| Thompson / Okanagan | 4 |
| Cariboo | 6 |
| Kootenay | 8 |
| Nechako | 8 |
| North Coast | 8 |
| Northeast | 8 |
| Maximum Score Available | 30 |
