The Quebec Immigrant Investor Program officially reopen on August 31, 2015 until January 2016.

The Quebec Business/Investor Immigration program is a category of Canadian immigration that is available to individuals who have acquired entrepreneurial, investor, or self-employed experience.

Investor Program

 To be eligible for this program, you must:

  1. Have, alone or with your accompanying spouse or de facto spouse, legally acquired net assets of at least C$2,000,000, excluding any amounts received by donation less than six months before your application is submitted
  2. Have management experience
    • For at least two years in the five years preceding the application for a selection certificate, of duties related to the planning, management and control of financial, human or material resources under your authority. This does not include experience acquired in an apprenticeship, training or specialization leading to a diploma
  3. Intend to settle in Québec
  4. Sign an investment agreement with a financial intermediary (broker or trust company) authorized to participate in the Investor Program
  5. Make a five-year term investment of C$1,200,000 with Investissement Québec – Immigrants Investisseurs Inc.

Useful Information 

  • The investment agreement is one of the documents to be submitted with the permanent selection application.
  • The investment of C$1,200,000 for a five-year term is guaranteed by the Government of Québec.
  • Brokers and trust companies offer the possibility of financing the investment.
  • Revenues generated by the applicant’s investment will be used to finance two Québec business assistance programs: Business Assistance—Immigrant Investor Program (BAIIP) and Employment Integration Program for Immigrants and Visible Minorities (PRIIME).
  • At the end of the five-year term, the broker or trust company will reimburse the applicant C$1,200,000 without interest, within 30 days. However, the amount reimbursed may vary if the applicant secured financing for the investment.

Entrepreneur Program

Stream 1

  • You must present your business project in the form of a business plan, as well as a service offer.

Under the Entrepreneur Program, Stream 1, there is no list of support organizations, i.e. business incubators, business accelerators and university entrepreneurship centres authorized to support entrepreneur applicants under this stream and their project, nor are there any regulated criteria intended to recognize these organizations.

Nevertheless, to assist you with the procedure, you can consult a list of projects from business incubators, business accelerators, and university entrepreneurship centres, supported by the Ministère de l’Économie et de l’Innovation, for information.

A business incubator, a business accelerator or university entrepreneurship centre that wants to support an entrepreneur applicant and his/her project must meet the appropriate definition:

  • A “business accelerator” is an organization with an establishment in Québec that offers support services, particularly for finding financing, to people whose business projects are aimed at the growth of innovative companies;
  • A “university entrepreneurship centre” is an organization managed by an academic institution referred to in Section 1 of the Act Respecting Educational Institutions at the University Level (chapter E-14.1), or an organization affiliated with such an institution and that provides mentoring services to entrepreneurs;
  • A “business incubator” is an organization with an establishment in Québec that offers mentoring services, including hosting, to, people whose business projects are aimed at the creation of innovative businesses.

The organization must demonstrate its ability to support the applicant and his/her project.

To this end, it must write a service offer in which it presents the services it intends to offer the entrepreneur to accomplish his/her project. The support organization must also present:

  • The proposed support plan (list and description of services that it plans to offer the applicant to carry out the project);
  • The operation plan (detailed budget for the service offer and the schedule for carrying out the support activities, i.e. the services offered);
  • Its expertise as a business accelerator, business incubator or university entrepreneurship centre (its skills and achievements in relation to the entrepreneur’s project).

As stipulated in the Service Offer Writing Guide – Entrepreneurs Program – Component 1, the purpose of the service offer is to assess the adequacy between the business project presented by the immigration applicant and the organization’s ability to support its implementation. The resources deployed by the support organization must be sufficient and adapted to meet the needs related to carrying out the entrepreneur’s project.

Stream 2

  • You must settle in Québec to create or acquire and operate a business.
  • You must make a startup deposit and a security deposit at a financial institution with an establishment in Québec with whom you have signed a deposit agreement:
    • You must use the startup deposit to set up your business. The required amount is lower (CAD $200,000) if you set up your business outside the Montréal metropolitan area (CMM). A startup deposit of CAD $300,000 is required if the business is located in the CMM.
    • The security deposit of CAD $200,000 serves as insurance that your business will actually be created. It will be refunded when you demonstrate that your business plan has been carried out.
  • You must also have a minimum net worth of CAD $900,000, alone or with your spouse or de facto spouse, and you must demonstrate that this money has been legally acquired.
  • You must present your project in the form of a business plan.
  • If you choose to create a business, you must own and control at least 25% of its equity capital. If you choose to acquire a business, you must own and control at least 51% of its equity capital.
  • Your business must not be involved in any of the following activities:
    • Payday loans, cheque cashing, or pawnbroking
    • Real estate development or real estate or insurance brokerage
    • Production, distribution, or sale of pornographic or sexually explicit products or services related to the sex industry, such as nude or erotic dancing, escort services or erotic massages
  • Your business
    • Must have been in operation during the five years prior to your date of application

Self-Employed Worker Program

To be eligible for this program, you must:

  • Come to Québec to create your own job by practising a profession or business activities, alone or with other immigration candidates, with or without paid help
  • Make a start-up deposit at a financial institution located in the region where you intend to practise your trade or profession:
    • C$25,000 start-up deposit if you intend to practise your trade or profession outside the Montréal Metropolitan Community (MMC) area
    • C$50,000 start-up deposit if you intend to practise your trade or profession in the MMC area
  • Have minimum net assets of C$100,000 in conjunction, if applicable, with your accompanying spouse or de facto spouse, and proof of its source and lawful acquisition
  • Have at least two years of experience as a self-employed worker in the profession or trade you intend to practise in Québec

Your application will also be assessed on other factors and criteria, such as:

  • Your age and the age of your spouse or de facto spouse, if applicable
  • Your level of education and that of your spouse or de facto spouse, if applicable
  • Your language skills in French and English and those of your spouse or de facto spouse, if applicable
  • Your financial self-sufficiency
  • Your visits to Québec
  • Your family in Québec

Application Processes

The Quebec immigration office covering your country will verify whether all the documents have been included with your application and send you an acknowledgement of receipt. It will also send you a list of missing documents, indicating the deadline for providing them, where applicable. If these documents are not received by the deadline your application will be refused without further notice.

Your file will be assessed only after all the required documents have been received.

 

Quebec Investor Application Processes Provincial

Quebec Investor Application Processes Federal

Quebec Investor Application Processes Reimbursement

Selection Interview and Evaluation

The selection interview completes the evaluation process. Notice of an interview will indicate the date, time and place and the documents to bring with you. You may use the services of an interpreter for the interview.

During the interview, the immigration counselor will check the information provided in your application for a Quebec selection certificate. Particular attention will be given, according to your immigration category, to:

Investor applicant
Your management experience, your investment agreement, your assets and their lawful acquisition.

Entrepreneur applicant
Your experience as an entrepreneur, ability to successfully carry out a business plan, efforts in acquiring a business in Québec, assets and their lawful acquisition.

Self-employed worker applicant
Your career and experience as a self-employed worker, your assets and their lawful acquisition.