Québec Business Immigration
Québec welcomes business professionals with the skills, experience, and desire to positively contribute to its economic development and prosperity. There are three business immigration programs to choose from – Entrepreneur, Investor, or Self-Employed Worker – that may grant an immigration opportunity to applicants seeking to build, acquire, or invest in a business based in Québec, or candidates hoping to establish self-employment in a trade or profession.
Entrepreneur Stream
The Entrepreneur Program is one of three immigration programs for business people launched by the Province of Québec. To be eligible to apply under this program, a candidate is required to:
- Prove net assets of minimum $300,000 CDN obtained with the married or common-law spouse of the candidate if they will be accompanying them to Canada;
- Demonstrate two years of full-time managerial experience in operating a profitable business alone or with an accompanying married or common-law spouse. The business in question must have been acquired within the five years preceding the application date, wherein the applicant held minimum 25% equity during the stated period;
- Submit a business project proposing to initiate or acquire a business in Québec in which 25% of capital equity valued at $100,000 CDN or more will be controlled solely by the applicant or with the accompanying married or common-law spouse, if applicable; OR,
- Acquire 25% or more of capital equity with a value of $100,000 CDN or more in an existing business in the province and participate in its daily management.
There are important conditions imposed onto the applicants under this program with which they must comply for at least one year out of three after becoming a permanent resident:
- Start or acquire a business in Québec and hold no less than 25% of its capital equity valued at $100,000 CAD or more that will employ a Québec resident for 30 hours per week or more;
- Manage and operate the business on day-to-day basis.
Investor Program
The Investor Program is one of three immigration programs for business people launched by the Province of Québec. To be eligible to apply under this program, a candidate is required to:
- Have net assets of $1,600,000 CDN or more, either alone or combined with an accompanying or de facto spouse, if applicable. The assets must have been obtained lawfully obtained;
- Demonstrate, at minimum, two years of managerial experience in a farming, commercial/industrial or legal business, or managerial experience through employment with an international agency or government or its related entity;
- Show intent to reside in Québec;
- Invest $800,000 CDN for a five-year term with a financial intermediary from the Investor Program, to be returned without interest at the conclusion of the term.
Self-Employed Worker Program
To meet the eligibility criteria and apply for a Québec nomination as a Self-Employed Worker, the candidate is required to:
- Create their own job in Québec in their profession or trade;
- Show net assets of $100,000 CDN or more;
For more detailed information on the program requirements and application process please refer to Québec Immigration website.
About Nova Scotia
- Québec is a vibrant, multicultural, and beautiful province, earning its recognition as the “Europe of North America”;
- Québec is the largest Canadian province and the only province where the official language is French;
- Québec is home to Canada’s second largest city, as well as the second largest French-speaking city in the world: Montréal (population of 3.6 million);
- Québec has exhibited good economic performance in recent years due to its highly industrialized and diversified economy;
- The province boasts an excellent standard of living: the cost of living in Québec is lower than the Canadian average, particularly with competitively low costs for housing. Montréal is among the most affordable major cities in North America.
- Canada proudly offers a strong growing economy;
- Low taxes and business costs create a great climate for launching and developing business in the country;
- Canada is recognized for excellence in research and innovation;
- Canada leads in rankings for high quality of life among the G-7 nations.
