Similar to the Federal Business Immigration Program, the Québec government has established a Business Immigration Program to attract business immigrants to Québec in order to create economic benefits for the province. Selected candidates are issued a document called the Québec Selection Certificate by the government of Québec. It should be noted, however, that despite being selected by the Québec government, the government of Canada is ultimately responsible for issuance of a permanent resident visa. All applicants and their family members must meet federal admissibility requirements such as health and security, as stipulated under Division 4 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

Of special note is that the average processing times under the Québec program are considerably shorter than under the Federal program.


Entrepreneurs
In order for an application under the Québec Entrepreneur Program to be successful, the applicant must have

• at least two years full-time management experience in a farming, commercial or industrial business;
• the ability for carrying out a business project in Québec;
• net assets of at least CDN $300,000 accumulated through legal activities.

Québec’s Regulation respecting the selection of foreign nationals defines management experience in the context of the Québec Entrepreneur Program as follows

"the actual assuming on a full-time basis of responsibilities and duties related to the planning, management and control of material, financial and human resources, provided that such responsibilities and duties are not assumed in the context of an apprenticeship, training or specialization process attested to by a diploma."

Entrepreneurial applicants must provide a description of their intended activity in order to demonstrate their ability to establish or acquire farming, industrial or commercial business in Québec. Entrepreneurs can either manage the business themselves or participate as an associate in its management.

For a period of at least one year within the three years after receiving permanent residence, entrepreneurs destined for Québec must comply with the following conditions:

• have control over a percentage of the equity of a qualifying Canadian business equal to or greater than 25%, with a value of at least CDN $100,000;
• manage such business actively and continuously;
• create a full-time job for Canadian citizens or permanent residents, excluding himself/herself and family members.

Entrepreneurs and their eligible family members are granted permanent residence under specific conditions; conditions which will be monitored by Citizenship and Immigration Canada after the entrepreneurs arrive in Canada. The Federal government is ultimately responsible for the monitoring of entrepreneurs to ensure their compliance with conditions imposed on their permanent residence visas. These conditions remain in effect until cancelled by Citizenship and Immigration Canada.


Investors
The prime difference between the Québec Immigrant Investor Program and the Federal program is that, in the case of Québec, an applicant’s capital is invested in a term note (five-year, zero-interest) which is guaranteed by the government of Québec. The investment is intended to aid economic growth and job creation in the province of Québec

Under the Québec program, to be admitted as an investor, the applicant must

• have at least 2 years of management experience in at least one of the following areas:
• a profitable and legal farming, commercial or industrial business;
• a legal professional business;
• a government department or agency;
• an international agency; and
• have net assets of at least CDN $1,600,000, gained through legal economic activities;
• intend to settle and to invest in Québec in accordance to the requirements of the program.

Management experience is defined as the exercise of duties related to the planning, management and control of  financial resources and of human or material resources under your authority.

The net worth of the applicant can be determined by considering both business and personal assets and liabilities of the applicant as well as those of the spouse or common-law partner.

Once it is established that a candidate meets the eligibility requirements of the Program, the next step in the process is the signing of an investment agreement document with a broker or trust company authorized to participate in the Program by the Québec government. Following this, a comprehensive application package is submitted to the Québec Immigration Office for evaluation. If approved, the candidate will transfer funds to an account at an authorized broker or trust company and Québec immigration officials will issue a Québec Certificate of Selection. This document is required before a federal visa officer can consider the immigration application for issuance of a permanent residence visa.

Self-Employed Persons
To be admitted as a self-employed person under the Québec Program, the applicant must intend to settle in Québec and create self-employment for him/herself by practising a profession defined in the National Occupational Classification (NOC). The NOC provides a standardized description for occupations in the Canadian labour market and classifies occupations according to their skill level and skill type.

A self-employed applicant must have at least two years of experience as a self-employed worker in the occupation they plan to pursue in Québec, and also must have a lawfully acquired minimum net worth of CDN $100,000. The minimum net worth is assessed based on the assets and liabilities of the applicant as well as those of the spouse or common-law partner of the applicant.

For further information regarding the procedures for applying for immigration to Québec under the Québec Business Immigration Program, please contact our office.