Entrepreneur Stream

As the name suggests, The Entrepreneur Stream is meant for foreign nationals based outside of Canada who are looking to invest in the province of Ontario to setup a new business or to buy an exisiting business. Once approved, the applicant can come to Canada on a Work Permit (after signing a Performance Agreement) and take up 20 months to setup the business venture and upon completion of the 20 months, if the business meets all the required criteria then the individual becomes eligible to receive the Provincial Nomination. This nomination can in-turn be used to apply for one’s PR.

Key Mandatory Requirements (Prior to applying): Applicant should have at least 24 months of Business ownership or Senior Management Experience within the past 60 months.

For Business in The GTA, the individual should have a Net Worth of $800,000 CAD and for businesses outside of the GTA, the individual should have a Net Worth of $400,000 CAD.

With at least one third stake, a business in The GTA requires a minimum personal investment of $600,000 CAD and a business outside The GTA should have a minimum personal investment of $200,000 CAD

The Applicant must have active day-to-day control and involvement in the business.

A business inside The GTA must result in the permanent and full-time Job Creation for at least two Canadian Citizens or PRs, whereas a business outside The GTA must do so for at least one Canadian Citizen or PR. The Jobs created to fulfill this requirement must pay out wages equal to or more than the Median Wage of the region and must be continously filled for at least 10 months prior to submitting the final report.

When buying an exisiting business, the applicant might also be required to come to Ontario on an Exploratory visit within the past 12 months of submitting an Expression of Interest. Additionally certain mandatory requirements might also apply with regards to ownership stake of the applicant and complete withdrawal of stake of the previous owner etc.