Business Category Immigration
 This category is broken down into three groups, namely; Investor, Entrepreneur and Self-Employed. Applicants from all three groups are required to achieve 35 points against the five listed criteria. If after reading the three groups you wish to learn whether or not you qualify for Canadian immigration under one of the business categories please complete the free assessment questionnaire on this site.
INVESTOR
To qualify as an investor the applicant must meet three basic requirements, namely: Must have a legally accumulated net worth of at least CAN$800,000. The Investor applicant must have managed or controlled a business for at least two years in the five years prior to making an application to immigrate to Canada. In addition, the applicant must have either controlled a portion of the equity of a qualifying business; or been responsible for the management of at least five full-time jobs per year in a business. To establish whether the business qualifies, the applicant must provide documented proof supporting two of the laid down criteria. Further, the investor applicant must invest the sum of CAN$400,000 for approximately 5 years in an investor fund approved by the Canadian government and guaranteed by the participating provincial governments. The full amount of the investment (without interest) is returned to the applicant at the end of the term. The main benefit to the applicant under the Investor programme is that there are no conditions attached to the granting of a visa under this category. However, it should be noted that the investor programme operated by the federal government is often long-winded and many people do not succeed. Alternatively, the Quebec province operates its own investor programme and this is very important to applicants because Quebec has a much faster processing time than the federal system. They generally guarantee an interview within 4 months, which means that the whole process could be completed within one year or less. Also, under the Quebec programme some of the investor funds operate a credit facility whereby the applicant is provided with a loan of about CAN$280,000, thus only requiring a cash sum of CAN$120,000 to be provided.
ENTREPRENEUR
To qualify as a Business Entrepreneur applicant, you must also meet three basic requirements, namely; The applicant must have a legally accumulated net worth of $300,000 The entrepreneur applicant must have managed a qualifying business and controlled a minimum laid-down percentage equity of a qualifying business for at least two years in the five years prior to the date of application. The applicant must intend and have the ability to create a business according to the specified criteria, within any year in the three years following the applicants arrival. This condition must be met, otherwise the Canadian government reserve the right to withdraw the permanent residency visas handed to the entrepreneur applicant and his family. Applicants will be required to report on a periodic basis to the business section of their local CIC office.
SELF-EMPLOYED
Self-employed applicants must demonstrate that they have the relevant experience, intention and ability to become economically established in Canada, by creating their own employment and contributing significantly to Canada in one of the following areas: Artistic cultural or artistic life, either through performance at a world-class level or self-employment in the chosen discipline, as in the case of dancer, singers or experienced choreographers. Sport to complete in athletics, either through performance at world-class level or self-employment in the discipline, as in the case of figure skaters or coaches. Economic through the purchase, working and self-managing of a farm, as in the case of cattle, cereal, fruit or tree plantation.
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