Certain provinces allow investors to immigrate to Canada on an investor visa through their own Provincial Nominee Program investor stream applications. Provinces will develop their own set of rules and eligibility criteria based on their own economic, resource and market deficiencies. If you want to live and invest in a particular province, you may be nominated through their provincial immigration program to start your Canadian investment immigrant visa journey.

OINP Entrepreneur Immigration

Entrepreneur immigration is an immigration stream under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP). It was established under the Ontario Immigration Act of 2015 and its regulations. This category is for entrepreneurs outside of Canada who are interested in starting a new business or buying an existing business in Ontario.

It offers entrepreneurs (and up to one foreign business partner) the opportunity to be nominated for permanent residency after establishing a business in Ontario.

If the entrepreneur is nominated, the next step will be to apply to the federal government through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). They make the final decision on permanent residency.

The Entrepreneur Stream application is a two-stage process. Below is an overview of the process.

The first stage

Sign up for expressions of interest by email.

If invited, please submit an online application.

The applicant and a business partner (if applicable) participate in a mandatory interview.

If the Phase 1 application is successful, a performance agreement must be signed.

The second stage

OINP issues a Temporary Work Permit Support Letter to apply to IRCC for a Temporary Work Permit.

Build Your Business - Applicants have 20 months from the date of arrival in Ontario to implement their business plan and submit a final report.

If the business meets all requirements, the OINP will ask applicants for documents to check their eligibility for nomination for permanent residence.

Other OINP requirements:

A) Net Worth: Applicants must have a minimum personal net worth. All personal net worth must be legally acquired and verifiable, not just the bare minimum. If the proposed business is located in:

• Applicants must have a personal net worth of at least $800,000 in the Greater Toronto Area (City of Toronto and Durham, Halton, York and Peel Regions)

• Outside the Greater Toronto Area, applicants must have a personal net worth of at least $400,000

Personal net worth does not include your spouse's personal net worth.

1. Minimum Investment: Applicants must contribute a minimum amount of their personal net worth to the firm. If the applicant's prospective business is situated in the Greater Toronto Area, they must personally spend at least $600,000.

2. The applicant must make a personal investment of at least $200,000 outside the Greater Toronto Area. The applicant must have at least a third of the company's equity.

B) Business experience

Applicants must have at least 24 months of full-time business experience within the past 60 months.

Applicants must have experience as a business owner or senior manager (business management). As a business owner, the applicant must take an active role in the business and own at least one third of the business. As a senior manager, the applicant must take on senior decision-making responsibilities in the business and manage all or part of the day-to-day operations of the business.

C) Create job opportunies

If the business is located in the Greater Toronto Area, you must create at least two permanent full-time jobs for Canadian citizens or permanent residents.

If the business is located outside the Greater Toronto Area or in the information and communications technology or digital communications sector, you must create at least one permanent full-time job for a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, regardless of location.

These jobs must:

• Paid at the average salary level for the position

• Completed for at least 10 consecutive months before submitting the final report

•Language Requirements Applicants must be able to listen, read, write and speak English or French at Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) Level 4.

• Residency Applicants must be physically present in Ontario 75% of the time.

SINP Entrepreneur Stream

These requirements must be met by anyone applying for the SINP Entrepreneur category. It is the responsibility of the applicant to demonstrate with supporting documents that they meet the eligibility criteria. Applications will be denied in the event of misrepresentation, regardless of their ability to meet any or all of the eligibility requirements. Anyone rejected by the SINP will not be able to submit an Expression of Interest or apply to the SINP for two years.

Applicants must meet minimum eligibility criteria.

1. Applicants must have net business and personal assets of at least $500,000, verified by a professional third party approved by the department. To demonstrate this, applicants must submit the documents and supporting information listed in the Document Checklist.

2. The applicant must be able to prove the purported accumulation of net worth by legal means and at least 80% verified by a professional third party approved by the department. To demonstrate this, applicants must submit the documents outlined and supporting information in the Document Checklist.

3. Applicants must have at least three years of entrepreneurial experience within the ten years prior to submitting the Expression of Interest. To demonstrate this, applicants must submit the documents and supporting information listed in the Document Checklist.

4. Applicants will be required to make an equity investment of at least $300,000 in Regina or Saskatoon, or an equity investment of at least $200,000 in any other Saskatchewan community.

To demonstrate this, applicants must submit documents and supporting information listed in the Document Checklist.

• Applicants must possess and be able to demonstrate a solid understanding of their Business Establishment Program (BEP).

• Applicants must reside in Saskatchewan with their dependent family members.

• Applicants must own at least one third (33 1/3%) of the company's equity and be actively and continuously involved in the day-to-day management and direction of the company. If the applicant will own less than 33 1/3 % of the shares, they must invest $1 million and be actively and continuously involved in the day-to-day management and direction of the business.

• Applicants establishing a new business in Saskatoon or Regina must create or maintain at least two jobs for two Canadians or permanent residents (non-relative workers) in Saskatchewan. If applicants purchase an existing business in Saskatoon or Regina, they must maintain the business' staffing (number of Canadian or permanent resident workers) at the time of purchase.

• Applicants must sign a Business Performance Agreement with the Government of Saskatchewan, which will be provided to you by the SINP after your application is approved.