British Columbia for Entrepreneurs

British Columbia Provincial Nominee Programme (BC PNP), a Provincial Nominee Programme (PNP) run by the province of British Columbia, contains a category of immigration streams known as British Columbia Entrepreneur Immigration. The BC Entrepreneur immigration programmes are aimed at foreign nationals who have a track record of running their own enterprises and who want to invest their money and knowledge in business possibilities in British Columbia.

Candidates for BC Entrepreneur immigration must buy a new or existing business in BC and get actively involved in running it on a daily basis. Rich foreign-owned businesses looking to expand into British Columbia as well as rich individuals with experience in company management can both take advantage of the opportunities provided by the entrepreneurial streams. The province of British Columbia will eventually issue a provincial nomination to successful applicants, which will support their requests for permanent residency in Canada.

British Columbia Entrepreneur Immigration consists of three streams:

➤ British Columbia Entrepreneur

➤ British Columbia Entrepreneur Regional Pilot

➤ British Columbia Strategic Projects

BC Entrepreneur

The British Columbia Entrepreneur stream focuses on seasoned business managers and owners who want to settle down permanently in British Columbia. Candidates must exhibit both significant personal wealth and management experience. The successful applicants will have to make investments in the acquisition and administration of a brand-new or current BC firm. The applicant qualifies for permanent residency in Canada after demonstrating the operation of a BC business.

BC Entrepreneur Regional Pilot

The BC PNP’s BC Entrepreneur Regional Pilot Stream is for seasoned business owners who want to invest in and run a company in British Columbia. The program’s member communities in BC must refer applicants.

BC Strategic Projects

The successful foreign-owned businesses that British Columbia Strategic Projects targets are those that want to open a new branch or operation in BC. Along with managing sizable staff teams, businesses must demonstrate their capacity to create a big amount of annual income. Successful businesses will need to relocate key personnel to BC in order to run their new proposed operation. These important employees are qualified for permanent residence in Canada after they can demonstrate the efficient operation of their BC business.

British Columbia Entrepreneur Ranking System

The following points-grid is used by the British Columbia Entrepreneur Immigration stream to rank the registered profiles of applicants. Only those applicants who achieve the highest standards of competition will be invited to apply to the programme. Please be aware that a different scoring system is used for the BC Entrepreneur Regional Pilot.

Scoring Sections	Points
Self-declared
Experience	20
Ownership	4
Net Worth	12
Total Personal Investment	20
Jobs	20
Regional District	12
Adaptability	32
Self-declared SUBTOTAL score	120
Business concept
Commercial Viability	30
Transferability of Skills	20
Economic Benefits	30
Business concept SUBTOTAL score	80
Maximum Score Available	200

➤ Experience Total Duration

Experience Total Duration	Points
Business owner-manager experience
Less than 12 months	0
12 to 24 months	4
25 to 36 months	6
37 to 48 months	12
49 to 60 months	15
More than 60 months	20
Senior manager work experience
Less than 24 months	0
24 to 48 months	4
49 to 60 months	8
More than 60 months	12
Maximum Score Available	20

➤ Ownership Amount

Ownership Amount	Points
Business ownership
Less than three years of 100% business ownership in the past five years	0
100% ownership of a business for at least three of the last five years	4
Maximum Score Available	4

➤ Personal Net Worth

Personal Net Worth	Points
Your total current assets (cash and liquid funds)
Less than $50,000	0
$50,000 to $199,999	2
$200,000 to $399,999	3
$400,000 or more	4
Your total personal net worth
Less than $600,000	0
$600,000 to $799,999	5
$800,000 to $1,999,999	6
$2,000,000 to $4,999,999	7
$5,000,000 or more	8
Maximum Score Available	12

➤ Personal Investment

Total Personal Investment	Points
Less than $200,000	0
$200,000 to $399,999	8
$400,000 to $599,999	10
$600,000 to $999,999	11
$1,000,000 to $1,999,999	12
$2,000,000 to $3,999,999	14
$4,000,000 to $7,999,999	16
$8,000,000 or more	20
Maximum Score Available	20

➤ Total Proposed Full Time Jobs

Total Proposed FTE Jobs	Points
Less than 1	0
1 job	8
2 jobs	9
3 jobs	10
4 jobs	11
5 jobs	12
6 jobs	13
7 - 9 jobs	14
10 - 19 jobs	16
20 or more jobs	20
Maximum Score Available	20

➤ Location Based on BC Region District

Location Based on B.C. Regional District	Points
500,000 people or more	0
200,000 to 499,999	1
100,000 to 199,999	3
70,000 to 99,999	6
60,000 to 69,999	8
35,000 to 59,999	10
Fewer than 35,000 people	12
Maximum Score Available	12

➤ Adaptability Factors

Adaptability Factor	Points
English language proficiency
None or minimal, similar to CLB 3 and below	0
Basic understanding, similar to CLB 4	2
Intermediate and advanced, similar to CLB 5 and above	4
Education level
Secondary school or less	0*
Associate degree	2
Diploma / certificate (non-trades)	2
Diploma / certificate (trades)	2
Bachelor’s degree	5
Post-graduate diploma / certificate	5
Master’s degree	8
Doctorate / PhD	8
Age
Less than 25	0
25 – 34	4
35 – 44	8
45 – 54	6
55 – 64	4
65 or older	0
Business exploratory visits
No, or visited B.C. more than 3 years ago	0
Yes, visited B.C. 1 – 3 years ago	1
Yes, visited B.C. less than 1 year ago, but did not visit the Regional District of the proposed business	2
Yes, visited the Regional District of the proposed business less than 1 year ago	4
Canadian work experience, business experience, or studies from within Canada for at least 12 months
No	0
Yes	8
Maximum Score Available	32

➤ Overall Commercial Viability

Overall Commercial Viability	Points
Business model	10
Unsatisfactory / Unclear	1
Fair	5
Good	10
Market & products/services	4
Does not satisfactorily address any of the Market/Product factors	1
Addresses at least one of the Market/Product factors, and is consistent with Business Model	4
Eligible personal investment	4
Less than $200,000 or less than $50,000 of eligible expansion investments	0*
$200,000 to $399,999	1
$400,000 to $599,999	2**
$600,000 to $799,999	3
$800,000 or more	4
Assessment of proposed personal investment	6
Investment proposal does not correspond to the type or scale of the business	0
Investment proposal corresponds to the type and scale of the business	4
Investment proposal corresponds to the type and scale of the business, the market, the proposed products and/or services, the business model, and the industry standard.	6
Ownership percentage	4
100% ownership	4
More than 50% and less than 100%	3
33 1/3% to 50%	2
Less than 33 1/3% ownership*	0
Risk factors	2
- proposing external financing OR - proposing to invest more than 50% of your PNW OR - you are proposing to partner with a co-registrant	0
None of the above	2
Maximum Score Available	30

➤ Transferability of Skills

Transferability of Skills	Points
Business experience only	20
12+ months of experience in an unrelated industry	2
12 months or less of direct experience or 12 to 36 months of related experience	5
13 to 24 months of direct experience or 37+ months of related experience	8
13 to 24 months of direct experience and 37+ months of related experience	10
25 to 36 months of direct experience	12
25 to 36 months of direct experience and 37+ months of related experience	14
37 to 60 months of direct experience	16
37 to 60 months of direct experience and 37+ months of related experience	18
More than 60 months of direct experience	20
Work experience only	14
12+ months of experience in an unrelated industry	2
12 months or less of direct experience or 12 to 36 months of related experience	4
13 to 36 months of direct experience or 37+ months of related experience	6
13 to 36 months of direct experience and 37+ months of related experience	8
37 to 60 months of direct experience	10
37 to 60 months of direct experience and 37+ months of related experience	12
More than 60 months of direct experience	14
Language ability	2
Minimal to none (Similar to CLB 3 or below)	0
Basic language proficiency (Similar to CLB 4)	1
Intermediate or above language proficiency (Similar to CLB 5 or above)	2
Maximum Score Available	20

➤ Overall Economic Benefit

Overall Economic Benefit Points	Points
Key Sector & Significant Economic Benefit	12
Does not identify or substantiate any key sectors or any significant economic benefits	3
Substantiates at least 1 key sector or at least 1 significant economic benefit	8
Substantiates at least 1 key sector and at least 1 significant economic benefit	12
Jobs assessment	6
The business concept does not support the creation of at least 1 FTE position, or, if proposing a key staff, the creation of at least 3 FTE positions	0
Jobs plan does not correspond to the type and scale of the business	1
Jobs plan corresponds to the type and scale of the business	6
High-skilled jobs (NOC 0, A or B)	4
Business concept does not propose or substantiate hiring any high-skilled positions	0
Business concept substantiates the creation/maintenance of 1 high-skilled position	2
Business concept substantiates the creation/maintenance of 2 or more highskilled positions	4
Regional Development	8
Lower Mainland / Southwest	2
Vancouver Island and Coast	4
Thompson / Okanagan	4
Cariboo	6
Kootenay	8
Nechako	8
North Coast	8
Northeast	8
Maximum Score Available	30