The Canadian Immigrant Investor Program

The Business Immigration Program seeks to attract experienced business people to Canada who will support the development of a strong and prosperous Canadian economy.

Canada has three classes of business immigrants. Each application can be made for only one class and cannot be changed once the application is submitted. The criteria you must meet to qualify are different for each class.

Find out if you can immigrate as an investor.

In order to qualify, you must first meet the definition of an investor. The following terms are defined in the regulations:

Investor means a foreign national who

has business experience;
has a legally obtained net worth of at least CAN $800,000; and
they intend to make or have made an investment.


Business experience
Means a minimum of two years of experience consisting of two one-year periods of experience in the management of a qualifying business and the control of a percentage of equity of the qualifying business during the period beginning five years before the date of application for a permanent resident visa and ending on the day a decision is made on the application;

or two one-year periods of experience in the management of at least five full-time job equivalents per year in a business during the period beginning five years before the date of application for a permanent resident visa and ending on the day a decision is made on the application,

or a combination of a one-year period of experience described in subparagraph (i) and a one-year period of experience described in subparagraph (ii);
Full-time job equivalent means 1,950 hours of paid employment.

Minimum net worth means that the investor must have at least $800,000 to qualify as an Immigrant Investor.

Net assets, in respect of a qualifying business or a qualifying Canadian business, means the assets of the business, minus the liabilities of the business, plus shareholder loans made to the business by the foreign national who is making or has made an application for a permanent resident visa and their spouse or common-law partner.

Net income, in respect of a qualifying business or a qualifying Canadian business, means the after tax profit or loss of the business plus remuneration by the business to the foreign national who is making or has made an application for a permanent resident visa and their spouse or common-law partner.

Net worth, in respect of an investor, other than an investor selected by a province, means the fair market value of all of the assets of the investor and their spouse or common-law partner minus the fair market value of all of their liabilities;

Percentage of equity means

in respect of a sole proprietorship, 100 per cent of the equity of the sole proprietorship controlled by a foreign national or their spouse or common-law partner;

in respect of a corporation, the percentage of the issued and outstanding voting shares of the capital stock of the corporation controlled by a foreign national or their spouse or common-law partner;

and in respect of a partnership or joint venture, the percentage of the profit or loss of the partnership or joint venture to which a foreign national or their spouse or common-law partner is entitled.

Qualifying business means a business—other than a business operated primarily for the purpose of deriving investment income such as interest, dividends or capital gains—for which, during the year under consideration, there is documentary evidence of any two of the following:

the percentage of equity multiplied by the number of full-time job equivalents is equal to or greater than two full-time job equivalents per year;

the percentage of equity multiplied by the total annual sales is equal to or greater than $500,000;

the percentage of equity multiplied by the net income in the year is equal to or greater than $50,000;

and the percentage of equity multiplied by the net assets at the end of the year is equal to or greater than $125,000.


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