Entrepreneur Visa

The Entrepreneur Program seeks to attract experienced business persons who will own and actively manage businesses in Canada that contribute to the Canadian economy and create jobs. In order to qualify as an Entrepreneur, you must have managed a qualifying business and controlled a percentage of equity of a qualifying business for at least two years in the period beginning five years before the date of your application.
The entrepreneur class applicant must have a net worth of at least CDN$300,000. Additionally, they must have the intention and the ability to:
1. Control a percentage of equity of a qualifying Canadian business equal to or greater than 331/3% ;
2. Provide active and ongoing management of the qualifying Canadian business; and
3. Create at least one incremental full-time job equivalent for one or more Canadian citizens or permanent residents other than the entrepreneur applicant and their family members.
Features of the Entrepreneur Program
• A minimum net worth requirement of CDN$300,000;
• A requirement that within three years of becoming a permanent resident, the entrepreneur must have controlled and have actively managed a qualifying Canadian business for a period of at least one year, and that the business must have created employment opportunities for others; and
• All family members are admitted under the same conditions as the principal applicant; the conditions are removed once the entrepreneur satisfies the conditions.
Definitions:
Qualifying business: A business for which you can demonstrate any two of the following:
1. the percentage of equity multiplied by the number of full-time job equivalents (defined as 1,950 hours of paid employment) is equal to or greater than two full-time job equivalents per year
2. the percentage of equity multiplied by the total annual sales is equal to or greater than CDN$500,000
3. the percentage of equity multiplied by the net income in the year is equal to or greater than CAN $50,000; and
4. the percentage of equity multiplied by the net assets at the end of the year is equal to or greater than CAN $125,000
The above may only have occurred in each of any two years in the period beginning five years before the date of application for a permanent resident visa and ending on the date a determination is made in respect of the Application:
Your business must not be operated primarily for the purpose of deriving investment income such as interest, dividends or capital gains.