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B.C. announces new Regional Pilot program for immigrant entrepreneurs

posted on November 23, 2018

By CIC News |

Pilot aims to spread the benefits of entrepreneur immigration to B.C.’s smaller communities

British Columbia is opening a new immigration pilot program to attract foreign entrepreneurs to smaller communities around the province.

Known as the Entrepreneur Immigration — Regional Pilot, the two-year program is set to launch in early 2019. The pilot will see the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) work in partnership with regional communities of less than 75,000 people to welcome approved immigrant entrepreneurs who want to open a new business.

Communities must be located farther than 30 kilometres from a population centre of more than 75,000 people in order to be enrolled in the pilot.

In an update announcing the new pilot, the BC PNP said the province’s small regional communities are facing economic and demographic challenges caused by their aging populations and a lack of opportunities for younger residents.

“This initiative is intended to maximize the economic benefits of immigration to B.C. to support shared prosperity across the province,” the BC PNP said.

The businesses created will have to address specific needs identified by the participating communities and, in exchange, the communities and local partners will be required to support selected entrepreneurs as they settle.

All interested entrepreneurs must complete an exploratory visit to the community where they wish to set up their business, and must obtain a community referral before registering for the pilot.

Successful candidates will be granted a temporary work permit. The BC PNP will issue a nomination for permanent residence once it determines that the business has met all the criteria outlined in its Performance Agreement.

The BC PNP says personal net worth and investment criteria will be reduced for the pilot compared to its base Entrepreneur Immigration category. This reflects the lower costs of starting a business and settling in B.C.’s regions compared to Vancouver and the province’s more densely populated urban centres.

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