Two new streams for entrepreneur immigration have been announced by Newfoundland & Labrador.
The Atlantic province is to add International Entrepreneur and International Graduate Entrepreneur streams to the Newfoundland & Labrador Provincial Nominee Program.
The province’s previous entrepreneur stream was closed in 2010.
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Full details are yet to emerge on the exact requirements for the new streams, which were announced on Monday, July 30 2018.
It is understood both streams will operate on a two-stage process, with candidates establishing their businesses while in Canada on a work permit, before being nominated for permanent residence.
Some of the details were outlined when the new streams were announced.
What Are The Requirements For The International Graduate Entrepreneur Stream?
- Open to immigrants wishing to start, join or manage a business in the province.
- Be a graduate of Memorial University or the College of the North Atlantic.
- Have complete a program at least two years in length.
- Have benchmark level 7 in one of Canada’s official languages.
- Have at least one year of experience in managing or owning a business in the province.
- Candidates must establish themselves and their business on a temporary work permit, before being nominated for permanent residence after at least one year.
- There is no up-front investment requirement.
What Are The Requirements For The International Entrepreneur Stream?
- Open to immigrants aged 21 to 59.
- Transfer $500,000 in net business and personal assets to the province.
- Have two years of experience managing a business.
- Candidates must establish themselves and their business on a temporary work permit, before being nominated for permanent residence after at least one year.
Under both streams, candidates will be subject to regular audits to ensure they are meeting requirements.
Newfoundland has existing immigration streams for Express Entry Skilled Workers, Skilled Workers and International Graduates.
The province is also part of the Atlantic Immigration Pilot, a joint federal-provincial initiative to attract and retain more skilled immigrants and international graduates to the region.
Under the employer-driven AIP, candidates are helped to put together a settlement plan and must obtain a provincial endorsement before being issued permanent residence.
The federal government recently increased the 2018 AIP quota by 500 to 2,500 candidates.
As part of the immigration levels plan announced in November 2017, the federal government expects the AIP to grow to accepting 4,000 new candidates per year by 2020.