The Entrepreneur Stream Under Ontario’s Immigrant Nominee Program

Since there is no longer a federal “investor” or “entrepreneur” program we often receive inquires about the Provincial Entrepreneur stream.

This is an extremely complicated program. An application starts with the potential applicant registering online with the Ontario government an “Expression of Interest”. The applicant must show that they have a minimum amount of money and have the minimum amount of business experience needed to qualify.

If you catch the interest of the Ontario government, the government will send you an online application. You also have to attend a mandatory in-person interview at the Ontario Immigration Nominee Program office in Toronto, Ontario. You will be asked to sign a performance agreement.

If you are accepted into the program you will be issued a temporary work permit. While working in Canada you must establish your business. You have 20 months to implement your business plan and then submit a final report. If your business meets all of the Ontario Immigration Nominee Program’s requirements, the Ontario Immigration Nominee Program will ask you for further documentation and if you are eligible, will nominate you for permanent residence. Therefore, the program requires you to follow several preliminary steps before you are given a Nomination Certificate permitting you to apply for permanent residence. The whole process takes years.

It is also not a very big program. From the beginning of 2019 to the last week of November only 66 Invitations to Apply have been issued by Ontario Immigration Nominee Program to potential entrepreneur applicants.

This information is provided as a general guide to Canada’s Immigration system. It should not be used as a guide to your specific application as an individual’s circumstances are extreme important to determining the success or failure of each application.

If you wish help with your application please contact us.