Entrepreneurs: Meeting the conditions of the Entrepreneur Program
Note: CIC has temporarily stopped accepting applications for the federal entrepreneur program. Only applications postmarked or received before July 1, 2011, will be processed. This information is for people with an entrepreneur application already in progress.
After you arrive in Canada, you must comply with the conditions of the Entrepreneur Program. If you do not comply, your permanent resident status in Canada could be revoked. The permanent resident status of your family members also depends on your compliance.
Within three years of becoming a permanent resident:
- You must control at least one-third of the equity and actively manage a qualifying Canadian business for at least one year after becoming a permanent resident.
- The business must have created the equivalent of at least one full-time job (1,950 hours of paid employment) for a Canadian citizen or permanent resident (other than yourself and your dependants).
The business must not have been operated primarily for the purpose of deriving investment income (such as interest, dividends or capital gains).
If requested by CIC, you must provide evidence that you comply with the above conditions. Keep any evidence or documents that prove you comply for as long as you are a permanent resident, in case CIC requests it.
If you are unable to provide this evidence, or if you are found by CIC not to meet the conditions imposed, enforcement action may be taken. This could lead to you and your family members being removed from Canada.
You can find a definition of a “qualifying business,” and other terms that apply to the Entrepreneur Program on the Definitions page.
Quebec has its own business immigration program, and has set different conditions that entrepreneurs must meet. The conditions listed above do not apply to entrepreneurs selected by Quebec. If you want to settle in the province of Quebec, contact the nearest Quebec immigration office, or visit the Immigration Quebec website.