The BC Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) Entrepreneur Immigration – Regional Pilot (EI – Regional Pilot) is focused on attracting entrepreneurs from around the world to establish businesses in regional communities. This will help meet the communities’ economic development needs and encourage investments outside urban areas.
Before considering the Entrepreneur Immigration – Regional Pilot, you should familiarize yourself with the program criteria and check your eligibility.
Why an Entrepreneur Immigration – Regional Pilot?
As each community has the best knowledge of their local business environment, they are perfectly situated to identify economic development priorities and support services that give foreign entrepreneurs a good start in their journey to building successful businesses and growing the local economy.
Key features of the EI – Regional Pilot
Key features of the EI Regional Pilot:
- Active community role – participating communities have a key role in the pilot. They are actively involved in attracting foreign entrepreneurs to their community and working with local partners and existing networks to provide support for entrepreneurs settling into their communities.
- Referral from the community – participating communities may refer foreign entrepreneurs to the BC PNP whose business concept aligns with the community’s economic priorities. The foreign entrepreneur must be invited by the community to conduct an exploratory visit and present their concept to the community’s designated contact person prior to receiving a referral.
- Community concierge – a dedicated BC PNP concierge service supports communities with immigration program information.
- Invitations & prioritization – foreign entrepreneurs who are referred by a participating community are placed in a separate registration pool dedicated to the pilot when they register. Regional pilot registrations and applications are prioritized.
Pilot timeline
The pilot will be delivered for a two-year period and will be evaluated to ensure that the community and entrepreneur are benefitting the program, and to ensure continued program integrity for the BC PNP.
