Quebec Entrepreneur

The Quebec Immigrant Entrepreneur Program aims to recruit individuals who have the skills and experience to operate a business in the province. The conditions to apply are different depending on the chosen stream.

Stream 1

This stream consists in managing a business in Quebec that the candidate created alone or with other partners (of which only 3 can be foreign nationals), with support from a business accelerator, a business incubator or a university entrepreneurship center.

Stream 2 

To apply under this stream, the entrepreneur must control at least 25% of the shares of a new enterprise, or at least 51% of an acquired enterprise, which must have a value equivalent or higher than the funds needed to start the business project.

Conditions include:

• Investment of starting funds of $200,000 for a business outside the metropolitan area of Montreal, or $300,000 for a business located in the metropolitan area of Montreal.
• A minimum guarantee deposit between of $200,000.
• A net value of $900,000 CAD legally acquired, alone with their spouse if applicable.

Under both streams, successful candidates must obtain the threshold score in the selection grid, which features criteria such as: age, education, language abilities, stays or family in Quebec, financial autonomy.

All candidates must submit their business project under the form of a business plan.

Every year, the government accepts a limited number of applications in the entrepreneur category.

Quebec Self-Employed Program

To qualify under the Quebec Self-Employed Program, applicants must meet the following conditions that differentiates them from the Quebec Skilled Worker Program.

• Have two years of applicable experience in the profession they intent to exercise in Quebec.
• Possess a personal net worth of $100,000.
• Have sufficient settlement funds to support themselves and their family.
• Provide a start-up deposit of at least $50,000 if the self-employed candidate is based in the metropolitan area of Montreal, and $25,000 if the candidate is located outside of Montreal.

Like skilled workers, a self-employed applicant is assessed on several selection factors and must obtain sufficient points in order to qualify to apply.