Quebec's Entrepreneur Immigration Programs
The Quebec Entrepreneur Program grants qualified business owners and managers the opportunity to obtain permanent residence in Quebec provided that they can effectively create or acquire a business in the province.
Entrepreneurs must start or take-over a business that corresponds to one of three business profiles, to be eligible for this program (in addition to meeting basic eligibility criteria). Read on to learn more.
Note: The following changes to the Quebec Entrepreneur Program will come into effect on January 1st, 2024.
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About the Quebec Entrepreneur Program
The Quebec entrepreneur program is an immigration program for entrepreneurs to either set-up new/innovative businesses or take over existing businesses in the province. The program received a complete overhaul in November 2023, with current changes set to come into effect on January 1st, 2024.
Note for the purposes of this program an entrepreneur is defined as: a foreign national aged at least 18 years old who comes to settle in Quebec to operate a business that is not in an ineligible sector and [who] exercises a significant part of the power to do so. The individual in question must manage the businesses’ affairs, as part of one of the following projects:
- An innovative company;
- A business start-up; or
- A business Takeover.
These three initiatives make up the new streams of the entrepreneur program. In addition to meeting the specific eligibility criteria for each stream, all entrepreneurs will also have to meet the following general conditions:
- Hold a diploma obtained before the date of submission of the application, which corresponds to at least the Quebec equivalent of a secondary school diploma;
- Have knowledge of oral French (listening and speaking) that corresponds to at least a level 7 or higher, as graded by the Quebec scale of French proficiency levels;
- Sign an undertaking for three months from the date of receiving permanent residence (PR), confirming that you will provide for the needs of your accompanying family members and dependent children, also proving that you have the necessary funds to support your family members.;
Stream 1: Innovative Companies
To be eligible for this stream, entrepreneurs must be start operating a business that is either an innovative business, or that carries out innovative projects.
The innovative companies stream further breaks down into two profiles, under which applicants may be eligible:
- starting an innovative business; and
- businesses conducting innovative projects.
To qualify under the “starting an innovative business” profile, applicants must fulfil the following criteria:
Factor | Minimum requirements |
|---|---|
Starting a business | Must intend to start a business alone or with others, including a maximum of three other foreign nationals who submit an application under the same stream. |
Capital investment | Intend to hold (alone or with a spouse/common-law partner, who must be included in the application) a participation in the contributed capital to start the business, amount to at least 10% of the total value of said innovative business. |
Support services | Obtain (for the purposes of starting an innovative business) appropriate support services from an organisation specialising in innovation. |
To qualify under the "innovative project" profile, applicants must fulfil the following requirements:
Factor | Requirements |
|---|---|
Residence and status | Reside in Quebec for at least 2 years from the date of submitting an application. Additionally applicants must be authorised to work under an open work permit, study permit, or issued authorisation pursuant to section 206 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations. |
Starting a business | Must intend to start a business alone or with others, including a maximum of three other foreign nationals who submit an application under the same stream. |
Capital investment | Intend to hold (alone or with a spouse/common-law partner, who must be included in the application) a participation in the contributed capital to start the business, amount to at least 10% of the total value of said innovative business. |
Intention to pursue innovative business | Intend to pursue an innovative business/business activities utilising the same framework as for the innovative project. |
Support services | Obtain (for the purposes of starting an innovative business) appropriate support services from an organisation specialising in innovation. |
Stream 2: Business start-ups
This stream is designed for entrepreneurs with a start-up idea, or who already have a new business started, and who want to move their business to Quebec.
This stream therefore has to acceptable profiles that applicants can fit under when applying. These are:
- Start-up businesses; and
- Businesses already started.
To qualify as a start-up business under this stream applicants must meet the following criteria:
Factor | Requirements |
|---|---|
Business management experience | Must have at least 2 years of business management experience within the last 5 years, before the date of the application. This management experience cannot be obtained in a role within an ineligible sector. |
Starting a business | Must intend to start a business alone or with others, including a maximum of three other foreign nationals who submit an application under the same stream. Business functions must be planned for a maximum of two years, or for operations equalling costs of at least $300,000 CAD for business established in the Montreal Metropolitan Area (MMA), or $150,000 CAD for business established outside the MMA. Applicants must (alone or with a spouse or common law partner identified in the immigration application) intend to contribute capital to the business equalling at least 25% of the businesses’ value. |
Net assets | Have (with a spouse or common law partner identified in the immigration application) net assets totalling at least $600,000. The lawful origin of these assets must be proven. Further, funds must exclude any donations received in the six months before submitting an immigration application. |
Issuance of a work permit, and work obligations | Applicants must apply for and be issued a work permit under section 205 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, upon receiving a decision on their immigration application. After a one-year period of registering the business in Quebec, but no more than two years after receiving this work permit, applicants must: 1. Demonstrate having started their business in Quebec; and 2. Demonstrate they have made payments of start-up or operating costs for their business, and they have invested the necessary amount of capital in accordance with the regulations around “starting a business” contained in this table. |
To qualify under the "Business already started" profile, applicants must:
Factor | Minimum requirements |
|---|---|
Resident requirements | Reside in Quebec for at least two years prior to the date of submission of your application, with ability to work based on an open work permit, a study permit, or a work permit obtained according to section 206 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations. |
Starting a business | Have started a business alone or with others, including a maximum of three other foreign nationals who submit an application under the same stream. Business functions must be planned for a maximum of two years, or for operations equalling costs of at least $300,000 CAD for business established in the Montreal Metropolitan Area (MMA), or $150,000 CAD for business established outside the MMA. Applicants must (alone or with a spouse or common law partner identified in the immigration application) intend to contribute capital to the business equalling at least 25% of the businesses’ value. |
Net assets | Have (with a spouse or common law partner identified in the immigration application) net assets totalling at least $300,000. The lawful origin of these assets must be proven. Further, funds must exclude any donations received in the six months before submitting an immigration application. |
Investment in the business | Applicants must (alone or with a spouse or common law partner identified in the immigration application) contribute the amount of capital investment in the company equivalent to at least 25% of the company’s total value |
Demonstrate viability | Applicants must be able to show the effective nature of their business after a year of its registration with the program. |
Stream 3: Takeover
This stream is for those who want to immigrate to Quebec either because they have acquired a company, or because they are in the process of doing so. This program is further broken down into two eligible profiles:- Company in the process of acquisition; and
- Company acquired.
Factor | Minimum requirements |
|---|---|
Net assets | Have (with a spouse or common law partner identified in the immigration application) net assets totalling at least $600,000. The lawful origin of these assets must be proven. Further, funds must exclude any donations received in the six months before submitting an immigration application. |
Intention to acquire a business | Intend to acquire (alone or with a spouse or common law partner identified in the immigration application) control of a business in operation for at least 5 years, and from one or more transferors—none of whom have been selected for the entrepreneur program in the 5 years preceding the application. Applicants can also acquire the business from a group as the elected controlling holder. |
Paying acquisition costs | Intend to pay (alone or with a spouse or common law partner identified in the immigration application) expenses necessary for acquisition of the business equivalent to at least $300,000 CAD for business established in the Montreal Metropolitan Area (MMA), or $150,000 CAD for business established outside the MMA. |
Support services | Obtain (for the purposes of acquiring control of the business) appropriate support services from an organisation specialising in takeovers. |
Make an offer | Make an offer for the purposes of acquiring control of a business that meets the above requirements, within no less than 2 years of submitting an immigration application. |
To be eligible under the “Company acquired” profile applicants must meet the following criteria:
Factor | Minimum requirements |
|---|---|
Residence and status | Reside in Quebec for at least 2 years from the date of submitting an application. Additionally applicants must be authorized to work under an open work permit, study permit, or issued authorization pursuant to section 206 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations. Note that a work permit issued under section 205 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations will make an applicant ineligible for this program. |
Net assets | Have (with a spouse or common law partner identified in the immigration application) net assets totalling at least $600,000. The lawful origin of these assets must be proven. Further, funds must exclude any donations received in the six months before submitting an immigration application. |
Acquired business | Acquire and hold (alone or with a spouse or common law partner identified in the immigration application) control of a business in operation for at least 5 years, and from one or more transferors—none of whom have been selected for the entrepreneur program in the 5 years preceding the application. |
Support services | Obtain (for the purposes of acquiring control of the business) appropriate support services from an organisation specialising in takeovers. |
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