The Entrepreneur Immigration — Regional Pilot is a stream of BC PNP pathway for foreign nationals looking to start and run a new business in smaller communities across British Columbia.
This Entrepreneur Immigration – Regional Pilot is the stream of the BC PNP for experienced entrepreneurs who want to invest in and manage a business in British Columbia. Applicants must be referred by one of the program’s participating communities in BC.
Interested candidates must first register a profile with the BC PNP. After registering a profile the candidate will be assigned a score based on the British Columbia Regional Entrepreneur Pilot Ranking System (Detailed Mentioned Below). The applicants with the most competitive scores will be invited to submit an official application to the program. Foreign entrepreneurs may also wish to consider the base category of the BC Entrepreneur PNP.
Eligibility Requirements
| Requirement | |
|---|---|
| Express Entry Profile | No |
| Connection to Province | Exploratory Visit & Community Referral |
| Job Offer | Establish a business with at least 51% ownership |
| Language Proficiency | CLB 4 |
| Level of Education | Post-Secondary; or 3 years experience as 100% business owner-manager |
| Work Experience | Within the last 5 years: 3+ years as business owner-manager; or 4+ years as a senior manager; or 1+ year as business owner-manager and 2+ years as a senior manager |
| Investment Requirement | Personal Net Worth: CAD $300,000 Investment: CAD $100,000 |
Connection To Province
Interested candidates must participate in an exploratory visit where they travel to one of the program’s participating communities (Mentioned Below) and meet with a program representative. All applicants to the program must be referred to the PNP by a participating community.
Job Offer
To be eligible, entrepreneurs must submit a business proposal to establish a new business in a participating community. The applicant must own at least 51% of the business and must create at least one full-time equivalent job for a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.
Language Proficiency
All candidates must demonstrate English or French-language proficiency equivalent to the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) Level 4. Applicants will be required to submit valid language test scores issued within the two years prior to applying.
Level of Education
Candidates must have obtained a post-secondary educational credential or have experience as an active business owner-manager for at least 3 of the last 5 years with 100% ownership in the business.
Work Experience
Within the 5 years prior to applying, candidates must meet one of the following three scenarios:
- 3+ years of experience as a business owner-manager; or
- 4+ years of experience as a senior manager; or
- 1+ year of experience as a business owner-manager and 2+ years of experience as a senior manager.
Investment Requirement
Candidates must have a personal net worth of at least CAD $300,000 and invest a minimum of CAD $100,000 in the creation of their business. Candidates who are invited to apply will be required to obtain a new worth verification report.
Performance Agreement
All applicants are required to sign a Performance Agreement with the BC PNP. Only after completing the conditions set out on their performance agreement will a candidate receive their nomination and be able to apply for Canadian permanent resident status.
Application Process
In order to apply to the BC Entrepreneur Regional Pilot, a candidate must be referred by one of the province’s participating communities. To be referred, candidates are required to make an exploratory visit to BC and meet with the program representative from the community in which they wish to create their business. The Entrepreneur Regional Pilot operates on an Expression of Interest (EOI) system. Once a candidate has a referral from a participating community, they can register a profile using the BC’s online immigration portal and submit their EOI. The BC Entrepreneur Regional Pilot charges a CAD $300 fee.
Once the profile has been submitted, candidates will be assigned a score and ranked against one another using the BC Entrepreneur Regional Pilot Ranking System. The highest-ranking candidates will be invited to submit an official application. The official application must include a business concept, verification of personal net worth, and supporting documents. If the application is approved, the candidate will be invited to sign a performance agreement with British Columbia. Once the performance agreement is signed, candidates will be issued a letter of confirmation. This letter also called a work permit support letter, allows the candidate to apply for a two-year temporary work permit.
After receiving the work permit, the candidate must travel to BC to launch their new business. Between 12 and 20 months after arriving in BC, the candidate must submit a final report showing that they met the terms of their performance agreement. If the final report is accepted, the applicant officially receives a provincial nomination and can apply to IRCC for permanent resident status.
BC Entrepreneur Immigration Ranking System
The British Columbia Entrepreneur uses the following points-grid to rank candidates who have registered profiles. Only those candidates with the most competitive scores will be invited to apply to the program.
| Scoring Sections | Points |
|---|---|
| Self-declared | |
| Experience | 20 |
| Ownership | 4 |
| Net Worth | 12 |
| Total Personal Investment | 20 |
| Jobs | 20 |
| Regional District | 12 |
| Adaptability | 32 |
| Self-declared SUBTOTAL score | 120 |
| Business concept | |
| Commercial Viability | 30 |
| Transferability of Skills | 20 |
| Economic Benefits | 30 |
| Business concept SUBTOTAL score | 80 |
| Maximum Score Available | 200 |
Experience Total Duration
| Experience Total Duration | Points |
|---|---|
| Business owner-manager experience | |
| Less than 12 months | 0 |
| 12 to 24 months | 4 |
| 25 to 36 months | 6 |
| 37 to 48 months | 12 |
| 49 to 60 months | 15 |
| More than 60 months | 20 |
| Senior manager work experience | |
| Less than 24 months | 0 |
| 24 to 48 months | 4 |
| 49 to 60 months | 8 |
| More than 60 months | 12 |
| Maximum Score Available | 20 |
Ownership Amount
| Ownership Amount | Points |
|---|---|
| Business ownership | |
| Less than three years of 100% business ownership in the past five years | 0 |
| 100% ownership of a business for at least three of the last five years | 4 |
| Maximum Score Available | 4 |
Personal Net Worth
| Personal Net Worth | Points |
|---|---|
| Your total current assets (cash and liquid funds) | |
| Less than $50,000 | 0 |
| $50,000 to $199,999 | 2 |
| $200,000 to $399,999 | 3 |
| $400,000 or more | 4 |
| Your total personal net worth | |
| Less than $600,000 | 0 |
| $600,000 to $799,999 | 5 |
| $800,000 to $1,999,999 | 6 |
| $2,000,000 to $4,999,999 | 7 |
| $5,000,000 or more | 8 |
| Maximum Score Available | 12 |
Personal Investment
| Total Personal Investment | Points |
|---|---|
| Less than $200,000 | 0 |
| $200,000 to $399,999 | 8 |
| $400,000 to $599,999 | 10 |
| $600,000 to $999,999 | 11 |
| $1,000,000 to $1,999,999 | 12 |
| $2,000,000 to $3,999,999 | 14 |
| $4,000,000 to $7,999,999 | 16 |
| $8,000,000 or more | 20 |
| Maximum Score Available | 20 |
Total Proposed Full-Time Jobs
| Total Proposed FTE Jobs | Points |
|---|---|
| Less than 1 | 0 |
| 1 job | 8 |
| 2 jobs | 9 |
| 3 jobs | 10 |
| 4 jobs | 11 |
| 5 jobs | 12 |
| 6 jobs | 13 |
| 7 – 9 jobs | 14 |
| 10 – 19 jobs | 16 |
| 20 or more jobs | 20 |
| Maximum Score Available | 20 |
Location-Based on B.C. Regional District
| 500,000 people or more | 0 |
| 200,000 to 499,999 | 1 |
| 100,000 to 199,999 | 3 |
| 70,000 to 99,999 | 6 |
| 60,000 to 69,999 | 8 |
| 35,000 to 59,999 | 10 |
| Fewer than 35,000 people | 12 |
| Maximum Score Available | 12 |
Adaptability Factor
| Adaptability Factor | Points |
|---|---|
| English language proficiency | |
| None or minimal, similar to CLB 3 and below | 0 |
| Basic understanding, similar to CLB 4 | 2 |
| Intermediate and advanced, similar to CLB 5 and above | 4 |
| Education level | |
| Secondary school or less | 0* |
| Associate degree | 2 |
| Diploma / certificate (non-trades) | 2 |
| Diploma / certificate (trades) | 2 |
| Bachelor’s degree | 5 |
| Post-graduate diploma / certificate | 5 |
| Master’s degree | 8 |
| Doctorate / PhD | 8 |
| Age | |
| Less than 25 | 0 |
| 25 – 34 | 4 |
| 35 – 44 | 8 |
| 45 – 54 | 6 |
| 55 – 64 | 4 |
| 65 or older | 0 |
| Business exploratory visits | |
| No, or visited B.C. more than 3 years ago | 0 |
| Yes, visited B.C. 1 – 3 years ago | 1 |
| Yes, visited B.C. less than 1 year ago, but did not visit the Regional District of the proposed business | 2 |
| Yes, visited the Regional District of the proposed business less than 1 year ago | 4 |
| Canadian work experience, business experience, or studies from within Canada for at least 12 months | |
| No | 0 |
| Yes | 8 |
| Maximum Score Available | 32 |
Overall Commercial Viability
| Overall Commercial Viability | Points |
|---|---|
| Business model | 10 |
| Unsatisfactory / Unclear | 1 |
| Fair | 5 |
| Good | 10 |
| Market & products/services | 4 |
| Does not satisfactorily address any of the Market/Product factors | 1 |
| Addresses at least one of the Market/Product factors, and is consistent with Business Model | 4 |
| Eligible personal investment | 4 |
| Less than $200,000 or less than $50,000 of eligible expansion investments | 0* |
| $200,000 to $399,999 | 1 |
| $400,000 to $599,999 | 2** |
| $600,000 to $799,999 | 3 |
| $800,000 or more | 4 |
| Assessment of proposed personal investment | 6 |
| Investment proposal does not correspond to the type or scale of the business | 0 |
| Investment proposal corresponds to the type and scale of the business | 4 |
| Investment proposal corresponds to the type and scale of the business, the market, the proposed products and/or services, the business model, and the industry standard. | 6 |
| Ownership percentage | 4 |
| 100% ownership | 4 |
| More than 50% and less than 100% | 3 |
| 33 1/3% to 50% | 2 |
| Less than 33 1/3% ownership* | 0 |
| Risk factors | 2 |
| – proposing external financing OR – proposing to invest more than 50% of your PNW OR – you are proposing to partner with a co-registrant |
0 |
| None of the above | 2 |
| Maximum Score Available | 30 |
Transferability of Skills
| Transferability of Skills | Points |
|---|---|
| Business experience only | 20 |
| 12+ months of experience in an unrelated industry | 2 |
| 12 months or less of direct experience or 12 to 36 months of related experience | 5 |
| 13 to 24 months of direct experience or 37+ months of related experience | 8 |
| 13 to 24 months of direct experience and 37+ months of related experience | 10 |
| 25 to 36 months of direct experience | 12 |
| 25 to 36 months of direct experience and 37+ months of related experience | 14 |
| 37 to 60 months of direct experience | 16 |
| 37 to 60 months of direct experience and 37+ months of related experience | 18 |
| More than 60 months of direct experience | 20 |
| Work experience only | 14 |
| 12+ months of experience in an unrelated industry | 2 |
| 12 months or less of direct experience or 12 to 36 months of related experience | 4 |
| 13 to 36 months of direct experience or 37+ months of related experience | 6 |
| 13 to 36 months of direct experience and 37+ months of related experience | 8 |
| 37 to 60 months of direct experience | 10 |
| 37 to 60 months of direct experience and 37+ months of related experience | 12 |
| More than 60 months of direct experience | 14 |
| Language ability | 2 |
| Minimal to none (Similar to CLB 3 or below) | 0 |
| Basic language proficiency (Similar to CLB 4) | 1 |
| Intermediate or above language proficiency (Similar to CLB 5 or above) | 2 |
| Maximum Score Available | 20 |
Overall Economic Benefit Points
| Overall Economic Benefit Points | Points |
|---|---|
| Key Sector & Significant Economic Benefit | 12 |
| Does not identify or substantiate any key sectors or any significant economic benefits | 3 |
| Substantiates at least 1 key sector or at least 1 significant economic benefit | 8 |
| Substantiates at least 1 key sector and at least 1 significant economic benefit | 12 |
| Jobs assessment | 6 |
| The business concept does not support the creation of at least 1 FTE position, or, if proposing a key staff, the creation of at least 3 FTE positions | 0 |
| Jobs plan does not correspond to the type and scale of the business | 1 |
| Jobs plan corresponds to the type and scale of the business | 6 |
| High-skilled jobs (NOC 0, A or B) | 4 |
| Business concept does not propose or substantiate hiring any high-skilled positions | 0 |
| Business concept substantiates the creation/maintenance of 1 high-skilled position | 2 |
| Business concept substantiates the creation/maintenance of 2 or more highskilled positions | 4 |
| Regional Development | 8 |
| Lower Mainland / Southwest | 2 |
| Vancouver Island and Coast | 4 |
| Thompson / Okanagan | 4 |
| Cariboo | 6 |
| Kootenay | 8 |
| Nechako | 8 |
| North Coast | 8 |
| Northeast | 8 |
| Maximum Score Available | 30 |
British Columbia Entrepreneur Regional Pilot Draws
| Date | Minimum Score | Invitations Sent |
|---|---|---|
| August 20, 2019 | 111 | 6 |
| July 30, 2019 | 111 | 6 |
| June 13, 2019 | 118 | 5 |
Participating Communities
Organized by Development Regions
Cariboo
- 100 Mile House
- Mackenzie
- McBride
- Prince George
- Quesnel
- Williams Lake
Kootenay
- Castlegar
- Kimberley
- Midway
- Nelson
- Regional District of Central Kootenay (Area J)
- Regional District of Kootenay Boundary – Electoral Area E (West Boundary)
- Rossland
- Trail
Mainland/Southwest
- Gibsons
- Hope
- Sechelt
- Squamish
- Sunshine Coast Regional District – Egmont and Pender Harbour (Area A)
- Sunshine Coast Regional District – Halfmoon Bay (Area B)
- Sunshine Coast Regional District – Roberts Creek (Area D)
- Sunshine Coast Regional District – Elphinstone (Area E)
- Sunshine Coast Regional District – West Howe Sound (Area F)
Nechako
- Burns Lake
- Regional District of Bukley-Nechako – Electoral Area A (Smithers Rural)
- Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako – Electoral Area B (Burns Lake Rural)
- Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako – Electoral Area C (Fort St. James Rural)
- Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako – Electoral Area D (Fraser Lake Rural)
- Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako – Electoral Area E (Francois/Ootsa Lake Rural)
- Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako – Electoral Area F (Vanderhoof Rural)
- Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako – Electoral Area G (Houston Rural)
North Coast
- Terrace
Northeast
- Tumbler Ridge
- Northern Rockies Regional Municipality
Thompson-Okanagan
- Barriere
- Clinton
- Columbia-Shuswap Regional District – Sorrento and Electoral Area C
- Columbia-Shuswap Regional District – Falkland and Electoral Area D
- Columbia-Shuswap Regional District – Malakwa and Electoral Area E
- Columbia-Shuswap Regional District – Scotch Creek and Electoral Area F
- Thompson-Nicola Regional District Area I – Spences Bridge
- Thompson-Nicola Regional District Area M – Nicola Valley North
- Thompson-Nicola Regional District Area N – Nicola Valley South
- Merritt
- Osoyoos
- Penticton
- Salmon Arm
- Vernon
Vancouver Island/Coast
- Campbell River
- Comox
- Comox Valley Regional District – Baynes Sound – Denman/Hornby Island (Area A)
- Comox Valley Regional District – Lazo North (Area B)
- Comox Valley Regional District – Puntledge – Black Creek (Area C)
- Courtenay
- Port Alberni
- Powell River
- Sayward
