The Quebec Entrepreneur Program opens doors for entrepreneurs who immigrated to start a business or renew an existing business in Quebec.
The Quebec Entrepreneur Program is developed explicitly for immigrant entrepreneurs focused on beginning a new business or continuing with an already established business.
Applicants whose applications are processed successfully will lead them to Quebec where they can continue their business projects.
Like other immigration pathways, the Quebec Entrepreneur Program will also enable applicants to apply for the Quebec Selection Certificate.
Once the applicant attains the CSQ, he becomes eligible to officially apply for online permanent residence in Canada.
Quebec Entrepreneur Program- Qualifying Criteria
There are two streams under the Quebec Entrepreneur Program, each of which operates on different qualifying criteria. They are as follows:
Quebec Entrepreneur Program- Stream 1
To be eligible for stream 1, the candidates must be settled in Quebec developing a business or carrying it out with the support of services offered by a university entrepreneurship center, business incubators, and accelerators.
The business project can either be handled by you or you could involve up to three foreign nationals who apply for the same immigration program.
The types of organizations providing service offers are not restricted to any definitions. However, the following guidelines are sufficient for the applicants:
- Business Accelerator– An established organization in Quebec that provides support services to those who need financial assistance, specifically entrepreneurs who wish to grow their creative businesses through their projects.
- Business Incubator– An established organization in Quebec offering support services to those interested in developing creative businesses.
- University Entrepreneurship Centre– A university institution administering an organization by providing coaching services to entrepreneurs.
The organization providing the service must prove its potential to support the candidate and their business projects. The service offers must demonstrate the type of support they will provide, keeping in mind the following elements:
- Showing the proposed support plan– Evaluating the types of services offered to the candidate.
- Operating process– Analyzing the budget of all the service offers and the pre-planned activity schedule.
- Demonstrating expertise– The business accelerator, incubator, and the university entrepreneurship center must prove their expertise. They can do this by showing their achievements and skills needed for the entrepreneur’s project.
The candidate’s application must appear as a business plan for Quebec and he should make sure that all the application forms are completed as given on MIDI’s official website.
Quebec Entrepreneur Program- Stream 2
To qualify for Stream 2, the candidate should settle in Quebec and develop a business and acquire or manage a new business and its operations. Those who stand successful in the application process will require to financially deposit as a part of the application procedure, they are as follows:
- Security Deposit– The candidate will require you to submit CAD $200,000 as a security deposit for insurance purposes concerning business creation. The amount will be refunded if the business plan is executed successfully.
- Start-Up Deposit– You need to submit a start-up deposit of CAD $300,000. This deposit amount is required to start a new business. The start-up deposit applies to those businesses in Montreal. The deposit amount outside Montreal is CAD $200,000.
Applicants require to fulfill the following eligibility requirements:
- Their net worth should equal a minimum of $900,000 CAD. The amount should be obtained through legal sources. The same applies to a spouse or common-law partner if they accompany the principal applicant.
- The applicant must make sure he represents his application like a business plan.
- When starting up a new business, the individual should hold 25 percent of the equity capital. Suppose the individual is involved in an already existing business, he should hold and control 51 percent of its equity capital.
- The business must exclude activities such as development in real estate, insurance brokerage, production, distribution, sales associated with any sexually explicit service, cheque cashing, and pawnbroking.
- If an individual has acquired an existing business, it must have been in operation for five years before applying.
The application process will consider several other factors concerning age, education, proficiency in languages, financially self-reliant, family residing in Quebec, and training background. Applicants must make sure they submit all the relevant and crucial documents as mentioned on the MIDI website.