British Columbia is opening a new immigration pilot program to attract foreign entrepreneurs to smaller communities around the province.
Known as the Entrepreneur Immigration — Regional Pilot, the two-year program is set to launch in early 2019. The pilot will see the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) work in partnership with regional communities of less than 75,000 people to welcome approved immigrant entrepreneurs who want to open a new business.
Communities must be located farther than 30 kilometres from a population centre of more than 75,000 people in order to be enrolled in the pilot.
In an update announcing the new pilot, the BC PNP said the province’s small regional communities are facing economic and demographic challenges caused by their aging populations and a lack of opportunities for younger residents.
The businesses created will have to address specific needs identified by the participating communities and, in exchange, the communities and local partners will be required to support selected entrepreneurs as they settle.
All interested entrepreneurs must complete an exploratory visit to the community where they wish to set up their business, and must obtain a community referral before registering for the pilot.
Successful candidates will be granted a temporary work permit. The BC PNP will issue a nomination for permanent residence once it determines that the business has met all the criteria outlined in its Performance Agreement.