More B.C. towns invite investors

A pilot flow for entrepreneur-investors can move permanently to a small community in British Columbia. For now, acceptance of applications has been extended until March 31, 2024. The province has invited 146 people since the pilot launched in March 2019.

To participate, you must:

• have experience in owning or managing a business;
• have capital of at least $300,000 CAD and be willing to invest in a business of $100,000 CAD or more;
• have proficiency in English or French at level 4 on the Canadian CLB scale.

Next, you contact the representatives of a particular municipality (community), explain to them what kind of business you want to open, how many locals to hire, and why you can handle it. The prerequisite is to create at least one workplace. If the community representatives are satisfied, they will send you a formal invitation. You may also be invited to come and talk to them in person.

You can choose any of the participating communities in the eight regions of the province. Each city has its own list of priority sectors, from melon production to architectural services.

• The cities of Handred Mile House (100 Mile House), Prince George and Williams Lake invite investors to Caribou.
• The communities of Castlegar, Central Kootenay, East Kootenay, Columbia Valley, Cranbrook, Kimberly, Nelson, Rossland, Trail and West Boundary in Kootenay.
• On the North Coast is the city of Terrace and part of the newly joined Kitimat-Stikine County.
• In the Northeast region are the cities of Fort St. John and the newly joined Tumbler Ridge.
• In the Thompson-Okanagan region are the cities of Chase, Clinton, Salmon Arm, Penticton and Vernon.
• On Vancouver Island are the cities of Campbell River, Comox, Mount Waddington, Port Alberni and Powell River.

In addition to the city of Tumbler Ridge and parts of Kitimat-Stikine County, Lillooet County, the only one from the Southwest region, decided to participate in the pilot stream.

To learn more about each small community and the investors it needs, visit the Provincial Immigration Program's website. There you can also find the contacts of the people in charge.

You can apply to them yourself or you can use the services of our immigration company. We have successful cases of obtaining letters of recommendation from Canadian investment funds and further support in the application process under the program Start-Up Visa. If you have your own funds to invest in a business in Canada, your chances increase. Schedule a consultation with an immigration consultant to choose a region and assess your chances of getting a permanent residence permit.