PR in Canada for money. The only immigration program through investment

Usually, in order to move, candidates need to meet various requirements in terms of age, work experience, English proficiency, education, and so on. Many people don't score enough points to get an invitation, and to improve them, they have to find an employer who will agree to hire them, or enter a Canadian college and study for 1-2 years. Even after that, the points may not be enough.

But there is another way to immigrate to Canada — through investment. I'm talking about Quebec's Immigrant Investor Program. This program was closed in 2019, but now the government has announced the program reopening in January 2024 with new requirements.

If you don't know the language well, you are already over 30, you don't have a master's degree, but have accumulated capital, you can quickly move to Canada, get a residence permit, and subsequently a Canadian passport.

Why Quebec?

There are two reasons for this. Firstly, so far this is the only program in Canada that allows you to get a residence permit for monetary investment. All other business immigration programs require either starting a business from scratch, buying a ready-made one, or having some innovative business idea that will be supported by Canadian investment companies. The Quebec program will allow you to simply invest money and get a residence permit based on passive investments.

Secondly, it is the most popular investor immigration program in Canada. Every year, it grants 1,000 or more permanent residence permits, and often more. For example, in 2022, 4,000 investors received PRs, and from 2015 to 2022, more than 28,000 people did it. For business immigration, you understand, this is a lot. Don't be surprised that the program is closed, but PRs were being issued, the Quebec government was most likely issuing PRs on old applications that were submitted before the closure.

In January 2024, when the program reopens, it will have new conditions. And most likely there will be many applications again, so you have just enough time to prepare all the documents and be among the first to be able to move.

What are the requirements?

The requirements are seemingly simple. The first is a minimum of a high school education. The second is 2 years of experience in planning, managing, and controlling financial resources or in controlling human and material resources. This experience must be within the last 5 years. Third, you must plan to live in Quebec.

At least for the first 3-4 years, you will have to live in this province, then you can move wherever you want. I would like to say right away that Quebec is a very nice region of Canada. After immigration, we lived in the suburbs of Montreal for almost 4 years, we have a lot of pleasant memories. There are a lot of advantages in Quebec, but this is another topic, so I will not get distracted.

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Let's return to immigration under the Immigrant Investor Program. It should be clear from the name that the main requirement is capital. You must have CAD 2 million of personal capital, or it must be a family capital, that is, you and your spouse. When converted to American dollars, the amount is approximately USD 1.5 million. You don't need to invest all the money, I'll get to that a little later. It is important that you can prove the legal origin of the money.

What do you need to do next? You must enter into an agreement with a financial intermediary, a trust company, or an investment broker approved by the Quebec government. There's a list, there's about 20 companies. And through that company, you have to invest CAD 1 million for 5 years. That's about USD 750,000. After 5 years, the company will pay you back the same amount, so you don't lose anything.

The idea is that the income from your investment goes to programs to help businesses in Quebec. You get what you invested, plus a Canadian permanent residence permit and the Quebec government gets the return on your investment. In addition to the money you put in, you will have to make a non-refundable contribution to the Quebec government of CAD 200,000 — about USD 150,000. But these are just preliminary requirements, maybe something will change before the program is launched.

When you invest money and apply, Quebec will ask you to take a test on your knowledge of the province's democratic values. This is a feature of all Quebec programs, you will have to study the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and take the test online. Your spouse and children over 18 years old must also do this if you are moving with your family. But don't worry, you will do fine.

How to immigrate?

First, you get a temporary visa for 3 years and the whole family can come to Quebec. All family members will have the right to work and study. During the first 2 years, you will have to learn French up to B2 level. The good news is that if you are traveling with your family, it is enough for one spouse to learn the language. But then that spouse must be the principal applicant. For example, if you want to move with your wife and she, for example, has an easier time with languages, then your wife should be the principal applicant on your immigration application. Finally, after 3 years, Quebec issues a so-called Quebec selection certificate which allows you to apply for permanent residency.

We partner with a brokerage company that is approved by the Quebec government and helps you immigrate through the investor program. It will help you go through the whole process without any difficulties. The most important thing is that you have a capital of CAD 2 million, of which CAD 1 million you can invest and CAD 200,000 to pay to the province. It is worth reiterating that the program has not yet been launched and requirements may change.

Other ways to immigrate

You may not be eligible for the Quebec program because you will need to learn French. We can find other ways for you to immigrate by starting or buying a business. Sign up for a business and investment immigration consultation. Our team includes experienced licensed professionals in this field who will help you obtain permanent residency.

If you don't have that kind of savings, read our other articles where we talk about other ways to move. These are suitable for skilled professionals, trade workers, the self-employed, those who have studied in Canada, and so on.

Ivanna Pavlenko, regulated Canadian immigration consultant