Quebec Entrepreneur Program

The second most populated province in Canada, Quebec happens to be one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.

The Quebec Entrepreneur Program is basically aimed at the immigrant entrepreneurs who have the ability to establish a new business or acquire and operate an existing business in the province of Quebec.

Once the application of the immigrant is successful he or she should be able to immigrate to Quebec, where they will either carry out their business project.

This program allows applicants to apply for a CSQ – Québec selection certificate. Once the candidate receives a CSQ, an applicant becomes eligible to submit an official application for Canadian permanent residence.

Requirements of Quebec Entrepreneur Program

Following are the requirements for The Quebec Entrepreneur Program which operates two different streams, each with its own distinct eligibility requirements:

Stream 1:

To meet the eligibility requirements the applicants must settle in Quebec to create and operate a business. This has to be supported by a service offer from a business accelerator, a business incubator. One, two, or up to three foreign nationals who are applying to the same immigration program can undertake this business project. The organization which is providing service offer to the candidate must demonstrate their capacity to support the candidate and their business project.

The ways in which this support will occur must be provided by the company which extends the service offer and it should include the following elements:

• Proposed support plan: It should list and description of services offered to the candidate.
• Operating plan: Detailed financial planning of the services and the timeline of the proposed activities.
• Expertise as a business investor, business organization, or university entrepreneurship center: the skills and achievements related to the entrepreneur’s project.

The application must be presented by the candidate in the form of a business plan to Quebec. All required forms as listed on the website of the Ministère de l’Immigration must be duly completed and submitted by the candidate.

Stream 2:

To meet the eligibility requirements the applicants must settle in Quebec or acquire an existing business, and manage the business operations. Two financial deposits must be made by the successful applicants as part of their application:

• A security deposit of CAD $200,000 will serve as insurance that the business will be created. It will be refunded when the business plan is carried out successfully.
• The start-up deposit of CAD $300,000 for businesses created in Montreal and CAD $200,000 for businesses created outside of Montreal.

Following eligibility requirements must be met by the applicant:

• The candidate should have net assets of at least $900,000 CAD that have been legally obtained.
• The application must be presented by the candidate in the form of a business plan.
• If a new business is created by an applicant he must own and control at least 25% of its equity capital. If the applicant is acquiring an existing business, he must own and control at least 51% of its equity capital.
• The business stream should not include the following activities: payday loans, cheque cashing, pawnbroking, real estate development, real estate or insurance brokerage, production/distribution/sales of pornographic or sexually explicit products or services.
• An acquired business must have been in operation during the five years prior to an application.