The Role of the BC Business Plan in Your Immigration Entrepreneur Pathway

The Role of the BC Business Plan in Your Immigration Entrepreneur Pathway

There are two common choices for an Entrepreneur Pathway into British Columbia. These both fall under the Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) and include the Entrepreneur Immigration (EI) Base Category and the EI Regional Pilot. In either entrepreneur pathway mentioned, and most others, a BC Business Plan is required. The BC business plan will play a significant role in whether or not the immigration case is successful.

Entrepreneur Immigration - Base Category This is the standard, provincial-wide entrepreneur program under the BC PNP. It is intended for experienced entrepreneurs that desire to open a new or take over a previously established business in any location in British Columbia. The requirements for this are more stringent than for the EI Regional Pilot.

Entrepreneur Immigration - Regional Pilot The regional pilot entrepreneur pathway option for British Columbia is a program meant to encourage the creation of new businesses in specific regions of British Columbia. This program is intended to bolster regional economies and each region has their own specific economic development priorities.

Comparing the Programs The process for either Entrepreneur Pathway will vary. The most notable difference is the requirement under the regional pilot to conduct an exploratory visit. This exploratory visit allows the applicant to spend time in their intended region, meet with representatives of the program in that region and, hopefully, receive the communities support. This endorsement or recommendation is a mandatory part of the process. Although changes to the BC business plan will likely be made in reaction to this visit, having a draft at this stage will be helpful.

There are also several differences in requirements. Overall, in order to make the Regional Pilot entrepreneur pathway more appealing, the requirements are significantly easier to meet. The personal net worth requirement, for instance, for the regional pilot is half that of the base program. It is $600,000 for the base and only $300,000 for the regional pilot. It is half for the investment requirement as well, $200,00 for the base and $100,000 for the regional pilot.

There are also some requirements that are more difficult to meet for the regional pilot entrepreneur pathway. This includes the timeframe of experience. While base category applicants can have met the requirements in the last 10 years, you must have met them in the last 5 years for the regional pilot. This is evident in ownership as well. The base category requires only a 33% ownership, meanwhile it’s 51% for regional pilot.

The Role of the BC Business Plan Regardless which entrepreneur pathway you are pursuing, the BC business plan is imperative. It is one way you will demonstrate you have done your due diligence to truly understand the market in Canada, British Columbia, and your specific region (if applicable). It is also the perfect platform to demonstrate you meet the net worth and investment requirements – although this information will be submitted and verified in other formats and processes as well. Most importantly, it shows that you have clearly thought through your BC Business Plan, it is likely to be successful, and that it will benefit the local, provincial, and national economy.