Canada: Quebec Re-Launches Immigrant Investor Program

Immigration authorities in the Province of Quebec announced they will begin to accept new applications under its highly successful Quebec Immigrant Investor Program for a limited period starting August 31st 2015 until January 31st 2016.

This comes as welcome news for high net worth individuals looking for an attractive passive investment scheme offering Canadian permanent residence. With the recent closure of the Federal Immigrant Investor program, the Quebec program is the only program of its kind in Canada.

Quebec has the second largest economy and population among Canadian provinces, and its vibrant metropolis, Montreal, is the second largest city in Canada.

Under the announcement Quebec will accept a maximum of 1750 applications during the subscription period including a maximum of 1200 from China, Hong Kong and Macao. Interested applicants are accordingly encouraged to act early to increase their chances of having their application selected for processing.

The application quotas and the limited period of reception do not apply to applicants to the investor category who can demonstrate an intermediate to advanced level of French language proficiency through an approved standardized language test. Applicants who can meet this requirement may submit an application anytime during the period beginning April 1, 2015 through March 31, 2016.

To be eligible, applicants must demonstrate the following:

• A legitimately acquired personal net worth of at least 1.6 million Canadian Dollars;
• At least two years of senior managerial experience within the past five years in a private enterprise, eligible partnership, government body or NGO;
• Commit to making an interest free investment of CAD $800,000.00 in a prescribed (government guaranteed) investment for a period of five years;
• An intention to settle in the province of Quebec;
• A application processing fee of C$15,106.