New business visas in Canada next year through Nova Scotia

Canada will count two more business streams from next year onwards as the east coast province of Nova Scotia has announced the Entrepreneur Stream and the International Graduate Entrepreneur Stream.

From January 1, the two streams will become part of the Nova Scotia Nominee Programme, the provincial immigration programme which is aligned with the federal Express Entry System.

Immigration aspirants who have the ambition to start up a business in Nova Scotia and obtain residence in Canada can apply through these programmes.

The Entrepreneur Stream is geared towards business people who are willing to start or buy and actively manage a business in Nova Scotia. Candidates will be required to have a net worth of at least CAD600,000 (about Dh1.7 million) and at least CAD150,000 (about Dh426,000) to invest in a Nova Scotia business.

The International Graduate Entrepreneur Stream aims to encourage international students studying in Nova Scotia to remain in the province and open a business once they have completed their studies. This programme is the first of its kind in the country.

Currently, the country offers several entrepreneur routes through its various provincial programmes. On the federal level it runs the highly contested Immigrant Investor Venture Capital (IIVC) programme, which only opens for application several months per year. This programme has replaced the Federal Immigrant Investment Programme (FIIP) and the Entrepreneur Programme.

Therefore, opting for a business route though a provincial programme is a good opportunity for business people.

While Canada has recently introduced the federal Express Entry system, ranking candidates against each other and inviting only the most suitable candidates in periodic draws, most provinces run their own immigration programme, called the Provincial Nominee Programme (PNP). A person can apply for a PNP alone, or in combination with an application on the federal level.

As is the case in most provinces, Nova Scotia is offering an immigration route where the procedures of application through the federal and provincial channel are integrated, making it easier for the applicant to apply on both levels.

It is the only province however that offers two dedicated streams aligned with the federal Express Entry immigration selection system, pursuing an active immigration policy.

With the allocation of 300 more nominees through the provincial programme the province is now entitled to accept a total of 1350 this year. It is not yet clear how many applicants will be accepted through the entrepreneur routes.

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