Since its inception, the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) has offered expedited immigration solutions for international investors wanting to immigrate to Canada and settle in BC.
BC PNP offers three compelling programs in an effort to attract more business and investment immigrants to the province. The program is currently divided into three streams – “Business Skills”, “Regional Skills” and “Strategic Projects”.
The Business Skills program is designed for people with viable business plans to establish or purchase and expand a business in the greater Vancouver and Abbotsford areas. The program requires a personal net worth of $800,000, a minimum investment of $400,000 and for the investor to hold at least 1/3 of the equity in the business. The investment must create at least three new jobs for Canadians or permanent residents and the investor must play an active role in the management of the business.
The Regional Skills program is similar to the Business Skills program, only it is designed for areas of BC outside of Greater Vancouver and Abbotsford. The program requires a personal net worth of $400,000, a minimum investment of $200,000 and the investment must create at least one new job for a Canadian or permanent resident.
The program is designed to provide investors with work permits so they may come to Canada to set up their businesses. Once operational and terms of the program have been satisfied, the BC PNP will issue a nomination certificate that will entitle the investor to expedited immigration status in Canada. If the investor fails to satisfy the program criteria within 2 years of arrival in Canada, they will not be issued a permanent resident visa and may have to leave Canada.
Under either of these programs, BC PNP has created a very interesting fast-track option. Investors now have an option to secure a nomination certificate at the front end of the process by placing a performance bond in trust with the province.
If an investor chooses the fast-track option, the province will issue the nomination certificate upon approval of the investor’s PNP application and the investor placing a performance bond in trust for $125,000. The investor is also obligated to settle in BC on a work permit (provided jointly by the BC PNP and Immigration Canada), to open a bank account in BC and to begin working on their business plan before receiving nomination. Upon satisfaction of these terms, the province will issue a nomination certificate and the investor may apply for permanent resident status. The investor may (and should) remain in Canada, with his or her family, while the application for permanent residence is in process, actively managing the business.
Under the bond option, the investor has to establish his or her business and hire employees, as required under the program, within 2 years of arriving in Canada. If these criteria are met, the investor will receive the bond back, without interest. If the investor fails to execute the business plan, the investor will forfeit the bond, but will not lose permanent resident status.
Using a provincial business program can reduce processing times of permanent resident visa applications by 3-4 years as compared to federal entrepreneur applications. The upside is tremendous and as all successful investors now, timing and security are paramount and this PNP program offers just that.
The third program, the “Strategic Projects” program, does not offer a fast track option. This program is designed for foreign corporations that want to invest at least $500,000 in BC. For every 3 jobs created, the foreign company can designate one potential immigrant staff member who can move to Canada to work in the Canadian business project.
In all, the BC PNP has demonstrated its commitment to forward thinking approaches to real-time issues. With the current criteria in place we have seen a sharp increase in business investor immigrant applications in BC helping fuel and maintain our already hot economy.
Ryan N. Rosenberg is a practicing immigration lawyer with Larlee & Associates Law Corporation in Vancouver, BC. He may be reached at Ryan.Rosenberg@larlee.com or by phone at +1-604-681-9887.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Spousal Sponsorships - IN CANADA
When it comes to falling in love to a non-Canadian resident or citizen, I constantly hear that falling in love was the easy part and getting that soul-mate to Canada was the real challenge. It shouldn’t have to be that way, but for many it is.
There are a number of approaches that people can take when deciding how, where and when to sponsor a spouse’s immigration application. Generally, there are two options, applying from within Canada or applying outside of Canada. This month I will focus on the in-Canada approach. Watch for my article next month when I focus on the outside of Canada option.
To sponsor a spouse from within Canada, the basic requirements are that the spouse and sponsor live together in Canada, that the sponsored spouse has legal status in Canada and that the sponsor has filed an application to sponsor. There is a policy based exception to these basic requirements for spouses who do not have legal status in Canada. Such spouses may request an exemption from the requirement to be in status on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. The policy related to this exemption is quite detailed and not all applicants are entitled to the exemption. Check with Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) or your immigration representative before relying on it.
Sponsored spouses have to fill out a variety of forms, take medical examinations, complete criminal background checks, pay processing fees and submit a pile of evidence of their relationship with the sponsor. Applications within Canada are filed at the CIC case processing centre in Vegreville, Alberta and straightforward cases currently take about 4-5 months to process. Complicated cases take longer and are referred to local CIC offices where the sponsor and spouse may be interviewed by an immigration officer.
While an application is in process, the sponsored spouse must stay in status and reside with the sponsor in Canada. As such, trips outside of Canada during processing are not usually advised. If an applicant leaves the country, even for a short vacation, and is not granted re-entry, that may have the effect of ending cohabitation between the spouses and will terminate status in Canada and therefore the spouses may fall outside of the basic requirements and the application may be refused.
If the application receives preliminarily approval, an in-Canada applicant will be entitled to apply for a work permit or study permit to bridge the gap between preliminary approval and getting an appointment to be landed as an immigrant. There is often a few month wait to get landed after preliminary approval.
A great tip is to apply for a work permit or study permit at the same time that an application is made for permanent residence (in the same envelope). That way an officer in Vegreville can issue a permit at the same time that the sponsorship application receives preliminary approval. This way, the applicant can make the most of the time between preliminary approval and landing, without having to file and wait for a permit.
If the application is refused, there is no right of appeal, so make sure you do a thorough job on your application and that you qualify under the program before investing time, money and effort into your application.
Ryan N. Rosenberg, B.A., LL.B., is a immigration lawyer with Larlee & Associates Law Corporation in Vancouver, B.C. Contact Ryan by e-mail at Ryan.Rosenberg@larlee.com or by phone at 604-681-9887.
There are a number of approaches that people can take when deciding how, where and when to sponsor a spouse’s immigration application. Generally, there are two options, applying from within Canada or applying outside of Canada. This month I will focus on the in-Canada approach. Watch for my article next month when I focus on the outside of Canada option.
To sponsor a spouse from within Canada, the basic requirements are that the spouse and sponsor live together in Canada, that the sponsored spouse has legal status in Canada and that the sponsor has filed an application to sponsor. There is a policy based exception to these basic requirements for spouses who do not have legal status in Canada. Such spouses may request an exemption from the requirement to be in status on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. The policy related to this exemption is quite detailed and not all applicants are entitled to the exemption. Check with Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) or your immigration representative before relying on it.
Sponsored spouses have to fill out a variety of forms, take medical examinations, complete criminal background checks, pay processing fees and submit a pile of evidence of their relationship with the sponsor. Applications within Canada are filed at the CIC case processing centre in Vegreville, Alberta and straightforward cases currently take about 4-5 months to process. Complicated cases take longer and are referred to local CIC offices where the sponsor and spouse may be interviewed by an immigration officer.
While an application is in process, the sponsored spouse must stay in status and reside with the sponsor in Canada. As such, trips outside of Canada during processing are not usually advised. If an applicant leaves the country, even for a short vacation, and is not granted re-entry, that may have the effect of ending cohabitation between the spouses and will terminate status in Canada and therefore the spouses may fall outside of the basic requirements and the application may be refused.
If the application receives preliminarily approval, an in-Canada applicant will be entitled to apply for a work permit or study permit to bridge the gap between preliminary approval and getting an appointment to be landed as an immigrant. There is often a few month wait to get landed after preliminary approval.
A great tip is to apply for a work permit or study permit at the same time that an application is made for permanent residence (in the same envelope). That way an officer in Vegreville can issue a permit at the same time that the sponsorship application receives preliminary approval. This way, the applicant can make the most of the time between preliminary approval and landing, without having to file and wait for a permit.
If the application is refused, there is no right of appeal, so make sure you do a thorough job on your application and that you qualify under the program before investing time, money and effort into your application.
Ryan N. Rosenberg, B.A., LL.B., is a immigration lawyer with Larlee & Associates Law Corporation in Vancouver, B.C. Contact Ryan by e-mail at Ryan.Rosenberg@larlee.com or by phone at 604-681-9887.
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