OINP Entrepreneur Stream

The OINP Entrepreneur stream is for those foreign nationals who are willing to start a new business or buy an existing business in the province of Ontario.

It allows an entrepreneur and up to one business partner an opportunity to get a provincial nomination for permanent residency in Canada once they establish a business in Ontario.

If you successfully get a nomination, the next step you must take is to apply for Canadian PR visa via IRCC (Immigration, Refugee, Citizenship Canada), who is responsible for taking a final decision on permanent resident application.

The Entrepreneur Stream – Two-Stage Application Process

Eligibility Requirements

To qualify under the Entrepreneur Stream, you must:

• Have a minimum of 24 months of full-time business experience as a business owner or as a senior manager gained in past 60 months.
• Have at least 800,000 CDN of net worth if your proposed business is going to be located within the Greater Toronto Area or at least $400,000 CDN of net worth if it'll be located outside of the Greater Toronto Area.
• Make at least $600,000 CDN of personal investment and control a minimum of one-third of the equity in proposed business if it'll be located within the Greater Toronto Area or $200,000 CDN if going to be located outside of the Greater Toronto Area
• Be actively involved in business management on an ongoing basis.
• Prove that the key purpose of investing capital is to make a profit.
• Ensure that your business create a minimum of 2 full-time, permanent jobs for Canadian citizens or PR holders if your proposed business is going to be located inside the Greater Toronto Area. Else, if your business will be outside the Greater Toronto Area, then you must create a minimum of 1 full-time, permanent job for a Canadian citizen or PR holder within the first 20 months of acquiring or establishing your business.
• Visit Ontario within 1 year for a business-related activity from the date of registering your EOI.
• Purchase a business that has been in operational for the past 60 months by the same owner/s.
• Ensure that business ownership has been completely transferred to you or your business partner (if any).
• Utilize a minimum of 10% of your investment (personal) towards business improvement or expansion in Ontario.
• All your full-time, permanent employees that have worked in the business before ownership was transferred.

General business requirements

Apart from meeting the minimum requirements as mentioned above, you must meet following general business requirements as well:

• The business purpose must be profit making from active income via selling goods and/or services.
• Your business must comply with federal, municipal or provincial legal, licensing and regulatory requirements, including compliance with labour and employment standards laws in Ontario.
• Your business has to be permanent as project-based or seasonal businesses will not qualify.
• You must have a business pace in Ontario.

To confirm your eligibility for  Canadian immigration as a provincial nominee for above visa programs, you may get in touch with our team of advisors at Visas Avenue. You can also call us on a Toll-Free Number- 78-18-000-777 or send your queries at info@visasavenue.com.