QUEBEC, A PIONEER OF BUSINESS IMMIGRATION
Quebec is the largest province of Canada sharing borders with Ontario to the West, the Maritimes provinces to the East, the United States of America to the South and the Nunavut territory to the North. With a population of 8,500,000, Quebec is the second most populous Canadian province.
Quebec is a dynamic, modern and welcoming society, with an highly skilled labour force and diversified economy fully integrated to the North American transportation network. With several airports, roads, railways, maritime routes and state-of-the-art telecommunication system, settling in Quebec become an idea stepping stone to enter the continental market.
Quebec is an ideal immigration destination due to:
- Free health care
- Free education
- Free French courses for immigrant.
Since 1986, the Quebec government has been offering a path to permanent residency status for high net worth managers willing to settle in Quebec: the Quebec Immigrant Investor Program.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
- Net worth of $2,000,000 CAD acquired legally
- 2 years of management experience over the 5 years
- Intention to settle in Quebec
- Investment of $1,200,000 CAD
- Proficiency in French reaching level 7 or higher
INVESTMENT REQUIREMENTS
Applicants need to make a term deposit of a duration of 5 years in the amount of $1,000,000 and a non-refundable financial contribution of $200,000 through a participating financial intermediary
POPULATION (2020)
Quebec: 8,574,574 (2020)
Canada: 38,008,005 (2020)
MAIN CITIES
Montreal: 4,221,000 (2020)
Quebec City (capital): 826,000 (2020)
MAIN INDUSTRIES
Aerospace, Manufacturing, Biotechnology, Information Technologies and Multimedia, Energy, Natural Resources, Agricultures
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
To qualify to the Quebec Immigrant Investor Program, the applicant must:
1. Own a minimum net worth of $2,000,000 CAD obtained legally, alone or with your accompanying spouse.
2. Have at least two (2) years of management experience.
3. Intend to settle in Quebec.
4. Obtain a minimum of 40 points according to the weighting applicable.
5. Sign an agreement to invest $1,200,000 with a financial intermediary authorized by the Quebec government. A financing option can also be offered in form of a one-off payment covering the financing cost and other fees.
6. Successfully pass a medical exam and criminal check.
The applicant must establish two (2) years within the five (5) years prior to the submission of the CSQ application his control over financial, human/material resources of a company.
There are 3 types of designated organizations:
– Business Incubators
– Venture Capital Funds
– Angel Investors
Each designated organization has particular requirements when selecting would-be start-up applicants and prior to the issuance of a letter of support.
The requirements differ from one designated organization to another and primarily focus on (but not limited to):
– Proposed start-up’s industry sector
– Start-up underlying business idea’s development stage
– Proposed start-up’s founders’ academic and professional experiences
– Business model feasibility
The Quebec government announced the opening and closing dates of the Program by decree. In order to apply, the applicant must first secure a quota granted by one of the authorized financial intermediaries.
As of October 2020, the applicant must obtain a minimum of 40 points according to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, Schedule B.
The immigrant investor can reach 40 points according to different factors:
| Factors | Maximum |
|---|---|
| Education | 14 points |
| Management Experience | 10 points* |
| Age | 10 points |
| French Proficiency | 16 points |
| English Proficiency | 6 points |
| Stay in Quebec | 5 points |
| Family in Quebec | 3 points |
| Investment Agreement | 25 points* |
*Required
When does the applicant need to submit its language test result if the language points are required?
The language test result must be provided at the initial file submission in order to have language points recognized.
The immigrant investor can apply with his spouse and dependent children under the age of 22 years old.
There is an exception for a child of 22 years and older depending substantially on the financial support of the parent since before the age of 22 and being unable to be financially self-supporting due to a physical or mental condition.
The age of the dependent child is locked-in at the date of receipt of the application by the Quebec government (OP 1, 5.24).
While the federal government will usually focus on admissibility considerations (such as security background and medical condition), it has the competence to review every program eligibility conditions until the applicant’s landing in Canada.
One of the most important conditions of the program is for the applicant to settle himself and his family in the province of Quebec after the granting of the permanent residency status.
As of the last QIIP reopening, the Quebec government distributed 1,900 quotas for the immigrant investors, among the authorized financial intermediaries. A maximum of 1,235 quotas (65%) could be granted to applicants from the same country (in practice, P.R. China). The rest (665 quotas) is being distributed among the remaining countries.
Quebec government processing fees $15,763 CAD (to be indexed on January 1st 2021)
Permanent Resident Visa Fee $2,075 CAD (including the $500 PR fee)
Spouse PR Visa Fee $1,325 CAD (including the $500 PR fee)
Dependent Child $225
Biometrics $85 (maximum $170 for more than 2 persons)
Each document required to apply for permanent residency under the Quebec Immigrant Investor Program must be provided in a specific format: an original, a certified copy or a photocopy. Each document required to apply for permanent residency under the Quebec Immigrant Investor Program must be provided in a specific format: an original, a certified copy or a photocopy. The list of documents to provide and the specific format required according to the rules in place in 2019-2020 can be found at page 29 of this document .
As early of 1986, Mr. François Mandeville, founder and managing partner of Mandeville & Associates, has been assisting business persons to migrate through the residency-by-investment programs. Mandeville & Associates has grown into becoming a leading actor of this industry with an impeccable reputation.