CANADIAN IMMIGRATION NEWS

Quebec Investor Visa may be a Faster Route to Canada

Thursday, 1 October 2009

Canada's banking system is being hailed as 'the soundest system in the world' by the World Economic Forum and this is attracting investors and those looking to start businesses.

The Canadian Immigrant Investor Program is an important option for businessmen/women who have the required experience and net worth and wish to take advantage of the business and investment opportunities in Canada. This investor category gives a successful applicant benefits like a five-year 'tax-holiday'.

Within the Immigrant Investor category there are two separate programs: the Federal Investor Program and the Quebec Investor Program, the requirements for both programs are similar though the Quebec program has some different conditions depending on the country of the applicant’s residence. The Quebec Program may even provide a faster processing time resulting in faster entry to Canada.

One of the main differences between the Federal and Quebec Programs is that the Federal Investor Program is intended for those wishing to settle anywhere in Canada while the Quebec Investor Program is intended for those who wish to settle in the French speaking province of Quebec. Both programs require an applicant to have a net worth of at least $800,000CND and must be able to make a government guaranteed investment of $400,000CND; five years after the initial investment the money will be returned to the applicant without interest.

Additional to the monetary requirements, applicants under both programs must be able to show at least two years of business experience in the last five years. Management experience is considered valuable in both programs with the Federal Program considering management experience in commercial enterprises only, while in the Quebec Program management experience is not only limited to commercial enterprises, it will take into account management experience in a number of different fields.

One of the chief variations between the two programs is the processing times. The Quebec Program is a two-step program that involves immigration authorities from both the federal and provincial jurisdictions; those applying in the program are fast-tracked through the federal level and are also generally processed quickly at the provincial level. The result of this can see an application to the Quebec Investor Program take less time in processing than an application to the Federal Investor Program.

If you are interested in Visas to Canada, contact Migration Expert for information and advice on which visa is best suited to you. You can also try our visa eligibility assessment to see if you are eligible to apply for a visa to Canada.