Changes in Canada's Business Immigration Policy in 2008

Brief introduction: At present, business immigrants in Canada mainly include: Quebec investment immigrants, federal investment immigrants, and PNP projects in various provinces (provincial nomination plans); In addition, federal projects and Quebec projects also include entrepreneurial immigrants and self-employed immigrants. In 2007, the Canadian government greatly relaxed the requirements for immigration projects. I believe everyone is more concerned about its policy change trend in 2008. Our experts synthesized the information obtained from various channels and made the following analysis and prediction:

At present, Canada's commercial immigrants mainly include: Quebec investment immigrants, federal investment immigrants and PNP projects in various provinces (provincial nomination plans); In addition, federal projects and Quebec projects also include entrepreneurial immigrants and self-employed immigrants. In 2007, the Canadian government greatly relaxed the requirements for immigration projects. I believe everyone is more concerned about its policy change trend in 2008. Our experts synthesized the information obtained from various channels and made the following analysis and prediction:

(1) As far as federal investment immigrants are concerned, in the past few years, many prospective applicants have been discouraged by their long application cycle. The federal government of Canada intends to reverse this situation. It is planned to control the application process of new cases to about two years by increasing the immigration quota and increasing the immigration funds and human resources, and most cases can be applied without an interview.

(2) Quebec invests in immigrants, and Quebec's special position in Canada's immigration policy is obvious to all. Compared with other provinces, Quebec's investment immigration policy is stable, the implementation time is the longest, the federal government intervention is relatively small, and the success rate is in the forefront. At the same time, absolutely unconditional immigration, no residence requirements, favored by investors. It is precisely because of its many advantages that experts predict that in 2008, the requirements of Quebec investment immigrants for personal net assets may increase, and the requirements for investment amount will also increase accordingly. It is suggested that entrepreneurs with investment intentions pay attention to relevant information and make the best decision in time.

(III) On the provincial nomination scheme in Canada, from September 2, 2008, Canada will implement the newly revised Immigration and Refugee Protection Ordinance, the main revision of which is about the provincial nomination scheme (PNP). The current regulations allow PNP nominees to obtain permanent residency through passive investment. The original intention of PNP is to attract business immigrants to live and do business in the province, not to attract passive investment immigrants. Therefore, the proposed amendment will clarify the existing PNP plan and the provisions of passive investment by Canadian enterprises. If the nominee participates in the immigration-related investment plan by providing funds or capital investment, it is not eligible for the provincial nomination category.

Moreover, when foreign citizens have been nominated by the provincial nomination plan, they must meet the requirements set by the federal government and get the approval of the immigration officer to confirm that they will actively manage their business in Canada and intend to live in the nominated province. Applicants who do not meet these requirements will be automatically excluded from the provincial nomination, even if they have been nominated by the province or have a nomination certificate issued by the province. Take Saskatchewan as an example. Our experts got the news through various channels, and the government of Saskatchewan received a large number of application cases in the second half of 2007, which will probably lead to a slower trial speed in 2008, stricter requirements for application materials and an increase in the rate of pre-trial refusal. The application for immigration in Saskatchewan is more difficult than before, but we can still find many effective ways to improve the success rate on the basis of observing the immigration requirements in Saskatchewan.