Quebec Opens New 2016 Immigrant Investor Program
Immigration authorities in the Province of Quebec announced they will begin accepting new applications under its highly successful Quebec Immigrant Investor Program for a limited period beginning May 30th 2016 and ending February 28th 2017.
This comes as welcome news for high net worth individuals looking for an attractive passive investment program offering Canadian permanent residence. The Quebec program (QIIP) is the only large scale passive investment program of its kind in Canada and the second largest in North America after the US EB-5.
Under the new subscription period, Quebec will accept a maximum of 1900 applications including a maximum of 1330 from China, Hong Kong and Macao and the balance of 570 applications to be filled from elsewhere.
Additionally, starting April 1st, Quebec will accept 50 applications under its Entrepreneur program and 50 applications from Self-Employed individuals.
The QIIP 2016 program application quotas and the limited period of reception do not apply to applicants to the investor category who can demonstrate an intermediate to advanced level of French language proficiency through an approved standardized language test.
QIIP 2016 Program Highlights
To be eligible, applicants must demonstrate the following:
- A legitimately acquired personal net worth of at least 1.6 million Canadian Dollars;
- At least two years of senior managerial experience within the past five years in a private enterprise, eligible partnership, government body or NGO;
- Commit to making an interest free investment of CAD $800,000.00 in a prescribed (government guaranteed) investment for a period of five years;
- An intention to settle in the province of Quebec;
- Application processing fee of C$15,000.
Applications must be fully documented at the time of submission. Quebec policy now provides for the refusal of applications that are incomplete or otherwise inconsistent with the requirements, without requests for outstanding documentation or incomplete information.
Applications are submitted through government approved financial intermediaries who act as facilitators and are each given pre-determined allocations within the overall maximum of 1900 applications. Applicants who wish to secure a quota position with a financial intermediary – facilitator may do so with a negotiated deposit.
For many business immigrants, one of the most significant benefits of moving to Canada, largely overlooked, can be the ability to distribute the accumulated profits of their foreign business in a tax-efficient, often tax free manner. This can represent a major financial tax benefit for individuals living in countries that impose high taxes on corporate distributions.
Interested readers are invited to complete our Free Online Evaluation to determine whether they qualify for immigration to Canada as a business immigrant. Our immigration professionals will provide an evaluation within two business days.
Colin Singer, Managing Partner at immigration.ca; investmentimmigration.com
Submitted on: 4 April 2016
