Quebec has a popular investor immigrant program to attract businesspersons to Quebec. The Quebec investor program is very similar to the Federal Investor Program. However, with the Federal Program closed for 2011-2012, Quebec remains the only avenue to immigrate to Canada through investment.

Applicants in this category must have at least two years of business management experience and a net worth of at least $1,600,000 (Canadian Dollars), legally obtained; they should also make an investment of $800,000 CAD for a period of five years.

The amount of investment is guaranteed by the government of Canada (the province that has received the funds) and will be returned to the applicant in full at the end of the five-year term.

In order to qualify as a Quebec Investor, an applicant must have the following qualifications:

1. have at least two years of business management experience in a legal farming, commercial or industrial business, or in a legal professional business, having managed at least two full-time employees.

2. have at least $1,600,000 (Canadian Dollars) in net assets obtained legally; the applicant's spouse's assets are also considered in this case.

3. invest at least $800,000 (Canadian Dollars) in Canada.

For item 3 above, applicants have the option to use the financing services of authorized intermediary financial institutions in Canada. Banks and some other financial institutions in Canada have been authorized by the government of Canada to assist investor immigrants by offering them financing options. Presently, investor applicants who are not interested to invest $800,000 CND for a period of five years can instead pay $220.000 CND to these financial institutions. This amount, however, is non-refundable, and unlike the $800,000 CND investment, will not be returned to the applicant at the end of the term.

Maximum Number of Applications

From May 30, 2016 to February 28, 2017, the maximum number of applications for the Investor program that can be received is 1900. A maximum of 1330 applications from foreign nationals from the People’s Republic of China, including the administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao, will be accepted.

If applicants have advanced intermediate knowledge of French demonstrated by a standardized test recognized by the Ministère, the applications are not subject to these rules and applicants can submit their applications at any time until March 31, 2017.

Important Notice:

Compared to before when there was virtually no limit on the number of applications, these caps have severely lowered the maximum number of applications acceptable for immigration to Quebec. Therefore, Quebec applicants are encouraged to speed up the preparation of their applications if they are eligible for any of the above categories.

More information on the changes in Quebec Permanent Worker program (skilled workers), can be found in the link below:

Quebec Permanent Workers