Entrepreneurs to Get Faster Immigration Processing

Entrepreneurs to get faster immigration processing - August 23, 2006 - Immigration Canada and the B.C. Ministry of Economic Development announced a new pilot project Tuesday that aims to speed up the immigration application process for entrepreneurs wanting to settle in the province. As part of the project, Citizenship and Immigration Canada will identify entrepreneurs interested in locating to B.C., then mail them information about the province's existing Provincial Nominee Program to encourage them to apply. The Provincial Nominee Program, introduced in 2001, puts skilled workers and investors on a fast track to obtain permanent residency in B.C. "In general, this will go much more quickly and make it possible for people to come here who might otherwise say, 'We want to go somewhere else,' " Immigration Minister Monte Solberg said at a press conference in Burnaby. "I think this is B.C.'s response to their own desire to bring more entrepreneurs here. This is a province that thrives on entrepreneurship." Solberg said there is no limit on the number of people who can enter the province under the program.

He said there are an estimated 4,000 people currently applying to immigrate to Canada who could qualify as entrepreneurs. About 1,000 of them have indicated they're eyeing B.C. as a destination, and could immediately be targeted under the new pilot project. Those who apply to the Provincial Nominee Program as entrepreneurs would still have to meet a number of criteria, as outlined by the province, such as making a $1 million investment if they locate in the Lower Mainland, or investing a lower amount and creating a certain number of jobs if they intend to settle elsewhere in the province, Solberg said. The province would also review their business proposals. Solberg said it currently takes a little less than a year to process applicants under the Provincial Nominee Program, whereas under the regular federal process, it could take four to five years. Economic Development Minister Colin Hansen told reporters that the pilot project will help the province's economy continue to grow. The B.C. government has stated that the province will need an estimated 1 million people over the next 10 years to fill all the jobs expected to be created in the province, while during that same period, only 650,000 people will be graduating from B.C.'s school system. While addressing the anticipated labour shortage, B.C. also needs to bring in entrepreneurs from elsewhere, Hansen said. "We're going to have to attract much of that talent in entrepreneurial spirit that's going to keep our economy going strong into the future," he said.

More than 2,000 skilled and business immigrants plus their dependents have settled in B.C. through the Provincial Nominee Program since 2001. Close to 240 people have been approved under the program's business category. They have brought in more than $351 million in new investment and created more than 1,300 new jobs, according to the Ministry of Economic Development. The top country of origin for business category applicants is China, followed by South Korea and the United Kingdom, it said.