Investor Immigrant Venture Capital (IIVC) Program
Become a permanent resident by investing in the Canadian economy through the IIVC Pilot Program
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The Immigrant Investor Venture Capital (IIVC) Pilot Program is terminated. IRCC is not accepting applications. |
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If you are an international high-net worth investor with the skills and abilities needed to contribute to the Canadian economy, you may be eligible to apply for permanent residence under the Immigrant Investor Venture Capital (IIVC) Pilot Program. This article will summarize the eligibility and application process for this specific program. |
Eligibility
In order for you to be eligible for the Immigrant Investor Venture Capital Pilot Program, you have six main requirements that you need to fulfill:
- You must have a personal net worth of $10 million or more. Your net worth must have been acquired through lawful, private sector business or investment activities. The value of your primary residence will not count toward the net worth requirement. Neither will any inheritance.
- You need to obtain an independent review of your past business or investment experience, source of funds and personal net worth. The due diligence report, at your expense, must be done by one of the following service providers:
- BDO USA, LLP
- Deloitte Forensic Inc.
- EY
- KPMG LLP
- PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) LLP
- Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Consulting Inc.
- You must be willing and able to commit an at-risk investment (non-guaranteed) of $2 million in the Immigrant Investor Venture Capital (IIVC) Fund, for approximately 15 years. The fund is managed by BCC Capital, the investment arm of Business Development Bank of Canada, and invests in innovative Canadian start-ups with high growth potential.
- Prove that you meet the minimum language requirements, either in French or in English. You must meet the minimum level of the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 5 in all of these four areas: speaking, reading, listening, and writing. You can learn more about the French test and the English test requirements here.
- You must have a completed Canadian post-secondary degree, diploma or certificate of at least one year, or a foreign equivalent, as validated by an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report from a CIC-designated organization. You can find out more here on how to obtain an ECA.
- You most not intend to live in the province of Quebec.
Application Process and Supporting Documents
You can only apply on paper. After filling and signing the required forms, gathering your supporting documents, and paying your fees, you will need to mail your application package.
You need to fill and sign the following forms:
You need to provide the following supporting documents:
Translation:
You must add the following for any document that is not in English or French:
You need to fill and sign the following forms:
- General Application Form for Canada: IMM0008. You need to download the form and fill it on your computer. If you open it on your browser, the form might not be displayed. You will need to validate the form after finishing (button at the end of the form), it will make sure you did not forget anything and will create barcodes at the last page of the form.
- Additional Dependents/Declaration: IMM0008DEP, if applicable.
- Schedule A – Background/Declaration: IMM5669, for the principal applicant, its spouse or common-law partner and its dependents over the age of 18 (accompanying or not).
- Supplementary Information – Your travels: IMM5562.
- Schedule 17 – Immigrant Investor Venture Capital Class: IMM0008 SCHEDULE 17
- Additional Family Information: IMM5406.
- Statutory Declaration of Common-law Union form if you are in a Common-law Union: IMM 5409.
- Use of a Representative form if you are using the services of a representative: IMM5476.
- Document checklist: IMM5807.
You need to provide the following supporting documents:
- Original of fee payment in an acceptable format.
- Photocopy of the information page(s) of your valid passport or travel document which includes: passport number, issuance and expiry dates, photo, name, date and place of birth. Diplomatic, official, service or public affairs passports are not accepted.
- Original of the proof of language proficiency, either the TEF and/or (IELTS or CELPIP).
- Proof of education, either a copy of your Canadian credential, or a copy of your foreign credential and the original of the ECA.
- For you and your spouse or common-law partner: photocopies of your birth certificates, marriage , divorce, name change or death Licenses/Certificates.
- For your children, photocopies of birth certificates, or adoption papers. If the other parent of your children is not accompanying you to Canada, you must submit a signed Separation Declaration for Minors Travelling to Canada: IMM 5604.
- Two photos meeting the requirements for you and each member of your family, accompanying or not. On the back of the one photo, write your name, date of birth, and date the photo was taken.
- Two self-addressed mailing labels, (i) one in English or French and, (ii) one in the official language of your country of residence.
- Photocopy of your current immigration status if your country of residence differs from the country of citizenship listed on your passport.
- Original of police certificates from each country or territory where you have lived for six or more months in a row since the age of 18. You can learn here how to get the right police certificate.
Translation:
You must add the following for any document that is not in English or French:
- the English or French translation; and
- an affidavit from the person who completed the translation (see below for details); and
- a certified copy of the original document.
Application Fees
When applying to the Immigrant Investor Venture Capital Pilot Program, you must pay a $1,050 Business Immigration Application fee in addition to the $490 Right of Permanent Residence fee. You can pay your fees ($1,540) online here.
For your spouse or common-law partner, you also need to pay a $550 Application fee and a $490 Right of Permanent Residence fee. For each dependent child, you need to add $150.
The $1,050 is not refundable if the application processing started. The Right of Permanent Residence fee is refundable if the application is rejected, or you cancelled your application, or decided not to come to Canada.
For your spouse or common-law partner, you also need to pay a $550 Application fee and a $490 Right of Permanent Residence fee. For each dependent child, you need to add $150.
The $1,050 is not refundable if the application processing started. The Right of Permanent Residence fee is refundable if the application is rejected, or you cancelled your application, or decided not to come to Canada.
Medical Exam
You will need to pass a Medical Exam with an IRCC approved doctor. Find out more in our medical exams article.
Quebec Investor Program
Quebec has its own Businesspeople Immigration Programs. The Quebec equivalent of the Immigrant Investor Venture Capital Program is the Investor Program.
It is quite different from the Federal program as you will need a minimum net worth of $2,000,000, and intend to invest $1,200,000 for a 5-year term, with the guarantee of the province of Quebec . You won't need to have a consultant company value your net worth, and any inheritance or value of your primary residence can enter into account in your personal net worth.
The processing times are very slow, you might need to wait up to 5 years to get your "Certificate de Selection du Québec" (CSQ) after paying a little more than a $15,000 fee for the CSQ application. And you will need then to apply to the federal government for your permanent residence, which can take a few months.
You can learn more about this program and how to apply here.
It is quite different from the Federal program as you will need a minimum net worth of $2,000,000, and intend to invest $1,200,000 for a 5-year term, with the guarantee of the province of Quebec . You won't need to have a consultant company value your net worth, and any inheritance or value of your primary residence can enter into account in your personal net worth.
The processing times are very slow, you might need to wait up to 5 years to get your "Certificate de Selection du Québec" (CSQ) after paying a little more than a $15,000 fee for the CSQ application. And you will need then to apply to the federal government for your permanent residence, which can take a few months.
You can learn more about this program and how to apply here.
