The Canadian Government has announced that from 1st December 2010, it will once again accept applications under the federal Immigrant Investor Program. Applications had been suspended from June 2010, in order to give the Government time to finalise its new policy changes and to avoid a flood of applications prior to the re-opening. One of the factors behind the changes was the large number of outstanding applications and thus long processing times.

Under the new program criteria, investor applicants will need to have a personal net worth of C$1.6 million, (up from C$800,000), and make an investment of C$800,000, up from the previous requirement of C$400,000.

Minister Kenney explained that the changes were necessary to bring the country in to line with its immigrant “competitors”, such as Australia and New Zealand.
“Raising the requirements will help reduce the flow of applications while ensuring we attract experienced businesspeople who can make a more substantial contribution to the economy. Higher personal net worth criteria mean the program is now better positioned to attract investors with valuable business links and the resources to make secondary investments in the Canadian economy.  Higher investment amounts mean provinces and territories will receive more investment capital to put toward job creation and economic development projects,” added the Minister. 

Canada’s Immigrant Investor Program offers several benefits to international investors, including permanent resident status up front and guaranteed repayment of the investment. 

For more details of the new Canadian Investor Program, please contact the Migration Bureau.
Our dedicated Business Migration team can provide personalised assistance, as well as years of experience in processing Investor Class visa applications.