BC PNP extends Entrepreneur Immigration – Regional Pilot

On March 23, 2021, the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program [BC PNP] announced that the Entrepreneur Immigration [EI] — Regional Pilot had been extended for another 3 years, that is, until March 31, 2024. Under Entrepreneur Immigration, the province of British Columbia offers a pathway for Canada immigration, while settling in BC, for experienced entrepreneurs that could support economic growth and innovation in the province.

BC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration streams
Stream	Description
Entrepreneur Immigration – Regional Pilot	Focused on attracting entrepreneurs from all over the world to establish businesses in the regional communities in BC.   65 communities are a part of the Pilot.
Entrepreneur Immigration – Base Category	For experienced entrepreneurs that are ready to invest in as well as actively manage a business in BC.
Strategic Projects	For foreign corporations that have identified opportunities for strategic investment in BC towards establishing operations integral to the growth and expansion of their core business.

  The key features of the Pilot are –

• Active community role
• Referral from the community
• Community concierge
• Invitations and prioritization

As each of the participating communities has the best knowledge of their local business environment, they are ideally situated for identifying economic development priorities. A total of 65 communities are a part of the Entrepreneur Immigration – Regional Pilot.

Enrolled communities by Development Regions
Region	Number of Participating Communities
Cariboo	6
Kootenay	15
Mainland/Southwest	9
Nechako	8
North Coast	1
Northeast	2
Thompson-Okanagan	15
Vancouver Island/Coast	9

  Introduced in March 2019, the EI – Regional Pilot is an innovative collaboration between the provincial government of BC and the regional communities. The Pilot is for supporting economic growth in the smaller regional centres of BC. Despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, over the past 2 years, the EI – Regional Pilot has “demonstrated its ability to attract entrepreneurs from around the world and to contribute to regional economic development needs”. Nevertheless, with the COVID-19 related travel restrictions still in place, it was found that communities throughout the province might be dealing with other priorities, unable to focus on the Pilot. With the 3-year extension, the regional communities in BC will be able to welcome new entrepreneurs to their region. Consequently, becoming well-positioned for supporting recovery post-pandemic.

Many of the 65 communities enrolled in the initial pilot phase are expected to receive new entrepreneurs into their communities once the international travel restrictions are lifted.

If you are looking to Work, Study, Invest, Visit, or Migrate to Canada, talk to Y-Axis, the World’s No. 1 Immigration & Visa Company. If you found this blog engaging, you may also like … BC expected to have 861,000 job openings between 2019 and 2029