Canada’s Quebec Province’s Program for investors to recommence on 29 May

An immigration program of Canada, the QIIP (Quebec Immigrant Investor Program) that gives an option to foreign investors to obtain a permanent residence in that North American country by investing C$800,000 risk-free, is scheduled to reopen on 29 May. Said to be the sole passive investor immigration program of Canada, the QIIP is said to be one of the most popular investor programs for immigrants in the world as it offers a slew of advantages when compared to the other investor immigration programs of other territories. Without any conditional/probationary phase, this program allows an individual to gain permanent resident visa once the application of that person is successful. Unlike the EB-5 program of the United States, the QIIP does not include a clause that applicants need to create at least 10 jobs within two years. In addition, the investment worth C$800,000 investment is submitted via a financial intermediary who/which is approved. This sum can be arranged via a financial intermediary financing route or by the applicants themselves. Guaranteed by a government body of Quebec, the investment is returned fully after five years. The QIIP also allows immediate family members of a candidate such as spouses/common-law partners and children up to the age of 19 to be included in the application. These family members are also eligible for the Canadian permanent residence if the candidate’s application is successful. Therefore, successful applicants for this visa can enjoy along with their families the benefits of permanent resident status such as free public education, universal health care and the eligibility to apply in any one of the Canadian universities. In addition to a permanent resident status in Canada, the QIIP also makes the applicants eligible for Canadian citizenship and passports of Canada. The citizenship naturalisation requirements of Canada need immigrants to be residents of Canada for four years within six years, but the current federal government is planning to cut down this requirement to a  residency of three years of out of five. To be eligible for this program, applicants must have net assets worth at least C$1.6 million, which should have been earned legally, either alone or together with a partner or spouse. Can be included in these assets are bank accounts, shares, property, pension funds or stocks. Besides, applicants must be willing to settle in Quebec and be ready to ink an investment agreement for investing C$800,000 with an accredited financial intermediary. They should also sign investment agreements with financial intermediaries (a broker/a trust company), which has the powers to take part in the program. A financial intermediary can also finance the investment. Eligibility criteria also require applicants to have had at least two years’ experience in managerial capacity in the last five years before submitting the application. The experience need not be restricted to commercial activities, but could involve applicants’ assignments with international departments, agencies or government institutions. CIC News said the approaching intake period for applications begins on 29 May 2017 and ends on 23 February 2018, during which period a maximum of 1,900 applications may be accepted to be processed. Of these total applications, up to 1,330 applications can be accepted from foreign citizens of the People’s Republic of China, which will include the administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao. Candidates possessing an ‘advanced intermediate’ level in the French language do not fall under this intake cap. They, therefore, are eligible to submit applications at any time. Apart from that, applications of these candidates are processed on priority basis. If you are looking to migrate to Quebec, Canada, contact Y-Axis, one of the foremost immigration consultancy companies, to apply for a QIIP visa from one of their 30 global offices.