NikM

Dear Community,
I would be grateful for any advice/help anyone can offer us regarding our plans to move to Canada. The (hopefully) relevant facts are -

1. We currently live in the UK and want to move to Canada within the next couple of years (hopefully). We are a family of four - me and my wife are 50yrs old; our sons are 17yrs and 12yrs old.
2. My older Brother emigrated to Vancouver about 20 years ago and our parents moved there about 10 years ago
3. My Wife is a Dentist and I'm an Orthodontist in the UK so I have looked at the Federal Skilled Worker program, but it looks like we would have to resit lots of exams and possibly spend a couple of years on a specialty training program - neither of which we are keen on. To be honest, both of us would prefer to start a fresh in Canada anyway so probably not a bad thing.
4. I have therefore narrowed my options down to either the Quebec Immigrant Investor Program or the BC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration Program

What I would really appreciate is any advice/experience anyone has with these two programs, to help me decide which is the best fit for our family?

We would obviously prefer to move straight to Vancouver to be with my family, so the preferred option would be to buy an existing Business in Vancouver and improve it (employ new member of staff etc). My concern is that if I find a suitable business then it might have sold by the time I go through the application process to see if it's a qualifying investment and that we are eligible/have enough points etc.

The other option is the Quebec route, which is appealing because it is completely "passive" but, means that we would have to live in Quebec initially (I assume it's for 5 years like the 1.2m dollars investment?). However, this looks like a faster route, and it's obviously easier to visit the family from Quebec than from London!

Finally, I know most people on the Forum say that you don't normally need an Immigration Consultant/Lawyer to help you but do you think that advice still applies to these two schemes? They seem to be more complex than other options. Does anyone have any recommendations for firms they have used for these schemes and were happy with?

Sorry for the really long post but I didn't want to miss anything important out!

Thanks in advance,

NikM

christmasoompa

Hi, and welcome to BE.

Just to clarify, you don't need to do those things to qualify under the FSW program, they're not a requirement for a visa. If you get PR under the FSW/EE program then once you've got PR you can retire, change profession, set up your own business etc, etc - there is no requirement to work in the occupation you applied under. But do you score enough for a FSW app anyway?

If you're definitely eligible for both (you haven't mentioned any business experience, which is required for the BC PNP?), then I'd say it depends on where you want to live. If it's BC, then I wouldn't even consider Quebec tbh. It's going to save you a bit of time to visit family from Quebec rather than London, but not much tbh, and internal flights in Canada can be v pricey, so it may not save you any money either! You've not mentioned how your French is, do you all speak it well enough?

You don't need to invest anything until you've been approved at the first stage and got your work permit. Only then do you go out and start setting up the business, so that shouldn't be an issue.

I don't think you'd need one, but your call if you decide you'd feel more confident using one. It's all fairly straightforward, but have a look at the application forms and see how you'd feel completing them yourself.

HTH, best of luck.

NikM

Thank you very much for the quick reply - it's very helpful! Apologies, I haven't figured out how to do a multi-quote post like you so I'll answer below -

1. I totally hadn't thought of separating the immigration application from the issue of Professional registration, so I will definitely look again at that. I checked my score a while back and I think it was (compared to other successful applications) quite low. I scored quite low because of my age and lack of Canadian job offer I think?

2. My Wife and I have quite a lot of Business experience (I'd hope) as we have owned and managed two Dental Practices for over 20 years. Hopefully that's considered relevant - we've obviously had to deal with Staffing issues, payroll, invoices, setting up new premises etc. Ideally we would want to live and work in Vancouver instead of Quebec, but I had read elsewhere that some people had gone with the Quebec Investor Program (because it was passive) and then kept a property there and relocated elsewhere in Canada. Regarding French skills, we both passed O-Level French at secondary school and have some conversational experience with holidays etc over the years.

3. I had thought that I need to present my Business "case" when initially checking my eligibility under the BC PNP Investor scheme. I understood that to mean that I would need to show/tell them the specific Business that I was looking to Buy. I will re-check the application criteria again as I may have misunderstood how much detail they need at the first stage. I had assumed that I wouldn't be able to buy any business until I had an actual work permit.

4. I will definitely look again at trying to complete the applications myself. Do you know if it counts against you if your first application is rejected? Is there a limit to how often you can apply?

Thanks again for all of your advice - it's much appreciated!
NikM

christmasoompa

1. Unfortunately your age will count against you in a big way. But do double check your scores just in case, a FSW/EE app would be by far your easiest and quickest route to PR.

2. Business wise, perfect! That would meet the criteria for BC PNP then. But even if you scored enough under the Quebec PNP, your French wouldn't be enough to run a business in Quebec, so personally I'd discount that as an option.

3. You do need to present your business case, but it only takes 3-4 months to get the work permit and you shouldn't buy the business until that's in hand. Your offer should be conditional on that.

4. No it doesn't count against you, and you can reapply as many times as you like.

HTH.

NikM

Thanks again for the advice, really helpful.

I just checked again and I think I would have a score of 68 for FSW eligibility (minimum is 67) so I should be able to apply, but I just had a quick look at the CRS and I think my score would be about 407. My understanding is that the minimum score hasn't been below 450 this year so I guess this option wouldn't work for me?

I hadn't realised that I would need a high standard of French for the Quebec program - I had assumed that as it was a passive investor program I wouldn't need this. It looks like my best bet is to start applying for a BC PNP Immigrant Investor work permit?

Thank you very much!
NikM

christmasoompa

Ah, no that score wouldn't be enough. About 460 is the minimum based on scores this year unfortunately.

And you don't necessarily need a high standard of French, but it would contribute to a section of your points, so it will depend on what you score elsewhere. But I think trying to set up a business in a French speaking province when you don't speak French yourself would just make things much harder than they'd need to be! It would also make the transition harder for your sons, but obviously your call, personally as your family is in BC and you are English speakers that would be where I'd focus my attention, but up to you which you think is best.

Good luck to you.