Saskatchewan Entrepreneur

The Saskatchewan Entrepreneur stream targets the foreign nationals who want to establish, partner or acquire a business in Saskatchewan

The Saskatchewan Entrepreneur stream of Saskatchewan Experience is one of several immigration streams of the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program(SINP), a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) operated by the province of Saskatchewan. The Saskatchewan Entrepreneur stream targets the foreign nationals who want to establish, partner or acquire a business meeting the economic needs in Saskatchewan.

The applicant may able to live with their dependent family members in Saskatchewan. After the approval of the application, the SINP will provide a Business Performance Agreement which must be signed by the applicant with the Government of Saskatchewan.

Eligibility Requirement

Eligibility Requirements For Applicant

Work Experience

To be eligible for the Saskatchewan Entrepreneur Stream, a candidate must able to demonstrate a high level of business management experience. The applicant must have work experience of at least 3 years which must be as an entrepreneur or as a business manager in the past 10 years. Through the work experience, the applicant will be able to prove that they have the right ability and interest to run and manage the business in Saskatchewan.

Investment Requirement

The Entrepreneur Stream requires significant net worth and investment funds which is the essential part of the applicant and the establishment & operation of the business which varies depending upon the type of business and the proposed location of the business. The applicant must have a net worth of at least $500,000 CAD which must be verified by the Ministry Approved Third Party. The applicant must own at-least one-third equity of the business in Saskatchewan unless the total equity investment is $1,000,000 or higher. Whereas the investment required on the basis of the location as follows:

• In Saskatoon And Regina: If the purposed location of the business is located within the city of Saskatoon or Regina, the candidate must make a minimum personal investment of $300,000. to be eligible for the stream.
• Outside Saskatoon And Regina: If the purposed location of the business is located outside the city of Saskatoon or Regina, the candidate must make a minimum personal investment of $200,000. The applicant must control at-least one-third equity of the proposed business to be eligible for the stream.

Eligibility Requirements For Business

General Requirement

To be eligible for the Saskatchewan Entrepreneur stream, the business must also meet all the following criteria:

• As per the assessment made by the SINP immigration officer, the business must have the potential of making the economic benefit to the Saskatchewan.
• The business can be an individual business, Partnership or Corporation, however, the business must meet all the legal necessities of the community during which it operates
• The primary purpose of the business must be earning profits by selling goods and/or services.
• As mentioned under subsection 400(2) of the Candian Income Tax Regulations 1985, the business must be contemplated as a “permanent establishment”.

If Purchases Existing Business

If the applicant is buying an existing business:

• The existing business must be operated continuously by the same owner from the past three years,
• The applicant must have been completed an exploratory visit to the Saskatchewan to meet the previous owners of the existing business, even if the applicant is buying the business succession opportunity,
• The applicant must provide proof that they have made valuable efforts to establish a fair market value of the business.
• Under the succession buy-out, there must be a complete change in ownership with the applicant presuming the full control of the existing purchased business.
• The applicant must demonstrate that they will maintain the employment for the existing permanent residents and Citizens of Canada above the min. required.
• The applicant must demonstrate that they will keep the existing employment terms and wages.

If the applicant is buying an existing business whose previous owner is an SINP Entrepreneur nominee:

• The applicant must able to demonstrate that the purchased business has been running continuously for at least the last three years by the previous owner and able to show the net profit of a minimum of two years of the last three years. The proof of net profit should be demonstrated through the financial statements, business registration and licence documents, etc.
• The previous owner of the purchased business must be either a Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident.
• The applicant must have been completed an exploratory visit to the Saskatchewan to meet the previous owners of the existing business.
• The applicant must provide proof that they have made valuable efforts to establish a fair market value of the business.
• Under the succession buy-out, there must be a complete change in ownership with the applicant presuming the full control of the existing purchased business.
• The applicant must demonstrate that they will keep the existing employment terms and wages.

Joint Ventures between SINP Program Applicants

If the applicant is proposing a joint venture with the SINP applicant in the operation of establishing a new business, purchasing an existing business or establishing a partnership business with the candidate of Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident, the applicant must meet the following requirements:

• The applicant must able to demonstrate that the Saskatchewan-based business has been running continuously for at least the last three years by the previous owner.
• All the applicants must have been completed an exploratory visit to the Saskatchewan to meet the previous owners or business partners of the existing business.
• All the applicants must provide proof that they have made valuable efforts to establish a fair market value or investment amount for the business.
• Under the succession buy-out, there must be a complete change in ownership with the applicants presuming the full control of the existing purchased business.
• The applicant must demonstrate that they will maintain the employment for the existing permanent residents and Citizens of Canada, whereas the applicant would not need to create additional jobs.
• It must be indicated by all the applicants in the application that they are proposing a joint venture which has been created with a program applicant or Canadian citizen or permanent resident and indicate their proposed business partners.
• Each applicant must submit their EOI separately and they will be separately evaluated. They will be selected on the basis of eligibility criteria by individually earning points.

Ineligible Business

The SINP will not accept applications or EOI’s for the businesses those who fall under the ineligible type of businesses. List of ineligible type of businesses:

• Property Rental, leasing activities and investment,
• Real estate brokerage/development/construction, business brokerage or insurance brokerage,
• Self-employed business operators or professional services requiring accreditation or licensing,
• Money changing, payday loan, cheque cashing and cash machines,
• Credit unions,
• Home Based businesses including lodging houses and bed-and-breakfasts,
• Co-operatives
• Investments into a business whose primary purpose of the operation is deriving passive investment income.

Application Procedure

Candidates who meet the minimum requirements of the Entrepreneur Stream can register a profile and submit an EOI. This can be done by creating a profile in SINP Online Portal. After submitting a profile to SINP, the candidates will be assigned a score and ranked with each other using the Expression of Interest Points And Grid where the highest-ranking applicants will receive an Invitation To Apply (ITA).

If the applicant receives an ITA, they will have 20 business days for the submission of assessment and a processing fee of $2,500 CAD. In the assessment, the applicant will require to assess their proposed investment amount and net worth through the eligible and recognized third party Financial Review Service provider. The applicant must submit a complete application package within the 90 days after receiving the ITA. After successfully submitting an application, the applicant will require to attend an interview which may be conducted in-person or by video call with the SINP officials.

On the approval of an application, the applicant will need to sign a business performance agreement with the Saskatchewan after which the work permit support letter will be issued to the applicant. With the help of a work permit support letter, the applicant will able to apply for a temporary work permit to the IRCC along with their complete application package. The temporary work permit will allow foreign nationals to work while establishing their business in Canada.

Once the applicant arrived in Canada, they must establish their business in the designated time frame. The applicant may submit an application to SINP for provincial nomination after successfully running their business for at least 6 months while meeting the conditions mentioned in the Business Performance Agreement. If the SINP approved the applicant’s application for provincial nomination, SINP will issue a provincial nomination certificate to the applicant.

After receiving a provincial nomination from the SINP, the applicant may apply for the Canadian Permanent Residence by completing and submitting a paper-based application by mailing to the appropriate application centre which is generally processed within 18 months.

Expression of Interest Points Grid

Human Capital

Age

Exploratory Visit

Official Language Ability

Qualifications / Education

Net Business And Personal Assets

Business Experience

Entrepreneurial or Farming Experience

Business Revenue

Innovation

Business Establishment Plan

Investment Amount

Investment in Key Economic Sectors

Saskatchewan Entrepreneur – Recent Draws & Invitation History