Conditions for immigrating to Québec as an entrepreneur – Stream 2: Business start-up

You must be at least 18 years of age at the time of submission of the application.

You must hold a diploma corresponding minimally, in Québec, to a secondary school diploma, obtained before the date of submission of the application.  

You must have a knowledge of spoken French corresponding minimally to level 7 according to the Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français (PDF 4.94 Mb) (Québec scale of French proficiency levels).

To demonstrate your knowledge of French, even if French is your mother tongue, you must submit one of the following documents: 

• Test results certificates or French language assessment diplomas accepted by the Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration; 
• One of the secondary school diplomas accepted by the Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration.

The French language assessment tests and diplomas accepted by the Ministère are: 

• Test de connaissance du français pour le Québec  (TCF-Québec), France Éducation international;
• Test de connaissance du français pour le Canada  (TCF-Canada), France Éducation international;
• Test de connaissance du français  (TCF), France Éducation international;
• Diplôme approfondi de langue française  (DALF), France Éducation international;
• Diplôme d’études en langue française  (DELF), France Éducation international;
• Test d’évaluation du français adapté pour le Québec  (TEFAQ), Chambre de commerce et d’industrie de Paris Île-de-France (CCIP-IDF);
• Test d’évaluation du français pour le Canada  (TEF Canada), CCIP-IDF;
• Test d’évaluation du français  (TEF),CCIP-IDF.

Your results must be less than two years old at the time you submit your application.

Please note — Only the results issued by the suppliers of these tests (France Éducation international and the Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de Paris Île-de-France) are recognized by the Ministère.

Electronic versions of the above tests are also accepted. You must take these tests in a centre approved by the organization that provides them.

Here are the secondary school diplomas accepted by the Ministère:

• General, vocational and technological baccalaureates awarded by the French Ministry of Education,
• Certificate of higher secondary education (CESS) issued by the Government of the French Community of Belgium;
• Maturité certificate awarded on completion of studies at a school located in a French-speaking canton of Switzerland.

The Ministère may call you for an interview to verify the level of French you declared in your application for permanent selection.

You must commit for three months as of the date of obtaining permanent resident status to meeting your essential needs, those of the members of your family accompanying you and those of dependent children who are Canadian citizens.  

Please consult the schedules in effect (PDF 140 Kb) for the current year.

Your business must not be engaged in activities in the following sectors: 

• Payday loans, cashing cheques or pledge loans; 
• Production, distribution or sale of pornographic or sexually explicit products or services related to the sex industry, such as nude or erotic dancing, escort services or erotic massage; 
• Trading, leasing, brokerage, development or planning in the property sector.

When your file is opened, you will receive a request by email to obtain an attestation of learning about democratic values.

You must obtain your attestation within a maximum of 60 days after receiving this request. 

The members of your family accompanying you will also need to obtain it, namely, your spouse aged 16 years or older and your dependent children aged 18 years or older. 

You will not receive this request if you and your family have already obtained your attestation.

You must have at least two years of experience in business management acquired in the five years preceding the application.  

This experience must not have been acquired in the following sectors: 

• Payday loans, cashing cheques or pledge loans; 
• Production, distribution or sale of pornographic or sexually explicit products or services related to the sex industry, such as nude or erotic dancing, escort services or erotic massage.

You must have a minimum net worth of CAD $600,000. You can share this net worth with your spouse or common-law partner who is accompanying you in Québec. This amount does not include donations received in the six months prior to the date of your application.

Please note! You must be able to prove the lawful origin and accrual of your net worth. Your spouse or common-law partner included in the application must also demonstrate the origin and lawful accrual of their net worth, even if their assets are not required to reach the minimum net worth required by the program.  

You can start your business alone or with a maximum of three people who also submit an application under the Entrepreneur Program.  

Your business project must be outlined in a business plan and submitted with your application.

To draw up your business plan, you must use the document Plan d’affaires — Programme des entrepreneurs - Volet 2 (PDF 316 Kb) (in French only).

If you meet all the conditions of the programme, with the exception of the offer to purchase and the expenses involved in taking over the business, you will receive a notice of intent to be selected from the Government of Québec.

This notice will enable you to apply for a work permit from the Government of Canada  to continue the stat up process of your company in Québec, if necessary. Accompanying family members can also obtain a permit to accompany you.

After receipt of your work permit, you can start your business.  

To obtain your Certificat de sélection du Québec (Québec Selection Certificate), you must demonstrate the effective start-up of the business by meeting the conditions below.

You must have started a business in Québec no later than two years after the issuance of the work permit obtained with the notice of intent to be selected.

This business must have been registered for at least one year at the time you send the documentation justifying its start-up.  

In the context of starting your business, you must have spent on the start-up or operations a minimum amount of: 

• CDN$300,000, if your business is located in the Montréal Metropolitan Area ; 
• CDN$150,000, if your business is located outside the Montréal Metropolitan Area . 

Your contribution to the original capital of the business must correspond to at least 25% of the value of this business. You can hold it alone or with the spouse accompanying you.

If you are starting your business with business partners who are also applying to the Entrepreneur Program, each of them must have an equity stake in the company of at least 25%.

To apply under the Already started company profile, you must have been living in Québec for at least two years, during which time you were authorized to work with an open work permit or a study permit, and have complied with the conditions of your stay. 

You must have a minimum net worth of CAD $300,000. You can share this net worth with your spouse or common-law partner who is accompanying you in Québec. This amount does not include donations received in the six months prior to the date of application.

Important ! You must prove the lawful origin and accrual of your net worth. Your spouse or common-law partner included in the application must also demonstrate the origin and lawful accrual of their net worth, even if their assets are not required to reach the minimum net worth required by the program.

If you started your business with people other than the person accompanying you as your spouse, a maximum of three of them can also submit an application under the Entrepreneur Program.

Your stake in the company's paid-in capital must be at least 25% of its value. You may hold it alone or together with your spouse or accompanying common-law partner.

If you have started your company with business partners who are also applying to the Entrepreneur Program, each of them must have an equity stake in the company of at least 25%.

Your business project must be outlined in a business plan and submitted with your application.

To draw up your business plan, you must use the document Plan d’affaires — Programme des entrepreneurs - Volet 2 (PDF 316 Kb) (in French only).