The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) has invited 26 applications to entrepreneurs through its Entrepreneur stream. The invitations were issued via Entrepreneur Stream to candidates with scores of at least 132.
The OINP Entrepreneur Stream is designed to encourage international entrepreneurs and business owners to come to Canada and either start a new company or buy an existing business in Ontario.
Candidates with scores ranging between 132 and 200 got the invitations. Expressions of Interests (EOI) of clients received by OINP between 22 November 2019 and 17 April 2020 were eligible for invitations.
This is their second draw of this kind in 2020. The province has now invited 46 entrepreneurs so far this year, after granting 66 invitations in 2019. This is the fourth draw since major changes have been made to the minimum eligibility criteria for the programme.
The net worth required for the proposed business within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) has been decreased from $1.5 million to $800,000, and from $800,000 to $400,000 outside the GTA.
The minimum investment for the proposed business in GTA was reduced from $1 million to $600,000, and from $500,000 to $200,000 outside of the GTA.
A candidate's needed business experience as an owner or senior executive had also changed. The applicant now has to have 24 months of experience over the last 60 months. It was previously expected to have 36 months' experience within the same time frame.
These reforms will draw many business owners around the globe to the possibility of moving to Ontario. The province is Canada's biggest immigrant destination.
