The Innovative Entrepreneurs program

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There is a wide range of immigration options in Canada: Express Entry, Skilled Worker, Startup visa, Entrepreneurs, and many more. We thought of this series of videos to help you understand all the options. Quebec and Canada are lands of immigration, and they have created many programs that we will take the time to explain to you! And to start today, we’re going to talk about the Stream 1 of the Quebec Entrepreneurs Program, dedicated to innovative businesses.

We thought of this series of videos to help you understand all the options. Quebec and Canada are lands of immigration, and they have created many programs that we will take the time to explain to you!

And to start today, we’re going to talk about the Stream 1 of the Quebec Entrepreneurs Program, dedicated to innovative businesses.

Who is the Entrepreneurs Program for?

This programme is aimed at entrepreneurs who have already set up businesses, but also at people who want to start their own business for the first time.

In both cases, it is necessary:

  • To have a mature idea in mind or a project already started
  • That this project is considered innovative by the Ministry of Immigration. This generally means that the project includes a significant technological or service innovation.
  • To have an interest in developing this project here in Quebec.

What does this entitle you to?

This program allows you to obtain your Québec Selection Certificate directly and then apply for permanent residence. As soon as you have obtained your Québec Selection Certificate, you can apply for a work permit, and then quickly come to Québec to start your project.

You can be several under the same project (up to 4 people), and obtaining immigration documents also allows you to bring your family (spouse and children).

How does it work?

There are several steps:

  1. Preparing a business plan and a financial forecast.
  2. Present it to an incubator or accelerator in Québec, which, if it agrees to accompany the project, will give you a letter of acceptance.
  3. Finally, the file is presented to the Ministry of Immigration (the MIFI), with the acceptance letter and a business plan in the Ministry’s format, as well as various administrative documents.

How much does it cost?

Each project has its own particularities, and each entrepreneur is not at the same level of progress, so costs vary. The more detailled your project is, the faster it goes and the cheaper it will be.

There are three types of costs to expect:

  1. The cost of immigration support, which is borne by the person concerned.
  2. Fees charged by the Ministry of Immigration, also borne by the individual
  3. Cost of incubation or acceleration, which can be borne by the company that you create.

We know that the costs are at the heart of your decision to make the leap or not to make the leap to Quebec and we will be happy to present the costs to you in a transparent manner, based on your experience and the project you are carrying, at the beginning of the journey to avoid surprises.

Why Conexa?

We created Conexa to help foreign entrepreneurs come to Canada. We are a team of entrepreneurs (some of whom are immigrants) and immigration lawyers. We felt that entrepreneurs, with their specific needs, both personal and professional, were not yet being properly supported. We now support entrepreneurs from all over the world, and we love being surrounded by projects and entrepreneurs from all backgrounds on a daily basis .

If you have any questions, we will be happy to answer them, just write to us at the email address that appears on the screen.

Good luck with your research, and we hope to see you soon in Canada!