BC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration: how the program works

Last reviewed: 2026-11-09. This page is general information from official sources and is not immigration advice. The BC PNP can change its rules without notice. Check the official Entrepreneur Immigration page and speak to your immigration consultant or lawyer before acting on anything here.

BC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration is the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program’s category for experienced business people who want to start or buy a business in B.C. and manage it actively. It is a nomination program: the province decides whether to nominate you, and the federal government then decides on permanent residence.

The three streams

Strategic Projects is for companies and their key staff, not for individuals launching their own business. We mention it for completeness and we do not describe its detail further here; see the official page.

BC PNP Entrepreneur requirements at a glance

These are the main published requirements for individuals. The guides contain more conditions than a table can show.

Fees listed by the BC PNP: $300 to register and $3,500 to apply (a request for review is $500). Figures checked against the official page (last updated September 10, 2025) and both program guides (effective May 27, 2024) on 2026-11-09.

The net worth requirement

The program asks for a minimum personal net worth: $600,000 CAD for Base, $300,000 CAD for Regional. It includes the net worth of your spouse or common-law partner and dependent children. Section 2.2 (B) of each program guide lists what counts, and points to IRCC’s Schedule 4A form for the calculation. If you are invited to apply, a BC PNP-authorized accounting firm reviews your net worth and how you accumulated it before you submit the application; Part 5 of the Application Guide sets out the documents. Whether your assets count, and how, is a question for your immigration representative.

How the process works

1. Registration. You submit a profile and a business concept. The concept is scored. In the Base stream the business concept section has a minimum score; the Regional stream has none.
2. The pool. Registrations are scored out of 200 and ranked. The BC PNP invites candidates in periodic rounds. See our summary of recent rounds and scoring for the Base stream and the Regional version.
3. Application. If invited, you submit an application with a comprehensive business plan and supporting documents within four months of the invitation. You may be invited to an interview about your work experience and business plan.
4. Work permit and business set-up. If your application is approved, you sign a Performance Agreement with the province and receive a Letter of Support for your work permit application to IRCC. You then set up and run the business under that agreement.
5. Nomination. You submit a final report to show you have met the Performance Agreement. If the BC PNP is satisfied, it may nominate you for permanent residence.

The timelines for each step are on the official page and in the guides. We do not estimate them here.

Documents required

Part 6 of the Application Guide lists the documents you upload with your application. In outline, they fall into these groups:

• passports, and identity and civil status documents (birth, marriage and divorce certificates)
• education certificates and transcripts
• evidence of business ownership or senior management experience, such as tax returns, reference letters and share registers
• language test results, if you claimed language ability at registration
• the net worth review by a BC PNP-authorized accounting firm, two years of bank statements, and IRCC’s Schedule 4A with its accumulation-of-wealth narrative
• the business plan with its appendices, plus extra documents for a franchise or a partnership with a local business
• evidence of any exploratory visit to B.C. and of any previous Canadian work or study
• two IRCC forms for a spouse or common-law partner

The exact list depends on your stream and your business, and the BC PNP can request more. Your immigration representative decides what to file and when.

Where the business plan fits

The business concept you register is short and scored. The business plan you submit if invited is the full document. They must be consistent: the Base program guide says you cannot change your business concept after registration. Read what a BC PNP business plan must contain and how we write it.

What Wealth Theory does

We prepare the business plan and business concept, and we prepare you for the interview in your language. Interview preparation is available in English, Polish, Persian/Farsi, Russian, French, Mandarin and Hindi. For our preparation sessions we can arrange an interpreter, or you can bring your own, and interpreter costs are priced separately. The BC PNP interview itself is in English only: the program guides say an applicant who cannot communicate in English must use a certified court interpreter and file a Use of an Interpreter form at least ten days before the interview.

We do not give immigration advice or represent anyone. We work alongside the consultant or lawyer you have chosen, either white-label (the firm stays your only contact and is invoiced) or by referral (we work with you directly). See our page for immigration professionals. We never name the firms we work with.

Next step

Book a free consultation or contact us. See the starting prices on our pricing page.