On Tuesday, February 11, 2014, the Government of Canada delivered its Budget, wherein it announced its intent to eliminate both the Federal Immigrant Investor Program and Federal Entrepreneur Program. By doing so, the Government of Canada’s goal is to eradicate a large and longstanding backlog of applications, and pave the way for new pilot programs that it claims will actually meet Canada’s labour market and economic needs.
According to the Government of Canada, the current Immigrant Investor Program provides limited economic benefit to Canada. The Government states that research has shown that immigrant investors pay less in taxes than other economic immigrants, are less likely to stay in Canada over the medium- to long-term and often lack the skills, including official language proficiency, to integrate as well as other immigrants from the same countries.
By eliminating both the Federal Immigrant Investor Program and Federal Entrepreneur Program – and the associated backlog of applications – the Government states that it will be able to focus on attracting experienced business people and raising investment capital that is of maximum benefit to Canada’s economy.
The Government of Canada states that it will replace these programs with more focused and effective pilot programs that will ensure that immigrants who come to Canada deliver meaningful benefits to our economy. Details of the new pilots will be announced in the coming months.
If you are an existing client of Abrams & Krochak and have applied for Permanent Residence in Canada as either an Investor or Entrepreneur and your case is still in process, please monitor this blog as Abrams & Krochak will post further information about the elimination of the Investor and Entrepreneur categories (and how it will affect your Application in process) once further information becomes available from Citizenship and Immigration Canada.