Self-financing solution for immigrants to Quebec, Canada

There are four main programs available to people wishing to immigrate to Quebec, Canada: Investor, Entrepreneur, Self-Employed, and Skilled Worker. Each program has a varying degree of time and financial investments involved.

If you are considering immigrating to the province of Quebec, in Canada, you will have to choose one category and be eligible for acceptance, following the criteria determined by the government.

But once that goal has been achieved, one of the most helpful things is the ability to accumulate a financial reserve in Quebec, in order to limit the depletion of the reserve you are required to bring with you when establishing in the province.

We will explore why self-financing is the best solution and how to accomplish it in the most efficient manner, financially and time-wise.

As an Investor, you are required to have $1,600,000 CND in assets, as an Entrepreneur the requirement is $300,000 CND, and as a Self-Employed Worker it is $100,000 CND. As for Skilled Workers, the required amount of funds is determined by one criteria; three months of self-sufficiency for yourself and all accompanying family members.

If you come as an Investor, you are obligated to put $800,000 CND in trust for five years, at the end of which you receive no interest. During those five years, it is a sound idea to have a self-financing solution to allow you to afford living expenses without having to dip into the other half of the required assets, which is often not in liquidities.

If you come as an Entrepreneur, you are obligated to invest at least $100,000 CND in carrying out a business project or acquiring an existing business. During at least one year over the three years after you receive your permanent resident status, you must employ a Quebec resident for 30 hours a week or more. Considering all the expenses you will have to incur to own and run this business, it is also a sound idea to have a self-financing solution to allow you to afford living and business expenses without having to dip into the rest of the required assets, which is often not in liquidities.

If you come as a Self-Employed Worker, you must create your own job by practicing a trade or profession you have at least two years prior experience in. This is the case where self-financing is probably the most critical. Starting up a business or practice, and acquiring the clientele to sustain the expenses incurred is a heavy burden, even more so in a new country where you also need to learn about the business customs. A steady source of self-financing income can alleviate that burden quite a bit.

If you come as a Skilled Worker, you must basically find a job in Quebec, which can take some time and/or have to begin at a lower pay level since you have no Quebec experience. The self-financing solution is the key to eliminating the stress due to financial strain.

Even if you come to Quebec as a temporary worker, a student, a sponsored person or even a refugee, you can still take advantage of the self-financing solution explained here.

And there is another category of immigrants that are often overlooked, but constitute almost half of all people immigrating to Quebec; the spouses of the principal applicants. While the spotlight is on the Investor, Entrepreneur, Self-Employed or Skilled Worker, the supportive spouse following to Quebec is mostly left in the shadows.

Once in Quebec, the spouses often have a more difficult time integrating since they don’t participate in the workforce. They also feel somewhat isolated. If for no other reason than feeling productive, the spouses should certainly consider being the ones to work on the self-financing solution.

The immigration authorities consider the first three months as the integration period. That is the best time to build your self-financing vehicle, which starts being profitable after 12 weeks. All you need to do is register in the training, purchase your home-based franchise, do the homework, and use your contacts and support network from your country or origin to build a residual-income business in Quebec, which in time can even be expanded to many other countries, without having to physically go there (unless you want to).

This is the most simple and low-cost solution to avoid having to go through the lengthy and uncertain procedures of qualifying for grants or loans. And it has the added benefits of you being in control and owner of the weekly revenues, as well as not incurring the fees and interests related to borrowed funds. You can also choose to run this business full-time, or simply maintain it part-time, while devoting yourself to any other business or personal project.

Canada is considered as one of the best countries to live in. And the province of Quebec is renowned for its flourishing entrepreneurial culture. So I personally welcome you to Quebec, Canada, and hope you will find in this country of adoption as much business success as I have, for the past few decades.

I invite you to visit this page of our website to find out about the 12-week training that could allow anyone wanting to immigrate to Quebec to self-finance after only three months, and a PDF document listing all the countries from which you can use your contacts to help you do it.

For more in depth and detailed information, Phoenix Alliance offers a FREE specialized «How to efficiently self-finance when immigrating to Quebec, Canada» seminar to its registered members.

Interesting outside link: « Selecting one of the three immigration programs for businesspeople »