Alberta Advantage Immigration Program: Rural Entrepreneur Stream

Immigrant entrepreneurs from outside of Canada can apply for permanent residence. -The Rural Entrepreneur Stream is an economic immigration program. Entrepreneurs who want to start a business or buy an existing business in a rural Alberta community can submit an Expression of Interest. The Rural Entrepreneur Stream allows Alberta to nominate qualified and capable entrepreneurs who want to start a new or buy an existing business in a rural Alberta community. -The Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) defines rural Alberta communities as any community with a population of less than 100,000. The AAIP uses the most recent census from Statistics Canada to determine a community’s population. In addition, the community must be outside of the Calgary and Edmonton Census Metropolitan Area. -Candidates interested in a specific rural Alberta community should connect with the community contact person to discuss their business proposal and schedule an exploratory visit. Each community will have their own process for scheduling an exploratory visit. Communities reserve the right to meet only with potential entrepreneurs whom they deem as a fit.

Grant Deadline

Deadline not available

Funding Amount

Deadline not available

Type of Grant

Grant, Funding

Sectors

All Sectors

Demographics

Incorporation

For Profit

Perks

Region Restriction

This grant is restricted to whole of Canada

Keywords

Age Restriction

This grant is age restricted from 18 to 100

Eligibility and Requirements

Work experience

Have either a minimum 3 years of experience as an active business owner/manager or a minimum of 4 years of experience as a senior manager within the past 10 years.

Education

Completed a minimum of high school equivalent to the Canadian standard with an Education Credential Assessment (ECA).

The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) website lists the designated organizations for ECAs

Language

Have a minimum Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level of 4 for each English language skill or Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) of 4 for each French language skill: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Official test results must be less than 2 years old at the time your Expression of Interest is submitted. The AAIP only accepts the following language tests:

Check the IRCC website on CLB/NCLC equivalency for each of the tests.


Net worth

Minimum net worth of $300,000. All assets must be candidate’s own personal holdings or spouse's or common-law partner’s.


Business investment

Minimum investment of $100,000 from candidate’s own (and/or spouse/common-law partner) equity. Higher levels of investment will be awarded more points.


Business establishment

Minimum ownership of 51% for a new business. Business Partners must be Canadian Citizens or Permanent Residents.

OR

100% ownership for business succession (the succession buy-out must result in a complete change in ownership where the candidate will assume full control of the business).

Business must not be on the list of ineligible businesses.

Resources on how to establish a business in Alberta, including supports and services related to business plan development, business start-up, and business loans are available on the Small business resource page.


Job creation

New businesses must create at least one full-time job for Canadian Citizens or Permanent Residents (not including relatives).

More job creation will be awarded more points. Jobs must be created for Canadian citizens or permanent residents (not including relatives) for a period of at least 6 months.

For business succession, job creation is not required.


Community support letter

Candidates must have a Community Support Letter from a participating rural Alberta community.

Grant Application website

https://www.alberta.ca/aaip-rural-entrepreneur-stream-eligibility.aspx

Contact

Email: entrepreneur.supportservice@gov.ab.ca