Canada · Business & founder
Québec Entrepreneur Programme
Open across three streams: an innovative business supported by a business incubator or accelerator, starting or acquiring a business, and business takeover. Oral French at Québec Level 7 has been mandatory across all streams since January 2024. There is no waiver.
With the federal Start-up Visa closed since January 2026, Québec's entrepreneur streams and the provincial nominee entrepreneur streams are now the only live business routes to Canadian PR. Québec's route also costs the applicant a real B2 French exam.
Qualifying routes
Supported by a designated Québec incubator, accelerator or university entrepreneurship centre. There is no fixed deposit.
CAD 200,000 security deposit, plus a start-up deposit of CAD 300,000 in the Montréal metropolitan area or CAD 200,000 elsewhere in Québec. Both are refundable once the business plan is delivered.
The facts
- Minimum investment
- 200k CAD
- Total landed cost
- CAD 400–500k in refundable deposits for stream 2, plus counsel, plus the actual cost of the business.
- Route type
- Business & founder
- Timeline
- 2–4 years (Québec selection, then federal PR.)
- Physical presence
- Must actively manage the business in Québec.
- Family
- Spouse or common-law partnerDependent children
- Permanent residency
- Direct PR via Québec selection.
- Citizenship
- 3 years of physical presence out of 5.
- Language test
- CLB 4 English or French for ages 18–54.
- Dual citizenship
- Permitted
- Requirements
- Net worth of CAD 900,000Two years of management experience in the last fiveOral French at Québec Level 7Stream-specific deposits or incubator support
- Oral French at Level 7 is mandatory across all streams, with no waiver. For most international applicants, this is the binding constraint.
- Deposits are refundable only once the business plan is delivered. If the applicant fails to execute it, the deposits are forfeited.
- Net worth requirement of CAD 900,000.
- Québec selection is not the same as federal admission. Security and medical admissibility are assessed separately.