Business Category | Macropus Immigration & Visa Services

Business Category

There are three Streams under Ontario Business Category::

• Corporate Stream
• Entrepreneur Stream

Corporate Stream

The OINP Corporate Stream helps to support established international corporations looking to expand into Ontario or buy an existing business in the province.
Once the business has been successfully established and meets the obligations of the Performance Agreement, a maximum of five (5) key staff that are essential to the establishment, continued operation and the success of the business can become eligible for nomination for permanent residence by the OINP. Authorized Signing Officer (principal applicant) is responsible for submitting the Stage 1 application to the OINP on behalf of the Corporation and all key staff applicants

Who can apply?

The applicant may be eligible for this program if he/she have a viable business activity that will bring significant economic benefit to Ontario. If the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) approves the proposal, the key staff may apply for a temporary work permit in order to establish the business.

The corporation and the key staff must meet all eligibility criteria in order to qualify under the Corporate Stream. A decision will be made based on an assessment of all parties.

Corporation Requirements:

• The corporation must have been established for at least 36 months at the time of application submission.
• Eligible corporate structures include: public corporations, sole proprietorship, and partnerships.

Investment Requirements:

• The Corporation must make a minimum investment of $5 million to expand into Ontario or purchase an existing business in the province.
• The source of investment funds must have been obtained from legal sources.
• The proposed investment activity must be of significant economic benefit to Ontario.

Local Job Creation Requirements:

• The Corporation must create five (5) new permanent and full-time jobs for Canadian citizens or permanent residents per key staff applicant. For example, if you are proposing five key staff, you must create 25 permanent and full-time jobs in the business for Canadian citizens or permanent residents in Ontario.
• Positions must be paid at or above the prevailing wage level for that position.
• A permanent and full-time job means a position that consists of a minimum of 1,560 hours of paid employment in a 12-month period.
• The position must be continuously filled for at least 10 months prior to the submission of your Final Report.

General Requirements:

In addition to meeting the above requirements, the Corporation must also meet the following:

• There must be a clear structural linkage between the parent Corporation and proposed new business in Ontario (e.g. a subsidiary, branch or affiliate of the Corporation).
• The proposed business must intend to make a profit through the sale of goods and/or services.
• Primary income sources must be from active (earned) income, not passive (unearned) income.
• The proposed business must comply with Canadian legal requirements and all regulatory industry and licensing requirements which govern its legitimate operation.
• If purchasing an existing business, it must be incorporated in Ontario.
• The proposed business must comply with all Ontario labour laws, including but not limited to employment standards, health and safety, and labour relations legislation.
• The proposed business must be considered a permanent business in Ontario. Project-based/seasonal businesses are not considered eligible.
• Third party investors must be a Schedule I or Schedule II bank or an institutional investor.
• Be considered a permanent business in Ontario; and
• Submit a business plan. A Business Plan is a written document that describes the proposed business in detail, including:
• Purpose and objectives of the proposed business, including products, target markets, and operational strategies;
• Operational and financial goals;
• Challenges that lie between the execution of the business plan and the achievement of its purpose, objectives, and goals; and
• Strategies for overcoming challenges.

Key Staff and Position Requirements:

Applicant’s Corporation may request up to five (5) key staff (prospective nominees) who will establish the business in Ontario and who may apply for nomination for permanent residency in Ontario. All key staff must meet Stage 1 requirements at the time of application. During Stage 2, key staff will need to meet additional nomination requirements, which are listed below.

Process

Stage 1: Key Staff Application Requirements

• Key staff must be essential to the establishment and operation of the proposed business.
• Key staff must be in a senior, executive, management or specialized knowledge capacity (National Occupation Classification [NOC] Skill Level 0 or Skill Type A) in Corporation’s existing business.
• Only one key staff applicant in a NOC Skill Type A position can be proposed. The remaining key staff positions must be in NOC Skill Level 0.
• Key staff must have at least 36 months of experience in the last 60 months in the intended occupation (the position they will hold in the proposed business in Ontario) with the Corporation. The key staff must also be continuously working for the Corporation in that position in the immediate 12 months prior to the submission of the application.
• Key staff must not have an immediate familial relationship with any member of applicant’s Corporation’s Executive Board or Board of Directors or shareholders with more than 10% equity in your Corporation.
• Key staff must not hold or have held equity in your Corporation, except in the case where that equity has been obtained as part of the remuneration package as part of the employee contract, in which case the equity held by the key staff must be less than 10% of your Corporation’s business.
• The key staff position in the proposed business in Ontario must be a permanent and full-time job and meet the prevailing wage levels.

Stage 2: Key Staff Nomination Requirements

1. Position Requirement:

• Key staff must be in the position for which they were approved by the OINP and carrying out the approved job duties and be earning the prevailing wage for the position.

2. Residency Requirement:

• Key staff must physically reside in Ontario for at least 75% of each year (9 months out of the year) that they are in Ontario on a temporary work permit to support the business.

3. Language Requirement:

Key staff must have a language proficiency equivalent to Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 4 or higher.

Entrepreneur Stream

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program’s (OINP) Entrepreneur Stream is designed to support individuals from outside of Canada who are looking to implement a new business idea or buy an existing business in Ontario. The Entrepreneur Stream offers entrepreneurs the opportunity to be nominated for permanent residence once their business has been successfully established in Ontario.

Who can Apply

The applicant may be eligible for this program if he/she have a viable business activity that will bring significant economic benefit to Ontario. If approved, applicant and business partner (if applicable) may apply for a temporary work permit in order to establish business. Once the business has been successfully established, applicant and business partner (if applicable) may be eligible for nomination by the OINP.

The applicant must meet all eligibility criteria in order to apply to the Entrepreneur Stream. If the applicant is applying with a business partner, business partner must also meet the eligibility criteria.

• Experience
  • At least three years of full-time business experience in the last five years.
  • The experience must be as a business owner OR as a senior manager (business management).

• Net Worth
  • If the proposed business will be located within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA – includes the City of Toronto, Durham, Halton, York and Peel regions), the applicant must have a minimum net worth of $1,500,000 CDN.
  • If the proposed business will be located outside of the GTA, the applicant must have a minimum net worth of $800,000 CDN.
  • If the proposed business will be in the ICT/Digital Communications sector (regardless of your proposed business location), the applicant must have a minimum net worth of $800,000 CDN.

• Personal Investment Funds
  • If the proposed business will be located within the GTA, the applicant must make a minimum personal investment of $1,000,000 CDN and have a minimum equity ownership of 33.3 per cent.
  • If the proposed business will be located outside of the GTA, the applicant must make a minimum personal investment of $500,000 CDN and have a minimum equity ownership of 33.3 per cent.
  • If the proposed business will be in the ICT/Digital Communications sector (regardless of where you set up the business), the applicant must make a minimum personal investment of $500,000 CDN and have a minimum equity ownership of 33.3 per cent.

• Job Creation
  • The applicant must create at least two permanent full-time jobs for Canadian citizens/ permanent residents.

• Business-Related Visit
  • If the applicant plan to purchase an existing business, he/she must make at least one business-related visit to Ontario in the last year prior to the date the EOI was submitted.

Process

Ineligible Types of Businesses

The OINP will not accept EOIs or applications for proposed businesses which fall under the list of ineligible types of businesses.

List of ineligible types of businesses in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA):

• Existing Franchises in Ontario (new foreign franchises expanding into Ontario are permitted)
• Gas Stations
• Tire Recycling
• Scrap Metal Recycling
• Pawnbrokers
• Bed and Breakfasts
• Holding Companies
• Laundromats
• Automated Car Wash Operations
• Pay Day Loan and related businesses
• Businesses which have been previously owned/operated by current or former OINP business stream nominees.

List of ineligible types of businesses outside of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA):

• Tire Recycling
• Scrap Metal Recycling
• Pawnbrokers
• Holding Companies
• Laundromats
• Automated Car Wash Operations
• Pay Day Loan and related businesses
• Businesses which have been previously owned/operated by current or former OINP business stream nominees

Scoring Factors and Breakdown of Points

Applicants can claim points for factors under three categories: Experience, Investment and Human Capital. The maximum score is 170 points.

Scoring Factors and Breakdown of Points

Interested in applying to Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) through Business Category? Contact us