How it works
About the entrepreneur immigration: regional stream
The same idea as the Base stream at roughly half the financial thresholds, in exchange for settling outside the Vancouver area and securing a participating community's referral. An exploratory visit to the community is compulsory, not optional.
Applying from outside Canada: Open from abroad, but the compulsory exploratory visit means you must first qualify for a visitor visa to travel. Confirm current thresholds: the source page predates the April 2026 refocus.
Source: the province's own page for this stream. Last checked September 11, 2026. Provinces change stream criteria without notice, so confirm the detail before you rely on it.
Requirements
What this stream asks for
- Lower net worth and investment thresholds than the Base stream, both set by the province
- A completed referral from a participating community outside the Metro Vancouver Regional District
- A compulsory exploratory visit to that community
- At least three years as an active business owner-manager in the last five, with a substitution for degree holders
- Creating at least one new full-time job
- Language at CLB 4 or above
Programme
The British Columbia programme right now
Open and drawing regularly. British Columbia refocused the programme in April 2026 around three priorities it calls Care, Build and Innovate, and invitations now name those categories. The Entry Level and Semi-Skilled stream is closed, the technology priority draws ended, and the province has said it will not launch new student streams.
The Entry Level and Semi-Skilled stream closed after its final invitations in December 2024, and the technology priority draws ended the same month. British Columbia has stated it will not launch new student streams, so studying in the province earns extra registration points but is no longer a route of its own.
Official BC PNP page Official draw results
Checked against the province's own pages on September 11, 2026. Streams change through the year, so confirm on the official page before you apply.
Explore
Other British Columbia streams
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British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program How the Provincial Nominee Program works
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