British Columbia nominee stream · BC-PNP-EI-REGIONAL
BC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration: Regional stream (British Columbia)
Open
Business owners willing to start a business in a smaller British Columbia community outside Metro Vancouver, with that community's backing.
Jacinth Immigration Canada teamReviewed by a licensed RCICLast updated
How it works
About the entrepreneur immigration: regional stream
The same idea as the Base stream at half the financial thresholds, in exchange for settling outside the Vancouver area and securing a participating community's referral. The trade-off is ownership: the Regional stream asks for majority control of the business where the Base stream asks for a third. 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. The thresholds above are published: net worth and investment on the province's entrepreneur comparison table, last updated 10 September 2025, and the 51 per cent ownership rule in the Entrepreneur Immigration Regional program guide, effective 27 May 2024. Both predate the April 2026 refocus, so confirm they still stand before committing money.
Source: the province's own page for this stream. Last checked September 18, 2026. Provinces change stream criteria without notice, so confirm the detail before you rely on it.
Requirements
What this stream asks for
- Personal net worth of at least $300,000
- An eligible personal investment of at least $100,000 in the proposed business, derived from that net worth
- Ownership of at least 51 per cent of the British Columbia business
- 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 equivalent 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. Separately, WelcomeBC has reorganised its addresses: the old skills immigration page now redirects to one called For workers, and the old entrepreneur immigration page to one called For entrepreneurs and businesses. Older links still reach the right content, but they no longer land where they used to.
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
From the blog
Related reading
- BusinessProvincial entrepreneur streams: how they really workA province does not hand you permanent residence for money. It hands you a work permit and a contract. The nomination comes later, if you deliver.September 19, 2026
- BusinessNet worth and investment thresholds in Canadian business immigrationWhat each business route requires you to be worth, to invest, to own and to create, with the government source and the date behind every figure.September 19, 2026
- Provincial nomineesEnhanced or base nomination: what actually changes for youAn enhanced nomination runs through Express Entry, a base nomination goes to IRCC's PR Portal. How the route, paperwork and timing differ for you.September 25, 2026
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