Does Canada have a “gold card”? Here’s a look at all the investor visa options available

United States president Donald Trump recently announced plans to introduce a 5 million USD “Gold Card” visa. This raises the question: does Canada have a similar “gold card” option?

The short answer is “no”— you can’t buy Canadian permanent residency (PR), and most Canadian economic PR programs are geared toward skilled workers rather than entrepreneurs.

But Canada does offer several entrepreneur immigration programs that provide pathways to permanent residence.

Speak with an immigration representative about investor visa options

Here’s a look at some of the entrepreneur PR pathways available.

For a federal immigration program in Canada, you can settle and establish your business in any province other than Quebec.

To settle in Quebec, you must first apply to the Quebec immigration department.

For the provincial nominee programs (PNPs), you must intend to settle and establish your business in the nominating province.

For the below PNP streams, you must generally demonstrate a minimum language proficiency in either English or French.

Eligibility criteria for each of these programs, in more details, can be seen below:

Canada has a federal Start-Up Visa program that grants permanent residence to immigrants who want to build a business in the country (outside Quebec).

This process grants permanent residency to the applicant as well as their spouse and dependent children.

Note: A maximum of five foreign nationals can apply for permanent residence together under the same business venture through the Start-Up Visa Program.

To be eligible, applicants must have a qualifying business, which means:

Support of a designated business organization

Applicants must also have the support of a designated organization.

Designated organizations are business groups that have been approved to invest in or support possible start-ups. Applicants must contact and convince such an organization to support them, by sharing a letter of support.

These organizations can be venture capital funds, angel investor groups, or business incubator organizations.

You can see the full list of designated organizations here.

Note: There is currently a cap on the number of applications that will be considered per designated organization. Applications are considered on a first-come, first-serve basis.

This cap is in place until December 31, 2026.

Also worth noting that applicants and the designated organization together must hold more than 50% of the total voting rights.

Applicants need to achieve Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level of 5 in listening, reading, writing and speaking (English or French).

Applicants need to be able to support themselves and their family. The money needed depends on the size of the family.

Once an application is approved, IRCC will issue a PR visa, which will include a Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR) and entry visa.

Note: While an application is being processed, candidates are eligible for a temporary work permit so they can work and build their business.

Quebec Immigrant Investor Program (QIIP)

This is the only passive investor immigration program offered in Canada, meaning that the applicant does not need to prove an active managerial role in the company.

It is a pathway to permanent residence, not just for the applicants but also for their family members (spouse and dependent children).

The applicant must complete a stay in Quebec of at least 12 months within two years of the work permit issuance, with at least 6 months completed by them and the remaining 6 months by either them or their spouse.

Quebec’s immigration process works differently from the federal government, and from other provinces in Canada. Those whose applications are accepted will receive a notice of intention to be selected from Quebec.

This notice will contain all the information needed to apply for a work permit from the Government of Canada for work in Quebec. Applicants need to prove they have been living in Quebec to receive the Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ). Once they have a CSQ, they can apply to the federal government for PR status.

Many provinces have their own streams for those who want to start businesses and settle within the province.

Getting permanent residence through a PNP program is a two-step process:

To seek a provincial nomination, you must follow the consideration process set out by the province for the stream you wish to apply under.

Many PNP entrepreneur streams require the submission of a business plan or business proposal as part of the application.

Here’s a look at some of provincial streams, along with key eligibility criteria.

Alberta has four streams for entrepreneurs who want to live in Alberta and buy or start a business in the province.

This is for entrepreneurs who may wish to open a business in one of BC’s smaller communities.

This is for entrepreneurs or senior managers looking to live in the province. They can start a new business or buy an existing one but must actively participate in the day-to-day management.

Nova Scotia International Graduate Entrepreneur

The province also has a separate stream for those who have graduated from a Nova Scotia university or community college.

The province of Manitoba has two streams for entrepreneurs.

The Farm Investor Pathway (FIP) is for experienced farmers with the financial means to invest in and intend to establish and operate a farm in rural Manitoba.

Investing in a farm business operated primarily to derive passive investment income or for speculative purposes is not eligible.

New Brunswick Business Immigration Stream

Those thinking about settling in New Brunswick as an entrepreneur can start a business or purchase an existing business as long as they actively participate in the day-to-day management of the company.

After operating the business for 6 months and meeting the requirements of the business performance agreement, candidates may be nominated for permanent resident status by the province.

At the time of publishing this article, the federal government’s Start Up Visa program takes approximately 40 months to process.

For Quebec immigration and immigration through a PNP, start-to-finish time would include both steps: first, obtaining the CSQ or provincial nomination, and then, applying to the federal government.

Processing by Quebec immigration authorities to obtain a CSQ can take one to two years. After a candidate has received their CSQ, they must apply to the federal government. According to IRCC's website, it can take 71 months to process Quebec Business Applications.

Processing times for obtaining a provincial nomination will vary depending on the PNP and the stream. In general, a PNP applicant can expect anywhere from several months to one or two years to receive a provincial nomination.

Once a candidate has been nominated by the province, they then have to apply to IRCC for permanent residence. IRCC's service standard for processing PNP applications, at the time of publishing, is 11 months.