Active Management of Business A business immigrant must actively manage the business by being physically present at the business premises in New Brunswick on a day-to-day basis. Active management also means assuming the risk and influencing the direction of the business. Jobs Creation for Canadians and Permanent Residents in New Brunswick The business must employ/create at least two full-time (minimum of 30 hours per week) jobs for permanent residents or citizens of Canada living in New Brunswick. Obviously, the employment of a business immigrant or their family members (spouses and dependent children) would not count as job creation. Exploratory Visit or other Connection to New Brunswick Before a candidate can submit an expression of interest, they must conduct one activity to demonstrate the eligible connection with the Province of New Brunswick. This could be a five business days exploratory visit, participation in the online information session, or connection through previous studies or work or a close relative in New Brunswick. Requirements for Business Immigrant Age A business immigrant must be between 22-55 years of age on the day when they submit a complete application in response to an invitation to apply. Personal Net Worth A business immigrant must have a verifiable personal net worth of at least C$600,000, of which C$300,000 must be liquid and unencumbered. Net Worth Verification Report must be submitted after the invitation to apply is received. Personal net worth means the value of total assets less the value of total liabilities, including the assets of a spouse or common-law partner. Total assets mean cash in current bank accounts, fixed (term) deposits, pensions, publicly-traded stocks, bonds and mutual funds, real property and investments in one or more businesses. Total liabilities mean mortgages, personal debts and other encumbrances. Applicants must disclose their full net worth. Inheritances, donations and gifts received less than six months before an application is received are not considered eligible towards a net worth. The personal net worth must be legally obtained and verified by one of the designated professional accounting service providers: Grant Thornton LLP, MDD Forensic Accountants, or MNP LLP. English or French Language Test Result A business immigrant must have valid English or French test results from a designated testing organization to show they have obtained a minimum score equal to or greater than a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 5 for English or Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) 5 for French in all four language abilities: reading, writing, listening and speaking. Education A business immigrant must have a two-year post-secondary education after a high school diploma and a valid Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report for foreign degrees. Business Ownership/Work experience A candidate must have three years in the last five years of business ownership experience or five years in the previous five years of senior management experience. Business ownership experience must be gained as a business owner of at least 33.3%, personally involved in the day-to-day operations as the primary decision-maker, responsible for supervising at least two people. Senior management experience must be gained as a senior manager, personally involved in the day-to-day operations as the primary decision-maker, responsible for supervising at least two people. Points Grid for New Brunswick Entrepreneurial Stream Candidate must score a minimum of 65 points of 100 points to express an interest in applying for permanent residence through the New Brunswick Entrepreneur Program. New Brunswick Entrepreneurial Stream selection factors and maximum points: Age – max 10 points First official language – max 20 points Second official language – max 5 points Education – max 25 points Business ownership/work experience – max 20 points Business concept – max 15 points Adaptability – max 5 points Stages There are nine main stages to obtain permanent residence through business under the New Brunswick Entrepreneurial Stream Step #1 – Permanent residence readiness Step #2 – Online registration of candidate profile Step #3 – Submission of expression of interest to apply for permanent residence through New Brunswick Entrepreneurial Stream Step #4 – Invitation to apply for nomination under New Brunswick Entrepreneurial Stream Step #5 – Submission of application for nomination under New Brunswick Entrepreneurial Stream within 90 calendar days Step #6 – Provincial application decision. If the application is approved and the nomination letter is issued, a candidate must sign Business Performance Agreement and deposit C$100,000 to PETL [Department fo Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour] within 60 days of issuance of the nomination letter. Step #7 – Submission of federal application for permanent residence to Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Step #8 – Federal application decision from IRCC. Candidate and family members become permanent residents if IRCC approves PR application. Step #9 – Post-landing, business establishment, audits, and refund of C$100,000 deposit. Within three years after landing/becoming a permanent resident of Canada, a business immigrant will have two face-to-face meetings and three audits/site visits. During the official site visits, a business immigrant must provide department officials with any information required to verify compliance with the Business Performance Agreement. The business must be established within two years after the landing (Business Establishment Period), as specified in the Business Performance Agreement. Failure to establish business will result in the forfeiture of the deposit of C$100,000. Subject to meeting terms and conditions of the Business Performance Agreement, a business immigrant can apply for the refund and return a deposit of C$100,000, without interest, within three years after the landing or one year after the business commencement date, whichever comes first. The business commencement date is when it started operations in New Brunswick (i.e., should not occur before a business immigrant landing and not just a business registration). Ineligible Businesses The following types of businesses are not eligible for the New Brunswick Entrepreneurial Stream: adult services including but not limited to the production, distribution or sale of pornographic or sexually explicit products or services, or the provision of sexually-oriented services; bed and breakfast accommodations; coin-operated businesses; consultancy (business or agency that offers expert professional advice in a field); online language and educational training centers; e-commerce or online businesses; facilities that provide temporary residents or newcomer’s settlement services; cooperative (business or organization owned and operated by its member); domain names; hobby farm for personal consumption or use that does not generate a primary source of income; brokerage businesses (a business that derives its prime source of income from acting as an intermediary for buyers and sellers); financial services including, but not limited to cooperatives or credit unions, short-term borrowing including, but not limited to, payday loan, cheque cashing, money changing and cash machines, secured loans where items of personal property are used as collateral (i.e. pawnbrokers); home-based or businesses operating from residential property; landlord property and rental management; inn or boutique hotel that has less than five rental units with revenues less than C$100,000; not-for-profit businesses and organizations; property investment (purchase/construction/development of real estate for the intention of earning a return on the investment, either through rental income, the future resale of the property or both); however, construction or development may be eligible if multiple signed and verifiable contracts are provided; this does not include the purchase of existing properties or businesses; professional practices and services where the applicant fails to provide proof of licensing or accreditation in New Brunswick; immigration-linked passive investment scheme; is conducted remotely from a jurisdiction outside New Brunswick; offers products or services primarily used during a particular time of the year (businesses must be operational for 12 months continuously throughout each year); promotes or sells controlled substances and illegal drugs, prescription drugs and items used to manufacture controlled substances or drug paraphernalia; promotes or sells illegal items and items that encourage, promote, facilitate or instruct others to engage in illegal activities including, but not limited to counterfeit products, copies of movies, software and trademarks, etc.; and any business that by association could bring PETL [Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour] into disrepute.