The province is lowering the minimum investment required for business immigrants to help expand trade with Asia and find ways of fighting the province's mountain pine beetle infestation.
Business immigrants applying under the provincial nominee program will get special consideration if their business proposals find new ways of using pine beetle-damaged wood, diversify the economies of communities affected by the pine beetle and expand business with the Asia-Pacific region.
Businesses that also create partnerships with the province's First Nations and develop clean technologies, information technology, new media and the biotech sector will also be given special consideration.
Business immigrants will now require a minimum investment of $400,000 under the business skills category; $200,000 under the regional business category and $500,000 under the strategic projects category.
That replaces the old financial requirements of $800,000 under the business skills category, $300,000 under regional development and $1 million under strategic projects.
Ventures eligible for the lower investment threshold include those in such sectors as high tech, value-added manufacturing and export, tourism and services for underserved local and regional markets.
To encourage more investment outside of the Lower Mainland and the Fraser Valley, immigrants applying under the regional business category must invest outside the Metro Vancouver and Greater Abbotsford areas.
Applicants will still be required to create a minimum number of new jobs for Canadians: three in a business skills enterprise, at least one in a regional business and three for each nominee applicant involved in a strategic project.
Since 2002, 330 nominee business category candidates have been approved under the provincial nominee program. They have invested more than $450 million and created almost 1,700 new jobs.