International Graduate Entrepreneur Category

Eligibility criteria for the International Graduate Entrepreneur category

• Be at least 21 years old;
• Provide a business continuity plan with supporting financial documentation verified by a recognized third-party professional service (applicants are solely responsible for payment of associated fees related to obtaining these documents);
• Have completed a degree or diploma after at least two academic years of full-time, in-person study at Memorial University or College of the North Atlantic with the degree or diploma having been completed within two years of submission of the Expression of Interest;
• Have a valid post-graduate work permit;
• Want to live permanently in Newfoundland and Labrador while owning and actively managing a local business that has the potential to create significant economic benefit to Newfoundland and Labrador;
• Have at least one year’s continuous experience actively managing and owning the current business (33.3 per cent minimum ownership);
• Demonstrate the ability to create at least one full-time equivalent job for the local population (permanent residents and Canadian citizens);
• Demonstrate that the business is a for-profit entity with the primary purpose of earning profits through the sale of goods and/or services;
• Have a score of at least 7 on the Canadian Language Benchmark in speaking, listening, reading and writing in English or French;
• Complete an online Expression of Interest; and
• Receive an Invitation to Apply from the Office of Immigration and Multiculturalism.

International Graduate Entrepreneur – Additional Criteria

Additional Criteria When Starting a New Business

• Be over and above any position filled by the approved applicant. For clarity, jobs created for or filled by dependents or relatives of the applicant are not eligible.
• Be relevant and directly related to the applicant’s business.
• Meet the prevailing provincial wage levels.

Additional Criteria When Purchasing an Existing Business

• The business must have been in continuous operation by the same owner for the previous five (5) years;
• Applicants must provide evidence that reasonable efforts were taken to establish a fair market value for the business;
• The business must be actively in operation and not in receivership;
• Applicants must offer employment on similar terms and conditions to existing staff, including maintaining existing wages and employment terms.

Ineligible Applicants for International Graduate Entrepreneur Category

• An individual living illegally in one’s country of residence;
• A person who has had a removal order issued against them by IRCC or Canada Border Services Agency;
• A person who is prohibited from entering Canada;
• A passive investor (individuals who intend to invest in a Newfoundland and Labrador business with very limited or no involvement in the day-to-day management of the business); and
• An individual who does not have status (ineligible to apply until their status is restored).

Ineligible Businesses for International Graduate Entrepreneur Category

• Businesses that are conducted remotely (from another Canadian jurisdiction or from another country);
• Property rental, investment, and leasing activities;
• Real estate construction/development/brokerage, insurance brokerage or business brokerage; unless the applicant can prove their business in one of these areas is of compelling benefit to the province;
• Professional services or self-employed business operators requiring licensing or accreditation;
• A payday loan, cheque cashing, money changing and cash machines;
• Pawnbrokers;
• Taxi companies;
• Home-based businesses; unless the applicant can prove their business will have a compelling benefit to the province;
• Businesses involved in the production, distribution or sale of pornographic or sexually explicit products or services;
• Not-for-profit businesses;
• Investments into a business operated primarily for the purposes of deriving passive investment income;
• Businesses operating primarily for the purpose of deriving investment income such as interest, dividends or capital gains;
• Businesses that will compensate employees solely on the basis of commission; and
• Any other type of business that by association could tend to bring OIM, NLPNP, or the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador into disrepute.