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Русский Economic Benefits of the Quebec Immigrant Investor Program (QIIP)
March 8, 2017 — The Quebec immigrant investor program (QIIP) is the only passive business investment program offering permanent immigration to Canada.
It was created by the provincial government in 1986 for high net worth individuals with a strong management background. The Quebec Immigrant Investor Program (QIIP) allows business people and their families, who invest $800,000, to enter the province of Quebec as Canadian permanent residents. In return, funding made available through the Quebec Government, (Investissement Quebec), helps provide subsidies to support small and medium sized businesses throughout the Province of Quebec.
The economic benefits of a passive immigrant investor program have been criticized by many stakeholders, including the Federal government. The federal government previously operated its own parallel program known as the Federal Immigrant Investor Program before it was repealed in 2014. It dismissed previous studies outlining the direct and indirect benefits of the former program.
The immigrant investor industry has proven to be a highly lucrative business bringing billions of dollars to governments for infrastructure investment. Canada had a stronghold on the mid-level investor market largely dominated by China and the Middle East. The province of Quebec continues to successfully promote its own immigrant investor program to high net worth individuals with at least $1.6 M. Approved applicants must invest $800,000, interest-free, in a government guaranteed investment scheme for a period of 5-years.
The previous Canada immigration investor program, the Federal Immigrant Investor program, a five-year interest-free passive investment, was established in response to growing demand for investment capital by Canadian businesses. During the 1990’s Canada received a much greater benefit from the investment capital attributed to higher interest rate environments.
However, even at the current low interest rates, a passive immigrant investor program is highly beneficial to the economy. A well managed program offers large revenue potential to governments and the private sector. The Province of Quebec, through Investissement Quebec, allocates on average from approved immigrant investors, approximately $150,000 to a qualified Quebec small and medium sized business..
The benefits of the QIIP to the province are undeniable. During the period, January 2001 through February 2016, the QIIP program generated more than $700 Million from immigrant investors and this sum was allocated to 4,737 Quebec businesses located in 17 regions throughout the province.
During the period 2016/2017, Quebec received 1900 investor applications. It plans to receive a similar number in 2017/2018. Investment requirements will remain unchanged.
Interested employers: Kindly contact us here to receive further information.
Interested candidates: Find out whether you qualify to Canada by completing our free on-line evaluation. We will provide you with our evaluation within 1-2 business days.
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- Published in 2017, Business Immigration, Immigration Wiki, March, Provincial News Articles 2017, Quebec Investor Program
Quebec Immigrant Investor Program A Stable Alternative to US EB-5 (Audio)
Article Audio:
January 23, 2017 — With uncertainty surrounding the future of the US EB-5 under Donald Trump, Quebec is about to open applications for its popular investment immigration program.
The Quebec Immigrant Investor Program (QIIP) offers a stable and well-administered alternative to the EB-5, which has been beset with problems relating to fraud, manipulation of so-called Targeted Employment Areas (TEAs) and an ever-growing backlog of applications.
Quebec is expected to maintain the QIIP investment threshold at CAD$800,000, putting it among the cheapest permanent residence programs on the market. This comes as the US looks likely to increase the lower EB-5 threshold to US$800,000 under recent proposals tabled in Congress.
QIIP Requirements
- Legally acquired personal net worth of $1.6 million.
- Two years of suitable management or business experience within the five years preceding the application.
- Make investment of $800,000 for a period of five years bearing no interest. Money invested is returned at the end of the period.
- Intend to settle in the province of Quebec.
The QIIP program has not undergone an increase in investment requirements in more than a decade. Stakeholders expect the current program to remain unchanged for at least another cycle.
The EB-5 has likewise not seen an increase in requirements since inception in 1990. Since then the program has undergone several temporary extensions as U.S. lawmakers try to reach a consensus on what they want to do with the popular-but-controversial program.
Many expect President Trump to support the program, given the billions of dollars of investment it has attracted to projects across America. But there has been no indication yet on what Trump will do, meaning uncertainty is the buzz word among potential candidates.
The draw of moving to Canada, the relatively low investment requirement and the stability of that investment make the QIIP one of the world’s most appealing programs for high net worth individuals.
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Only Quebec-based immigration lawyers can represent candidates for the QIIP. For a free assessment to determine whether you qualify, click here.
In July 2016, Demetrios Papademetriou of the Migration Policy Institute described the QIIP as ‘among the most generous’ of the world’s investment programs, particularly among top tier nations.
He is not surprised that investors opt for Canada despite similar schemes in the U.S., the U.K., France and Australia.
The EB-5 is currently cheaper, but the $500,000 investment requirement has to be made without financing in often-risky, start-up projects which can fail and candidates can lose their investment and with it their residency option.
Tier 1 Program Comparatives
| Program | Investment requirement (CAD in brackets) | Notes |
| Quebec | $800,000 |
|
| USA | US$500,000 ($652,790) |
|
| UK | £2m ($3.5m) |
|
| Australia | AUD$1.5m ($1.5m) |
|
| New Zealand | $1.5m ($1.4m) |
|
| France | €10m ($14.4m) |
|
| Germany | €1m ($1.44m) |
|
QIIP is controversial within Canada because many of the investors choose to live in Vancouver or Toronto, despite stating their intention to settle in Quebec as part of the application process.
The QIIP is also controversial in the rest of Canada because many of the immigrants who come in through the program end up settling in Vancouver and Toronto, despite declaring their intent to reside in Quebec as part of the application process.
Experts suggest this is one of the reasons for the inflated housing markets in both major cities, particularly the West Coast giant.
Critics say Quebec should not be benefitting financially from the program if the immigrants given permanent residency do not settle in the province.
Quebec says it has attempted to slow the movement of immigrants out of the province, first by introducing the declaration to reside rule, and also by focusing on French-speaking applicants.
Interested employers: Kindly contact us here to receive further information.
Interested candidates: Find out whether you qualify to Canada by completing our free on-line evaluation. We will provide you with our evaluation within 1-2 business days.
Read more news about Canada Immigration by clicking here.
