Monday, 29 August 2016 / Published in Immigration, Immigration Manuals

Self-Employed : Guidelines for Assessing Admissibility

Last Updated on December 23, 2016

The Guidelines for Assessing Admissibility

At the outset, the officers would need to ensure that the applicant meets the regulatory definition of a self-employed individual. Once they are satisfied on this count, they would assess the applicant against the point system for the self-employed class. For this, the officers would need to evaluate the applicant’s admissibility with the following grid. It is worth mentioning that the applicant would need to score 35 points out of a maximum of 100 points available. The Minister has determined this specific requirement.

The table given below specifies the selection factors and the maximum number of points that officers would need to award entrepreneurs with. It also outlines the criteria against which officers would need to assess the applicant. It specifies the number of points that the officers would need to award to the applicants as well.

Business Experience (see note below)	Maximum Points (35)
Business experience of five years	35
Business experience of four years	30
Business experience of three years	25
Business experience of two years	20
Note: The authorities would consider business experience as long as the applicant acquired it within five years prior to the date of application. In addition, the officers would need to consider any additional experience gained in the period prior to the selection decision as well.

Age	Maximum Points (10)
Aged 21 – 49 years at the time of application	10
Officers would need to reduce two points for each year of age above 49 years or below 21 years

Education	Maximum Points (25)
Doctorate or Master’s Degree + 17 years of full-time or full-time equivalent studies	25
3-year trade certificate or LLB or Medical Degree + 15 years full-time or full-time equivalent studies	22
Bachelor’s Degree or 2-year Trade Certificate + 14 years full-time or full-time equivalent studies	20
Bachelor’s Degree or 1-year Trade Certificate + 13 years full-time or full-time equivalent studies	15
1 year post-secondary + 12 years full-time of full-time equivalent studies	12
Secondary school education	5

Official Languages	First Language	Second Language	Maximum Points (24)
High proficiency	16	8	Maximum 24
Moderate proficiency	8	8	Maximum 16
Basic proficiency	2	2	Maximum 4
No proficiency	0	0

Adaptability	Maximum Points (6)
Spouse’s or common-law partner’s education	3 – 5
Minimum one year’s full-time authorised work in Canada (applies to either the principal applicant, the spouse or the common-law partner)	5
Minimum two year’s full-time post-secondary studies in Canada (applies to either the principal applicant, the spouse or the common-law partner)	5
Family member in Canada	5

Total

Maximum Points (100)

Note:

It is worth highlighting that this points system does not apply to people who earn selection under the Quebec Program
This is because Quebec typically selects its own business foreign nationals in accordance with the terms specified in the Canada – Quebec Accord

The Substitution of Evaluation

Officers have the authority to issue or refuse visas regardless of the points obtained. This is especially so if, in their opinion, the points awarded to not reflect the chances of the foreign national becoming economically established in Canada. This is in accordance with the provisions specified in R109 (1). In this scenario, the officers would need to obtain the concurrence of other officers. This is in accordance with the provisions specified in R109 (2).

The Guidelines for Requesting and Reviewing Documentation

Any documentation submitted by the applicant would need to provide evidence of the applicant’s financial position. In addition, it would need to highlight the previous self-employment or experience of the applicant. Moreover, it would need to provide reasonable evidence that the applicant merits consideration under the terms of the program.

It is worth mentioning that officers have the authority to request the self-employed applicants to provide evidence of:

Having researched the Canadian labour market and,
Adopting a realistic plan that the officers could reasonably expect would lead to self-employment

However, the authorities discourage applicants from submitting a formal business plan that would typically entail:

Unnecessary expenses and,
Various administrative burdens

The Guidelines for Processing Self-Employed Applicants Destined for Quebec

Quebec immigration officials are responsible for selecting self-employed individuals destined to Quebec. These officials are also responsible for the selection of entrepreneurs destined to Quebec.

The Guidelines for Making the Eligibility Decision

As mentioned earlier, the officers would assess the applicant’s eligibility. Thereafter, the officers would need to:

Determine that the applicant does not meet the prescribed regulatory definition and refuse the application or,
Decide that the applicant is eligible as a self-employed person and proceed to assess the admissibility of the applicant

Note: