Most business owners assume investor immigration means the (now-closed) federal Start-Up Visa or a fund big enough to make headlines. ITC iLand's free qualifier checks your net worth, capital, experience and language against all eight active Canadian business and investor routes at once — in under two minutes, no documents required.
If you own a business — or you run one as a general manager, even if your name isn't on the shares — there is a real chance a Canadian immigration door is open to you right now, and most people in that position have no idea which one, or whether their numbers actually clear the bar. ITC iLand built a free tool for exactly this gap: seven questions, under two minutes, and it checks your net worth, capital, experience and language against every active business and investor route in Canada at once, plus one option outside Canada for high-net-worth applicants. It lives at itciland.com/invest/qualify.
Why "do I qualify" usually starts with the wrong assumption
Most business owners who come to us assume investor immigration means one of two things: the federal Start-Up Visa, or a fund large enough to make headlines. Neither is where the action is anymore. The action moved to the provinces, and it moved toward people who actually run something — not people who can only write a cheque.
The federal Start-Up Visa and the federal Self-Employed Persons Program have both been closed to new applications since January 1, 2026. Saskatchewan's SINP Entrepreneur stream closed permanently in March 2025, and PEI's Business Impact category is not currently issuing invitations. If anyone is still pitching those as open options, walk away from that advice.
Seven questions, and what each one is actually screening for
The qualifier does not ask for documents, ID, or payment details — just numbers, and it explains why each one matters:
- Total documentable net worth — every provincial stream sets a minimum, from $300,000 up to $1,000,000+, and it has to be assets you can actually prove
- Liquid capital you could invest — separate from net worth; this is the cash or readily-sellable capital you would put into a Canadian business, and it usually needs to clear $100,000–$250,000 depending on the route
- Years owning and actively running your own business — most streams want 2–3+ years of hands-on ownership, not a passive shareholding
- Years in senior management — if you're not an owner, several streams accept 5+ years running operations, budgets, or staff for someone else instead
- English level — bands run from CLB 4 (basic conversational) to CLB 7+, and this alone knocks more applicants out of contention than net worth does
- Age — most streams have no hard cutoff, but a couple set a floor around 21 and a ceiling around 59–60
- Willingness to settle outside a major metro area — this single answer can cut the required investment roughly in half on more than one route
The eight routes it checks you against
Behind the seven questions sit eight distinct programs, each with its own published thresholds:
- BC PNP Entrepreneur — Base ($600,000 net worth / $200,000 investment) for ventures inside Metro Vancouver
- BC PNP Entrepreneur — Regional ($300,000 net worth / $100,000 investment) for the same program outside Metro Vancouver — roughly half the bar
- Manitoba Business Investor Stream ($500,000 net worth, $150,000–$250,000 investment depending on region, CLB 5)
- New Brunswick Business Immigration Stream ($500,000 net worth / $150,000 investment / CLB 4 / age 19–59)
- Nova Scotia Entrepreneur ($100,000–$150,000 investment / CLB 5 / 3+ years as an owner or 5+ years in senior management) — invitation-only, so this one screens fit rather than guaranteeing a spot
- Alberta Rural Entrepreneur ($300,000 net worth / $100,000 investment / CLB 4) for ventures in eligible rural communities only
- C11 Owner-Operator — a federal work permit route with no fixed financial threshold, built around taking a controlling stake in an existing Canadian business plus a credible operating plan; it leads to permanent residence only as a later, separate step (through Express Entry or a PNP), not automatically
- Residency or Citizenship by Investment outside Canada — a parallel option for high-net-worth applicants ($1M+) considering a second residency or passport rather than, or alongside, a Canadian pathway
What you actually get back
For each of the eight routes, the tool returns one of three verdicts: "Worth exploring" if your numbers clear the published threshold today, "Possible with planning" if you're close but one or two answers fall short, or "Not currently realistic" if the gap is too wide to close in a reasonable timeframe. If at least one route comes back as a fit or a stretch, you can unlock the full qualifying guide by leaving your name and contact details. If nothing fits today, the tool doesn't just leave you stuck — it points you toward the free general assessment instead, since a skilled-worker or study pathway may fit better than a business route right now.
The bottom line
This is a self-screening tool based on published program criteria — it is not immigration advice and it is not a guarantee. Provincial thresholds move, invitation-only streams like Nova Scotia's can pause without notice, and your specific corporate structure or source of funds can change the analysis in ways a seven-question quiz can't capture. What it is genuinely good at is ruling out the routes that clearly don't fit and flagging the ones worth a real conversation — before you spend money on a lawyer, an accountant, or a flight to look at a business you can't actually qualify to buy. If a route comes back as a fit, the next step is a full assessment with a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant who can verify your numbers, your source of funds, and your business plan against the current rules.
