– NEWFOUNDLAND –

Skilled Workers

The Provincial Nominee Program will be used to nominate persons who have specialized skills that are deemed as having a critical impact on the operations of an employer which are not otherwise obtainable in Canada. Applicants submitting an application in this category will be required to have a bona fide offer of paid employment, at prevailing market rates, from a Newfoundland and Labrador employer. The applicant may also be required to visit Newfoundland and Labrador for a per-employment interview with the employer and the Department of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development. Applicants who are already in the province on work permit may also be required to attend an interview with the Department of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development prior to submitting an application. The skilled worker will also be required to meet with department officials within fourteen days after landing.

The applicant’s permanent job or job offer should fall within the strategic sector list. There is an onus on the employer to ensure that the applicant’s skills could not have been met locally and/or that the position was extremely difficult to fill, and that the skills have a critical impact on the local employer’s/organization’s operating ability.

Business Categories

There are two business programs in Newfoundland. The Immigrant Entrepreneur (described below) and the Immigrant Partner categories.

The Immigrant Entrepreneur category is intended for prospective immigrants who propose to establish a new business or purchase an expanding existing business and who intend to be self-employed in that business. Applicants who wish to submit an application in this category must meet the following criteria:

Eligible Business:

Priority will be given to immigrant entrepreneurs who establish an active business or purchase an expanding existing business in a sector identified in the strategic sector list.

Net Worth and Liquidity Requirements:

Immigrant entrepreneurs must have a minimum net worth of $450,000, including minimum ‘liquid assets’ of $350,000. ‘Liquid assets’ include cash, demand deposits with a financial institution, term deposits, tax shelters convertible to cash, and readily marketable investments including publicly traded stocks and bonds.

Investment/Equity Requirement:

Immigrant entrepreneurs must be prepared to make a minimum business investment of $200,000 in equity to establish an eligible new enterprise or purchase an eligible existing business within the northeast Avalon region (the greater St. John’s area) or CDN$150,000 in further liquid assets.

Required Business Experience:

Immigrant entrepreneurs must have a minimum of five years of senior management or direct entrepreneurial experience in a business similar to the one proposed. The applicant will be required to submit a résumé or CV (curriculum vitae), letters of recommendation, financial statements and other documents in support of his/her demonstrated level of experience.

Good Faith Performance Deposit:

In applying to immigrate to Canada under the Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Nominee Program, the applicant must certify his/her intention of settling and establishing or purchasing a business in Newfoundland and Labrador. To guarantee this intention, the applicant is required to place $25,000 in trust with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. This deposit will be fully refundable, with interest, one year after landing, provided that the immigrant entrepreneur can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the province that:
the required minimum investment was indeed made;
the business is fully operational;
the immigrant entrepreneur and his/her family maintain a residence in Newfoundland and Labrador; and,
the immigrant entrepreneur is self-employed in the business.

Exploratory Visit:

Immigrant entrepreneurs are required to make an initial exploratory visit to Newfoundland and Labrador. Following a pre-assessment of the immigrant application, the province will issue an invitation for the exploratory visit (at the entrepreneur’s own expense). During this time, the immigrant entrepreneur will meet with a Program Officer for an official interview. The interview process will assist the Program Officer with the assessment of the nomination.

Business Plan:

Immigrant entrepreneurs are required to prepare and submit a business plan outlining how the new enterprise is to be successfully established. Applicants purchasing an existing business must submit a business plan outlining the future continuing success/improvement of operations under his/her ownership and management.

Immigrant Partner
The Immigrant Partner category is intended for prospective immigrants with business and/or entrepreneurial skills and expertise who wish to partner, in a limited manner, with other prospective immigrants (to a maximum of 3 additional immigrant partners) in establishing a new business to be located in Newfoundland and Labrador OR invest in an expanding existing Newfoundland and Labrador company.

In both situations the immigrant partner must take an active role in the new or investee company. Active role is defined as the participation in the day to day operations and decision making activities of a company as a director or senior manager of the company with a “meaningful managerial role”. A “meaningful managerial role” would require direct involvement in major decision making of the company, hiring and firing of staff, financing decisions, meeting major customers, authorization to sign cheques, and other related activities.

Whereas under the Immigrant Entrepreneur category the immigrant is engaged on a self-employed basis in the business, the active role played by immigrants under the Immigrant Partner category may be either as director of the company, with the attendant financial, legal and decision-making responsibilities, or as a senior manager of the company, as defined at level “O” of the National Occupational Code Classification.