Canada.
How Canada sells residence for investors (golden visa): 4 programmes, 1 of them open today. Every number and rule below links to the document it comes from.
- 23,899
- numbers
- 57
- prices and rules
- 33
- events
- 27
- documents and articles
Federal Immigrant Investor Program
Sells the right to live in the country (a “golden visa”), sometimes leading to citizenship later.
Official name: Canada federal Immigrant Investor Program (Investor class, Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations ss. 88-109)
C$800,000 interest-free loan to the federal government, repaid after 5 years (net worth C$1.6m; family included). These were the terms from 1 Dec 2010 until the law ended the programme on 19 Jun 2014. Intake had already stopped on 1 Jul 2012. It is a refundable loan, not a payment; most investors financed it through banks.
Notes from the research
Permanent residence (no conditions after arrival) for experienced business people who lent the federal government a fixed sum for five years without interest; the money was passed to participating provinces and territories and repaid. C$400,000 loan and C$800,000 net worth until 30 Nov 2010, then C$800,000 and C$1.6 million. Introduced 1986, redesigned 1 April 1999. Cap of 700 new applications a year from 1 July 2011; intake stopped 1 July 2012. Budget 2014 (11 Feb 2014) announced its end; section 87.5 IRPA (Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1, assent 19 June 2014) terminated every application not assessed before 11 Feb 2014 and ordered refunds (it did not apply to investors selected by Quebec). Ordinary naturalisation rules apply afterwards (no investor-specific route). The 2014 CIC evaluation found investor immigrants declared low incomes and paid little income tax, had the highest out-migration after 10 years, and that only about 30% of the loan money was actively invested.
Prices and rules
What is measured
- Golden visas issued594
- Applicant share447
- Share of programme investment by asset class or route23
- Income of programme migrants21
- Businesses receiving programme investment19
- Government spending on running a CBI programme14
- Programme grants as a share of all grants of the same status13
- Investor-programme funds allocated to regional funds12
- Average characteristic of programme migrants10
- Programme migrants counted in a study9
- Applications received8
- Applications processed7
- Investors approved, not counting family members7
- Processing time7
- Applications approved6
- Application grant rate6
- Applications turned down6
- Applications withdrawn6
- Investment by programme investors6
- Applications pending5
- Revenue of programme businesses (distribution)4
- Intermediary fees charged per investor3
- Government cost per application processed2
- Programme share of a combined budget or cost2
- Implied annual cost of investor capital2
- People granted citizenship or residence through investor schemes1
- Follow-on investment by programme investors1
- Jobs created by programme investors1
Investor venture capital pilot
Sells the right to live in the country (a “golden visa”), sometimes leading to citizenship later.
Official name: Canada Immigrant Investor Venture Capital (IIVC) pilot (Immigrant Investor Venture Capital class, ministerial instructions under IRPA s. 14.1)
C$2,000,000 into a venture capital fund, repayment not guaranteed (net worth C$10m). Intake ran 28 Jan-30 Dec 2015.
Notes from the research
Replacement pilot for the federal IIP: permanent residence for up to 60 investors with net worth of at least C$10 million who paid C$2 million, not guaranteed, into a venture capital fund (held about 15 years and managed mainly by BDC Capital, per CBC), plus language and education requirements and a due diligence report. Intake windows 28 Jan-11 Feb 2015 (max 500 applications), 13 Feb-15 Apr 2015 and 25 May-30 Dec 2015. IRCC told CBC only seven applications were in process when intake closed on 30 Dec 2015. IRCC declared the pilot closed and removed its instructions on 29 Jan 2021 after finalising the last files. Final admissions not found.
Prices and rules
What is measured
- Applications pending3
- Golden visas issued1
Canada Prince Edward Island Provincial Nominee Program, investor stream
Sells the right to live in the country (a “golden visa”), sometimes leading to citizenship later.
Notes from the research
Provincial nomination route (leading to Canadian permanent residence) for people who invest in Prince Edward Island. According to the UK Migration Advisory Committee (Feb 2014, citing the agent website Investor Visa Canada), it opened in January 2014 with 400 places for 2014 and required net worth of at least C$600,000, management expertise, an investment of C$150,000 in a qualifying business and an intention to live in the province; the MAC adds that no further details were available and that the route resembles an entrepreneur route more than a passive investor route. No Prince Edward Island or federal document on the stream is stored, so whether January 2014 was its first opening, its later terms and its current status are not confirmed. No counts found: the stored IRCC provincial nominee tables give Prince Edward Island totals for all nominee streams together, and the 2014 CIC evaluation's Prince Edward Island figures concern the federal Immigrant Investor Program (can-iip).
Prices and rules
What is measured
No published numbers found for this programme. That is itself worth knowing: see the notes and the documents below.
Quebec Investor Program
Sells the right to live in the country (a “golden visa”), sometimes leading to citizenship later.
Official name: Quebec Investor Program (Programme des investisseurs, Règlement sur l'immigration au Québec, art. 37 and following)
Since 1 Jan 2024 both are required: a C$1,000,000 five-year placement with IQ Immigrants Investisseurs, refundable without interest (t-f7f008961c), plus a non-refundable C$200,000 contribution (t-34bd71f90b). The total outlay is C$1.2m. Before 2024 it was a C$1.2m placement alone (t-e5d8f200e2).
Notes from the research
Quebec selects the investor (selection certificate, CSQ) under the Canada-Quebec Accord; IRCC then grants permanent residence. Investors place a fixed sum for 5 years with IQ Immigrants Investisseurs (a subsidiary of Investissement Québec) through an authorised broker or trust company; the income funds grants to Quebec businesses. Placement of C$1,200,000 (net worth C$2 million) under the regulation in force from 2 August 2018 (the amount before then was not confirmed in a Quebec text in this pass); from 1 January 2024 a C$1,000,000 placement plus a non-refundable C$200,000 contribution, oral French level 7, a work permit and stays of at least 6 months each for the investor and spouse in Quebec (no stay required before). Receipt of applications was suspended 1 Apr-15 Aug 2018; capped at 1,900 (max 1,235 from China) for 10 Sep 2018-31 Aug 2019; suspended again 1 Nov 2019 to 1 Apr 2023. Under the new rules only C$1 million (2024-25) and C$3 million (Apr-Dec 2025) of placements were made. MIFI found only 15.5% of people admitted 2011-2020 still present in Quebec in January 2022. Launch year of the Quebec programme is not stated in the sources read (the federal investor class dates from 1986).
Prices and rules
What is measured
- Golden visas issued198
- Investment by programme investors16
- Licensed programme agents3
- Donations paid into the government's fund3
- Money credited to a CBI-financed account or fund3
- Applications pending2
- Applications received2
- Income of programme intermediaries2
- Share of programme investment by asset class or route1
- Qualifying investments made (count)1
- Investor residence status retained1
- Estimated impact of a rule change on programme users1
All the numbers we have for Canada
Pick what you want to see. Each dot is one number from one document; click anything to open its source.
What happened, and when
The 27 documents behind this page
- 2026-07 · GovernmentCanada - Admissions of Permanent Residents by Country of Citizenship and Immigration Category, January 2015 - July 2026 (EN_ODP-PR-CitzImmCat.xlsx) · Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
- 2026-07 · GovernmentCanada - Admissions of Permanent Residents by Province/Territory of Intended Destination and Immigration Category, January 2015 - July 2026 (EN_ODP-PR-ProvImmCat.xlsx) · Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
- 2026-02 · GovernmentRéponse à une demande d'accès à l'information du 30 janvier 2026 (N/D 1-310-039): valeur des contributions des immigrants investisseurs au Programme des immigrants investisseurs du Québec, par exercice financier · Investissement Québec
- 2023-11 · Law or regulationDécret 1570-2023 du 25 octobre 2023: Règlement modifiant le Règlement sur l'immigration au Québec (Gazette officielle du Québec, 8 novembre 2023, no 45) · Éditeur officiel du Québec
- 2023-09 · GovernmentAnalyse d'impact réglementaire: Règlement modifiant le Règlement sur l'immigration au Québec (modifications aux programmes d'immigration économique...) · Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration (Québec)
- 2021-10 · European UnionAvenues for EU action on citizenship and residence by investment schemes: European added value assessment (PE 694.217) · European Parliamentary Research Service (European Added Value Unit)
- 2021-03 · Law or regulationArrêté numéro 2021-007 de la ministre de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration (Gazette officielle du Québec, 31 mars 2021, no 13) · Éditeur officiel du Québec
- 2021-01 · GovernmentProgram delivery update: Removing the no longer active Immigrant Investor Venture Capital class program from the permanent resident programs list (29 January 2021) · Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
- 2020-05 · Law or regulationArrêté numéro 2020-001 du ministre de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration en date du 8 mai 2020 (Gazette officielle du Québec, 20 mai 2020) · Éditeur officiel du Québec
- 2019-12 · GovernmentMinisterial Instructions 19 (MI19): Instructions respecting the Immigrant Investor Venture Capital Class · Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
- 2019-10 · Law or regulationArrêté numéro AM 2019-007 du ministre de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration en date du 22 octobre 2019 (Gazette officielle du Québec, 30 octobre 2019, no 44A) · Éditeur officiel du Québec
- 2019-01 · Law or regulationArrêté numéro 2019-001 du ministre de l'Immigration, de la Diversité et de l'Inclusion en date du 4 janvier 2019 (Gazette officielle du Québec, 16 janvier 2019, no 3) · Éditeur officiel du Québec
- 2018-08 · Law or regulationArrêté numéro AM 2018-009 du ministre de l'Immigration, de la Diversité et de l'Inclusion en date du 10 juillet 2018 (Gazette officielle du Québec, 1er août 2018, no 31) · Éditeur officiel du Québec
- 2018-03 · Law or regulationArrêté numéro AM 2018-001 du ministre de l'Immigration, de la Diversité et de l'Inclusion en date du 19 mars 2018 (Gazette officielle du Québec, 28 mars 2018, no 13, p. 2021) · Éditeur officiel du Québec
- 2018-03 · Law or regulationProjet de règlement: Règlement sur l'immigration au Québec (Gazette officielle du Québec, 28 mars 2018, no 13) · Éditeur officiel du Québec
- 2016-01 · NewsMillionaire immigrant investor program lures only 7 instead of 60 · CBC News
- 2016 · GovernmentFacts & Figures 2015: Immigration Overview - Permanent Residents. Canada - Permanent residents by category (principal applicants) (IRCC_FFPR_05_E) · Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
- 2016 · GovernmentFacts & Figures 2015: Immigration Overview - Permanent Residents. Canada - Permanent residents by category (IRCC_FFPR_02_E) · Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
- 2015-06 · CourtJia v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2015 FCA 146 (A-320-14), judgment of 15 June 2015 · Federal Court of Appeal
- 2015-06 · IMFVanuatu: 2015 Article IV Consultation and Request for Disbursement under the Rapid Credit Facility and Purchase under the Rapid Financing Instrument (IMF Country Report No. 15/149) · International Monetary Fund
- 2015-05 · IMFToo Much of a Good Thing? Prudent Management of Inflows under Economic Citizenship Programs (IMF Working Paper WP/15/93) · International Monetary Fund
- 2015-01 · Law or regulationCanada Gazette, Part I, Vol. 149, No. 4 (24 January 2015): Ministerial Instructions Respecting the Immigrant Investor Venture Capital Class · Government of Canada, Canada Gazette
- 2014-06 · Law or regulationEconomic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1 (S.C. 2014, c. 20), full text · Government of Canada, Justice Laws Website
- 2014-06 · GovernmentEvaluation of the Federal Business Immigration Program · Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Evaluation Division
- 2014-06 · GovernmentEvaluation of the Federal Business Immigration Program: chapters 2, 3 and 6, Appendices A-F, management response and acronyms · Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Evaluation Division
- 2014-02 · GovernmentThe Road to Balance: Creating Jobs and Opportunities. Economic Action Plan 2014 (Budget 2014) · Department of Finance Canada
- 2014-02 · GovernmentTier 1 (Investor) route: investment thresholds and economic benefits · Migration Advisory Committee
Who buys passports and golden visas, what they cost, and what happens when governments change the rules. Written from this data, in the newsletter.