The Nova Scotia Entrepreneur Stream is one of the ten Nova Scotia Nominee Program (NSNP) streams. As the name suggests, the Entrepreneur Stream allows individuals to start a business in Nova Scotia. Under this stream, senior business managers and business owners can apply for a provincial nomination and move to Canada as a permanent resident.

Once the province approves the applicant, they can begin establishing their business in Nova Scotia. After operating their business for 1 year, the applicant may be nominated to apply for permanent residency.

In this blog, learn the eligibility criteria, application process and fees required to apply for Entrepreneur Stream.

Download Free Immigration and PR Guide PDF

Eligibility Criteria of Nova Scotia Entrepreneur Stream

Meet the following requirements to qualify for Nova Scotia Entrepreneur Stream:

Age	21 years
Language Requirement	at least 3 years of business owning and managing experience (must have owned 1/3 part of the business)or they must have 5 years of experience as a senior business manager
Intention to Live	applicant must be willing to live in Nova Scotia and establish their business in the province
Net Worth	must have CAD $600,000or CAD $400,000 if the business is outside Halifax Regional Municipality
Investment	must invest CAD $150,000or CAD $100,000 if the business is outside Halifax Regional Municipality
Work Experience	at least 3 years of business owning and managing experience (must have owned 1/3 part of business)or they must have 5 years of experience as a senior business manager

Apart from these requirements, the applicant must also create an Expression of Interest and wait to get an invitation to apply to the stream.

Application Process: NSNP Entrepreneur Stream

The application process for Nova Scotia Entrepreneur Stream consists of 2 stages:

Creation of Expression of Interest (EOI)
Apply for Nomination

Let’s begin with how to create an Expression of Interest.

How to Create an Expression of Interest for NSNP

Follow these steps to create an EOI:

Step 1 – Visit the official website of Nova Scotia

Step 2 – Create an account on MyNS account and fill out the information as required. You must complete the EOI in one sitting as it cannot be saved for later use.

Step 3 – Based on the information you provide in the EOI, you will be given a score.

Step 4 – If you are invited, apply for a nomination

How to Apply for Nomination via NSNP Entrepreneur Stream

Follow these steps to apply to the Nova Scotia Entrepreneur Stream for a provincial nomination:

Step 1 – Within 90 days of receiving an Invitation to Apply, apply for nomination to the NSNP. Also within the initial 20 days, you must let the NSNP know who is your Net Worth Verifier. NSNP will offer you 180 days to upload the Net Worth Verification Report and preliminary price of the purchased Nova Scotia business.

Step 2 – Upload the required documents according to your situation and apply.

Step 3 – The NSNP will only process your application when it’s complete they haven’t reached the application intake limit and you as well as your business meet the requirements.

Step 4 – NSNP may take around 6 months or a bit longer to process your application. In case they find that you have provided false information, they may ban you for the next 5 years from applying to any of the immigration programs.

Step 5 – If your business meets all the eligibility requirements, NSNP may call you for an interview which you must attend.

Step 6 – When you pass the interview, the NSNP will issue a Business Performance Agreement so that you may begin your business operation in the province. You need to sign, date, scan, and send the agreement back within 15 days or NSNP will close your nomination application.

Step 7 – NSNP will now ask you to confirm the following:

You have signed up with IRCC’s employer portal
You have valid documents that you have registered with the Nova Scotia Registry of Joint Stock Companies

Step 8 – NSNP will send you the following after receiving registration documents:

Entrepreneur Approval Letter, and
How to apply for a work permit

Within 60 days of receiving the Entrepreneur Approval Letter, you must apply for the work permit to IRCC. When you are applying, include the letter provided by NSNP and pay the fee.

The decision to issue a work permit lies with the IRCC. In case IRCC refuses the same, NSNP will not proceed with your application.

Step 9 – If your work permit is approved, IRCC will send you a port of entry introduction letter which you must use to come to the province within 6 months.

Within 60 days of arriving in Nova Scotia, you need to meet with NSNP staff. For this meeting, you must prepare yourself by gathering the required documents.

Visit the official website of NSNP where you will find the “Arrival Meeting Form” which will list the documents you would need for the meeting. In the meeting, you will get to understand how you can fulfill the terms as stated in the Business Performance Agreement.

Within 6 months of arriving in Nova Scotia, make sure that you start operating your business.

Step 10 – You can only ask NSNP to nominate you once you have been operating your business for over a year in Nova Scotia. You may also ask the province to nominate you in case any one of these apply to you:

You or your spouse or dependent live in Nova Scotia
You have transferred the needed amount of money to Canada
You maintained your legal status in Canada
You met the terms of the Business Performance Agreement

Step 11 – Once you determine that you meet the terms and conditions of the Business Performance Agreement, you may ask the province to nominate you. If you comply with the terms adequately and have provided the right information in your nomination request, the Nova Scotia Nominee Program may nominate you.

In such a case, you will receive a Letter of Nomination. Use the nomination certificate to apply for Canada PR through the PNP pathway (under NSNP Entrepreneur Stream) within 12 months.

While you are waiting for IRCC to approve your permanent residency application, you must continue to meet the nomination requirements or NSNP can withdraw your nomination.

Step 11 – Once you receive a COPR or Confirmation of Permanent Residency, fly to Canada and let NSNP know about your arrival.

Document Checklist: NSNP Entrepreneur Stream

The complete document checklist for the Nova Scotia Entrepreneur Stream is provided below.

Documents Provided by Applicant

eNSNP 100
NSNP 400
NSNP 50
NSNP 60
Preliminary purchase price
Business Establishment Plan
Net Worth Verification
Review Engagement and Special Purpose Report
Registration or license of each business
Registration with the tax authorities
Financial statements
Proof of shares
Documents to represent your current business
Letter of Acceptance provided to employees to hire them
Exploratory Visit Report
Resumé
Pay stubs or payroll records
Academic Credentials or ECA
Copy of visa where the applicant is currently living in
Previous Temporary Resident Permit copy
Copy of previous immigration attempt letters
Copy of marriage certificate
Copy of Statutory Declaration of a CommonLaw Union
Copies of birth certificates
Copies of adoption papers

Who provides the document	Document
Family members in NS	Copy of Record of Landing
	Copy of COPR
	Copy of PR card
	Copy of citizenship card
Applicant & Spouse	Letters of reference
	Applicant & Previous Business Owner
	Language Test Results
Previous business owner	Information about current employees
Applicant & Previous business owner	Proof of fair market value
Applicant, Spouse, Dependents & Family living in Nova Scotia	Passport Copy

NOTE: Not all these documents are mandatory, as they depend on your particular circumstances. However, all the documents must either be in English or French. In case the documents are in any other language, get them translated by an official translator and attach the original as well as translated documents.

Nova Scotia Entrepreneur Stream Processing Time

Nova Scotia may take a little over 6 months to process a nomination application via the Entrepreneur Stream. Further, there’s no application fee to pay for a nomination through any of the NSNP streams.

NSNP streams other than the Entrepreneur stream are: