The Self-Employed Persons Program in Canada enables qualifying foreign nationals with significant expertise in cultural activities or athletics to gain permanent residence in Canada.
Self-Employed person applicants must have the experience, intention, and ability to make a “substantial contribution” to Canada’s cultural life or sports.
The Self-Employed applicants must establish that they have adequate finances to support themselves and their dependents in Canada and to pay the employment for which they have been selected.
To be considered for immigration as a self-employed individual, interested candidates must meet the eligibility requirements and obtain a passing score on the program’s selection criteria.
WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL SELF-EMPLOYED PROGRAM?
At least two years of relevant work experience in the applicant’s professional industry is necessary within the preceding five years. Individuals in the arts and entertainment business and professional athletes must either present proof of:
- Two years as a sole proprietor in their industry, or
- Two years of participation in their domain at a world-class level, or
- A mixture of one year of each of the preceding.
Self-employed individuals interested in owning and operating a farm must have two years of farm management experience within the five years preceding their application. All applicants to the Federal Self-Employed Scheme must intend to settle in one of the Canadian provinces or territories, except Quebec, which has its own self-employed immigration programme.
SELECTION FACTORS OF FEDERAL SELF- EMPLOYED PROGRAM
Applications from interested candidates are evaluated using the self-employed business immigration points system in Canada. The self-employed persons programme requires a minimum of 35 points out of 100 to pass.
| SELECTION FACTORS | POINTS |
| EXPERIENCE | MAXIMUM 35 POINTS |
| AGE | MAXIMUM 10 POINTS |
| EDUCATION | MAXIMUM 25 POINTS |
| ABILITY IN ENGLISH OR FRENCH | MAXIMUM 24 POINTS |
| ADAPTABILITY | MAXIMUM 6 POINTS |
| TOTAL | MAMIMUM 100 POINTS |
| PASS MARK | 35 POINTS |
FACTOR 1: EXPERIENCE
| YEARS OF EXPERIENCE | POINTS |
| TWO YEARS OF RELEVANT EXPERIENCE | 20 |
| THREE YEARS OF RELEVANT EXPERIENCE | 25 |
| FOUR YEARS OF RELEVANT EXPERIENCE | 30 |
| FIVE YEARS OF RELEVANT EXPERIENCE | 35 |
FACTOR 2: AGE
| AGE | POINTS |
| 16 OR UNDER | 0 |
| 17 | 2 |
| 18 | 4 |
| 19 | 6 |
| 20 | 8 |
| 21-49 | 10 |
| 50 | 8 |
| 51 | 6 |
| 52 | 4 |
| 53 | 2 |
| 54+ | 0 |
FACTOR 3: EDUCATION
| EDUCATION | POINTS |
| MASTER’S DEGREE OR PH.D. AND AT LEAST 17 YEARS OF FULL-TIME OR FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT STUDY | 25 |
| TWO OR MORE UNIVERSITY DEGREES AT THE BACHELOR’S LEVEL AND AT LEAST 15 YEARS OF FULL-TIME OR FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT STUDY | 22 |
| THREE-YEAR DIPLOMA, TRADE CERTIFICATE OR APPRENTICESHIP AND AT LEAST 15 YEARS OF FULL-TIME OR FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT STUDY | 22 |
| UNIVERSITY DEGREE OF TWO YEARS OR MORE AT THE BACHELOR’S LEVEL AND AT LEAST 14 YEARS OF FULL-TIME OR FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT STUDY | 20 |
| TWO-YEAR DIPLOMA, TRADE CERTIFICATE OR APPRENTICESHIP AND AT LEAST 14 YEARS OF FULL-TIME OR FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT STUDY | 20 |
| ONE-YEAR UNIVERSITY DEGREE AT THE BACHELOR’S LEVEL AND AT LEAST 13 YEARS OF FULL-TIME OR FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT STUDY | 15 |
| ONE-YEAR DIPLOMA, TRADE CERTIFICATE OR APPRENTICESHIP AND AT LEAST 13 YEARS OF FULL-TIME OR FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT STUDY | 15 |
| ONE-YEAR DIPLOMA, TRADE CERTIFICATE OR APPRENTICESHIP AND AT LEAST 12 YEARS OF FULL-TIME OR FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT STUDY | 12 |
| HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA | 5 |
FACTOR 4: LANGUAGE
| LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY | POINTS | |||
| FIRST OFFICIAL LANGUAGE | SPEAKING | LISTENING | READING | WRITING |
| HIGH PROFICIENCY | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| MODERATE PROFICIENCY | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| BASIC PROFICIENCY | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| NO PROFICIENCY | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
PLEASE NOTE: YOU CAN SCORE A MAXIMUM OF ONLY TWO POINTS IN TOTAL FOR BASIC-LEVEL PROFICIENCY.
| SECOND OFFICIAL LANGUAGE | SPEAKING | LISTENING | READING | WRITING |
| HIGH PROFICIENCY | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| MODERATE PROFICIENCY | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| BASIC PROFICIENCY | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| NO PROFICIENCY | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MAXIMUM | 24 |
FACTOR 5: ADAPTABILITY
| ADAPTABILITY | POINTS |
| SPOUSE’S OR COMMON- LAW PARTNER’S LEVEL OF EDUCATION | |
| SECEONDAY SCHOOL (HIGH SCHOOL) DIPLOMA OR LESS | 0 |
| A ONE-YEAR DIPLOMA, TRADE CERTIFICATE, APPRENTICESHIP, OR UNIVERSITY DEGREE AND AT LEAST 12 YEARS OF FULL-TIME OR FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT STUDIES | 3 |
| A TWO OR THREE-YEAR DIPLOMA, TRADE CERTIFICATE, APPRENTICESHIP, OR UNIVERSITY DEGREE AND AT LEAST 14 YEARS OF FULL-TIME OR FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT STUDIES | 4 |
| A MASTER’S DEGREE OR PHD AND AT LEAST 17 YEARS OF FULL-TIME OR FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT STUDIES | 5 |
| PREVIOUS WORK IN CANADA | |
| YOU, OR YOUR ACCOMPANYING SPOUSE OR COMMON-LAW PARTNER HAVE COMPLETED A MINIMUM OF ONE YEAR OF FULL-TIME WORK IN CANADA ON A VALID WORK PERMIT. | 5 |
| PREVIOUS STUDY IN CANADA | |
| YOU, OR YOUR ACCOMPANYING SPOUSE OR COMMON-LAW PARTNER HAVE COMPLETED A PROGRAM OF FULL-TIME STUDY OF AT LEAST TWO YEARS’ DURATION AT A POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTION IN CANADA. YOU MUST HAVE DONE THIS AFTER YOU WERE 17 YEARS OLD AND WITH A VALID STUDY PERMIT. There is no need to have obtained a degree or diploma for these two years of study to earn these points. | 5 |
| RELATIVES IN CANADA | |
| YOU, OR YOUR ACCOMPANYING SPOUSE OR COMMON-LAW PARTNER, HAVE A RELATIVE (PARENT, GRANDPARENT, CHILD, GRANDCHILD, CHILD OF A PARENT, SIBLING, CHILD OF A GRANDPARENT, AUNT OR UNCLE, OR GRANDCHILD OF A PARENT, NIECE OR NEPHEW) WHO IS RESIDING IN CANADA AND IS A CANADIAN CITIZEN OR PERMANENT RESIDENT. | 5 |
| MAXIMUM | 6 |
Individuals interested in immigrating to Quebec should note that the province has a separate selection system for self-employed persons.
