Planning to Immigrate through Investments abroad?

Planning to Immigrate through Investments abroad? We provide you with a comparison chart between the Investor Visa Program offered by Quebec and the EB-5 visa program offered by the US Government

At present, the US EB-5 Program and the Quebec Investor Immigration Program are the most preferred investor visa programs across the world. Although there are other countries who offer similar visas for foreign investors, these programs find the highest number of applicants seeking to benefit from the visa program. We draw a comparison between the two for you to weigh in the benefits better:

• Minimum investments required  

An EB-5 visa requires the applicant to make a minimum investment of $500,000 under sectors that come under the US government’s TEA List (Targeted Employment Area), which areas classified as areas of high unemployment rates or rural areas by the US government. For other investments, the limit is $1,000,000, which might be hiked in the coming future.

In comparison to this, applicants who apply for visa under the QIIP are required to invest a minimum amount of CAD 800,000 in risk-free investments with authorised financial intermediaries who have been recognised to participate under the program. This capital will be returned to the applicant after a period of 5 years and is guaranteed by the federal government.

• Applicant’s net worth 

Applicant for an EB-5 Investor Visa need not fulfil any net worth requirements; however, it is required that QIIP applicants prove a minimum net worth of CAD 1,600,000 that is legally acquired either by the applicant alone or along with the spouse/de facto partner. An applicant can exhibit her/his net worth by providing proof of assets like bank accounts, bonds and stocks, property and investments like pension funds.

• Investment type 

EB-5 investors have to make investments in new commercial companies that are set up in the US which have associated risks. This means that the nature of investment is for running a lawful business that generates profits and does not include investments made in owning a private residence.

QIIP requires investors to make guaranteed and risk-averse investments with authorized intermediaries that are accepted to participate in the program by the government of Quebec. The capital will either be returned in 5 years’ time or will be financed by the Canadian Financial Institution.

• Requirements for job creation  

QIIP comes with no conditions for creating jobs, whereas an EB-5 investor should create employment for at least 10 skilled workers in the USA on a full-time basis within two years of making an investment on a Conditional PR card. The nature of employment can be either direct by hiring W-2 employees under a commercially run business which is financed by the investor through a capital amount, or indirect where jobs have been created as a result of the capital investment made into a commercially run business that is associated with a regional centre.

Comparison Chart between an EB-5 Visa program and QIIP
	EB-5 Investor VisaProgram	Quebec Investor Immigration Program
Minimum Investment Required	$500,000 or $1,000,000	CAD 800,000
Minimum Net Worth	NIL	CAD 1,600,000
Investment Type	Risk-based investment in a new commercial enterprise	Risk-free investment through an authorized financial intermediary who is recognized to participate in the program.
Due Date for Investing	Applicant should have either invested or be in the process of investing at the time of submitting her/his petition to the USCIS	Investment is allowed only after the approval on applicant's petition.
Requirements for Job Creation	Must employat least 10 US full-time workers(who are skilled)per investment.	NIL
Term of Investment	5 years	5 years
Requirements for the Source of Funds	Should prove that the minimum capital amount was sourced legally	Should declare all assets since the applicant's career, even if the assets are not utilized to support the investment capital
Management Experience Required	NIL	Minimum of 2 years in the past 5 past five years that have preceded the date of application
Benefit of Investment Visa	Conditional PR card, on which you can remove the conditions on PR status by submitting an I-829 form	CSQ or Certification of selection of Quebec is issued in the beginning, which can be later used to apply for a Canadian PR
Place of Residence	Anywhere within the United States	Initially an applicant must express an interest to reside inQuebec;however, upon being conferred with a PR status, applicant is free to reside anywhere in Canada.
Inclusion of Dependents	Spouse and Children who are aged under 21 years are included in thevisa	Spouse/defacto partner andchildren who are aged under 19 years are included in thevisa
Quota	10,000 visas per year, which includes the dependents of main applicants.	Applicants who are fluent in French can apply for this visa round theyearby demonstrating their ability to speak the language fluently. For others, there is a cut-offpointfor receiving 1900 applications between the application window that lasts between 30thMay 2016 to 28th Feb 2017; of which close to 1330 applications are reserved for citizens of China, Hong Kong and Macau.