Entrepreneurs are people who intend to purchase and run a business in Canada and have a minimum net worth of $300,000.

REQUIREMENTS:

Entrepreneurs are part of the class of independent immigrants which includes skilled workers, investors and the self-employed.

Entrepreneur immigrants are people who:

• have at least two years experience in the management or control of a business

• have a legally obtained a net worth of at least $300,000, and

• can provide a written statement to an immigration officer that they intend and will be able to meet the conditions outlined below.

Conditions: An entrepreneur immigrant must control more than 33 1/3 per cent of a business, provide active management and create one full-time job (1,950 hours of paid employment) for another Canadian. The person must meet these conditions for at least one of the first three years after becoming a permanent resident.

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1,612 people came to Canada under the entrepreneur category in 2001, out of 250,346 total immigrants.

26 per cent of immigrants come from Asia: China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan.

28 per cent of immigrants who came in the 1990s own homes.

Three out of five men who immigrated after 1980 had a post-secondary degree and majored in physical sciences, engineering or trades.

SOURCES: 1996 Census Facts and Figures 2001: Immigration Overview

Coming to Canada under this class can take from eight months to two years because the visa officer must:

• check out financial statements

• translate foreign documents

• investigate how the applicant accumulated their wealth. It must be through the person's own efforts and not through inheritance or criminal means

• confirm the applicant has the ability to supervise and manage a business