China News Service, June 29 - According to a report by the Canadian newspaper Ming Pao, the Canadian Department of Immigration has just announced a cap of 700 applications per year for the immigrant investor program. However, the Quebec Immigration Office is actively welcoming investment immigrants, deciding on the 27th to add 15 immigration officers to its investment immigration offices in Hong Kong and Montreal to process applications. This is expected to increase processing capacity by approximately 50%. According to statistics, Quebec reviewed 1,660 applications between January and May of this year.
The current investment amount for the Quebec Immigrant Investor Program is the same as the federal program, at $800,000. Historically, the review process for Quebec investment immigration has been faster than the federal level, which has long attracted a large number of Chinese investment immigrants.
Last week, the Canadian Department of Immigration announced that it would only accept 700 applications per year effective July 1st. Just days later, Quebec announced an increase in personnel to process applications, which will inevitably lead to more Chinese applicants choosing Quebec.
According to statistics, from January to May of this year, Quebec received a total of 719 investment immigration applications, 60% of which (437 cases) came from Asia, with 90% of those coming from Chinese applicants. Furthermore, regarding interview requirements, 19% of applicants from Asia were granted a waiver.
Regarding completed reviews, Quebec processed 1,660 applications from January to May of this year, 51 of which were applications under the increased investment requirement of $800,000.
In addition, the Quebec Immigration Office announced that starting this autumn, it will make partial changes to the application procedure, including requiring applicants to pay a deposit to a financial intermediary before submitting an application, which is currently set at a minimum of $10,000.
