The rumors regarding the "price hike" for Canadian investment immigration have been confirmed. According to a report by Canada's *Sing Tao Daily*, Chris Alexander, the Canadian Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, stated in a media interview while visiting Hong Kong and Shanghai that the forthcoming new investment immigration program will not only at least double the investment threshold to 1.6 million Canadian dollars (approximately 8.8 million RMB) but will also strictly regulate the residency requirements for applicants in Canada.
Regarding how the Canadian investment immigration program will be reformed, Alexander mentioned that the existing investment immigration program has been in place for twenty to thirty years and is somewhat outdated. The Canadian government has spent eight years studying specific plans to reform and reorganize the program. The new policy will be officially implemented on January 1 of next year, and detailed content should be officially announced in the next two to three months, at which time the pilot work for the new investment immigration project will also begin.
The scope of this reform to Canada's investment immigration policy is significant. First, the investment threshold has been raised; previously, applicants only needed to provide the Canadian government with an 800,000 Canadian dollar (approximately 4.41 million RMB) interest-free five-year loan to obtain Canadian permanent residency. Under the new policy, applicants will likely need to provide more than double that amount. Second, there will be clearly defined categories for investment enterprises, and applicants will be required to engage in venture capital investment in Canada. Third, there will be more stringent regulations on residency periods: to obtain Canadian permanent residency, an applicant must reside in Canada for at least two years within a five-year period; to become a Canadian citizen, an individual will need to reside in Canada for at least four years within a six-year period.
The Minister stated that previous investment immigration policies were not implemented very strictly. Starting next year, new mandatory requirements will ensure that all entry and exit records of applicants will be documented. If the required residency duration is not met, previous application records will become invalid.
The most significant change in this Canadian investment immigration policy is that the visa approval speed will be greatly accelerated. Starting January 1 of next year, applicants who submit their investment immigration applications according to the new procedures and meet the requirements will be able to receive their immigration visas within six months.