According to comprehensive news from Worldway: On June 19, 2014, local time, the Canadian government announced the official implementation of the "Economic Action Plan 2014" (Bill C-31), which clearly states the termination of the Federal Investor Immigration Program (IIP) and the Federal Entrepreneur Immigration Program (EN).
According to the regulations, all applications that did not receive a final decision by February 11, 2014, will be terminated. If your application is among those terminated, the immigration visa office will contact you or your agent to refund the application fee (without interest). If you have already invested, the investment amount will be returned without interest.
The Canadian government believes that the current investment immigration program limits Canada's economic benefits. Studies show that compared to other categories of economic immigrants, investment immigrants pay less in taxes; have a lower likelihood of staying in Canada in the medium and long term; and generally lack various skills, including proficiency in official languages, making it difficult to integrate into Canadian society like other immigrants from the same country.
The Canadian government stated that the cancellation of the investment immigration program and the Federal Entrepreneur Immigration Program, along with the related backlog of applications, will allow the government to focus on attracting experienced business professionals and investment capital to create maximum benefits for the Canadian economy.
The government will replace the existing programs with more focused and effective pilot projects. The new program will ensure that immigrants coming to Canada can provide significant benefits to the Canadian economy. This will complement the Start-Up Visa program of the Canadian Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration, keeping Canada competitive in the global economy.
According to the Globe and Mail, over the past 28 years, more than 130,000 individuals have immigrated to Canada through investment immigration, primarily from China, including individuals from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
The announcement means the end of the Canadian investment immigration program, with a large number of pending applicants being rejected. The Canadian side has stated that application fees will be refunded.
