Great news! In 2019, the Ontario government announced that it would relax the application requirements for the Entrepreneur Stream and the In-Demand Skills stream. You may be curious about what thresholds have been lowered. The most critical investment capital threshold for entrepreneurs has been reduced by nearly half!
With the reduction of the entrepreneur immigration capital threshold, the revised Entrepreneur Stream program clearly stipulates:
1) For applicants planning to start a business within the Greater Toronto Area, the minimum investment amount has been reduced from the previous CAD $1 million to the current CAD $600,000, and the personal net worth requirement has been reduced from CAD $1.5 million to CAD $800,000.
2) For applications outside the Greater Toronto Area, the minimum investment amount has been reduced from the previous CAD $500,000 to the current CAD $200,000, and the personal net worth requirement has been reduced from CAD $800,000 to CAD $400,000.
In terms of capital requirements, immigrating to Toronto now effectively requires half the investment amount. However, the primary consideration remains selecting a suitable investment project and injecting vitality into the local economy and job market. Additionally, there is a requirement to achieve an English proficiency level of IELTS 5 within two years.
Lowered Experience Thresholds for Skilled Workers
Furthermore, this amendment to the immigration regulations has also lowered the work experience requirements for the skilled worker category and added three new National Occupational Classification (NOC) codes.
Currently, jobs that meet the requirements for skilled worker immigration include:
9462 - Industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers and related workers
3413 - Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates
4412 - Home support workers and related occupations, excluding housekeepers
7441 - Residential and commercial installers and servicers
7511 - Transport truck drivers
7521 - Heavy equipment operators (except crane)
7611 - Construction trades helpers and labourers
8431 - General farm workers
8432 – Nursery and greenhouse workers
8611 - Harvesting labourers