By Catherine Sas, 
Special to The Post

Over the past several weeks we have reviewed BC's new business immigration program that was re-opened on July 2, 2015. 
As can be seen, the BC PNP Entrepreneur stream is not a speedy path to permanent residence. 
There are at least 10 key steps in the process before a business applicants is at the stage of being able to apply for permanent residence to Canada. Let's re-cap those key stages as well as the time frames for processing:
1. Registration: 1-2 months preparation
2. Scoring: Up to 4 weeks
3. Invitation to Apply: Up to 6 months (if no ITA re-apply)
4. Review of Personal Net Worth: 60 to 90 days (Within 4 months above)
5. Application to BC PNP: 2 - 8 months
6. Performance Agreement and LOC: 1 – 4 weeks
7. Work Permit: 1 week to 6 months
8. Submission of Final Report: Up to 18 months
9. Nomination: 2 weeks to 4 months
10.    Apply for Permanent Residence to Canada: 1- 2 years

Total Time Frame: 1.5 to 6 years
The revisions to BC's PNP business program were brought in to streamline processing, provide for inventory control and management and ultimately allow for speedier processing of business applications.
The former business program had built up a backlogged inventory of nearly 2000 applications with an initial application assessment time frame of up to 5 years.
However, as the above indicates, the new BC business immigration path to permanent residence is one that will still take several years and is fraught with uncertainty.
The BC PNP business program remains a bureaucratic government process that does not keep pace with the realities of the business world. 
It remains the challenge of both the provincial and federal business immigration programs to develop a speedy and transparent application process that will allow foreign investors to come to Canada and make their investments in a timely fashion knowing that they have realistic prospects of permanent residency in the future.
For a full review of the program go to www.asianpacificpost.com and please see:
- BC's Business Immigration Program Opens for Business July 16, 2015 – search term “Program opens for business”.
- Understanding BC's new PNP Entrepreneur stream - The Devil is in the Details July 30, 2015 - search term “Understanding BC’s new PNP Entrepreneur program”
–    You've been Invited to Apply! What's next for a BC PNP Business Applicant? August 6, 2015 – search term “asset audit”.

Catherine Sas, Q.C. has over 25 years of legal experience. She is a leading immigration practitioner (Lexpert, Who’s Who Legal, Best Lawyers in Canada). Go to www.canadian-visa-lawyer.com, casas@shaw.ca.