Alberta Announces Two New Immigration Streams for Start-up Entrepreneurs

The province of Alberta announced two new immigration streams with the goal of attracting recent graduates to the province who are interested in operating their own businesses and creating jobs for Albertans. 

The International Graduate Entrepreneur Immigration Stream (IGEIS) will allow holders of Post-Graduation Work Permits (PGWP) that want to open or operate a business in Alberta apply for permanent residence. This new program has already launched and is accepting Expression of Interests (EOI). The province will then access the information in the EOI, the Business Proposal Summary and Net Worth Worksheet in order to award points based on the IGEIS Points Grid. More information about IGEIS can be found here.

In January 2021, Alberta will launch the Foreign Graduate Start-up Visa Stream. This stream is being put in place with the intention of attracting “talented international graduates from top U.S. universities and colleges to start businesses and settle in Alberta communities." More details about this program will become available once program has been launched. 

Jason Copping, Alberta’s Minster of Labour and Immigration, says that the two new immigration streams will help create over 1, 350 jobs opportunities for unemployed Albertans via entrepreneurship and tech start-up ventures.

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