Effective immediately, Citizenship and Immigration has placed a moratorium on any new applications being filed under the program. The moratorium is expected to be lifted in October or November when new selection criteria will be introduced.

Prior to the announcement, applicants under the Immigrant Investor Program were required to demonstrate a minimum personal net worth of $800,000 and had to place an investment of $400,000 with the federal government for a period of five years. The government paid no interest on the investment but did guarantee to repay the principle amount.

The Minister also announced that when the Immigrant Investor Program is re-launched, there will be significant changes in the selection criteria. The personal net worth of applicants will double from $800,000 to $1,600,000 and the subscription to the Government of Canada will increase from $400,000 to $800,000. All amounts are in Canadian dollars.
Previously, applicants were able to finance their investment with a onetime non-refundable payment to a participating financial institution of $120,000, which in

turn would advance the investment to the government of Canada. Advice received from financial institutions indicates that a non refundable payment of $220,000 to $240,000 will secure a loan for the investment.

Quebec

The Quebec government has agreed with the increased subscription for their Quebec Investor program and will introduce changes when the federal moratorium has ended. However there is no moratorium on new Quebec Investor applications at the present time.

If you are interested in becoming a Permanent Resident of Canada as an investor, now is the time to apply before subscriptions rates double.