Federal Self-Employed Program: Immigrating as Self-Employed

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the various provinces of Canada offer many programs for permanent residence in Canada. Among the most popular and well-known are the federal Express Entry programs, the family sponsorship programs, and the provincial nominee programs of each province. However, many people may not be aware of another option: the Federal Self-Employed program.

Compared to perhaps any other permanent residence program, the Federal Self-Employed program is not widely promoted and there is precious little information and instruction about it on official government websites and operational manuals. The information that can be publicly found is basic and general, therefore any in-depth knowledge about this category usually comes from the expertise of experienced lawyers.

What are the basic requirements of the Federal Self-Employed program?

At the most general level, to qualify for this program you need to: 

• have relevant experience
• meet the program’s selection criteria 
• be willing and able to be self-employed in Canada and
• meet medical, security and other conditions

Further breaking this down, “relevant experience” means that you have 

• taken part in cultural activities or athletics at a world-class level OR 
• been a self-employed person in cultural activities or athletics

for at least two years (two one-year periods) during the period starting 5 years before the day you apply and ending on the day IRCC makes a decision on your application.

You will also be given points based on the following selection criteria:

• experience
• education
• age
• language abilities
• adaptability

You must get a minimum of 35 points out of a possible 100 to qualify.

Thirdly, you must be willing and able to make a living to support yourself and any family members by being self-employed in Canada in the same occupation that you have relevant experience in back in your home country.

Finally, you must pass all background checks including a medical exam and a criminal check, among other possible checks.

What are the benefits of the Federal Self-Employed Program?

The advantages of this immigration category are that it is a one-step process to permanent residence (unlike multi-step programs such as Provincial nomination), there are no candidate pools to qualify for and no need to wait for an invitation to apply (unlike the Express Entry categories), and there are no points calculations other than the selection criteria, with 35 points out of 100 being a relatively low bar to pass.

So does this mean I have to be “world-class” to qualify in this category?

There are some who, at a glance at the basic requirements, become disheartened as they assume that their experience must be at a “world-class” level to qualify. Fortunately, that is not the case at all.  It’s important to keep in mind that this category requires participation in cultural activities or athletics at a world-class level OR self-employment in cultural activities or athletics.

The “OR” is important here – self-employment does not have to be at a world-class level. This category is perfect for – for example – regular artists, musicians, dancers, theatre and film performers, athletes, art/music/dance/theatre/film teachers, sports coaches, etc.

You do NOT have to be famous or at the top of your field globally to qualify – you just have to have made a reasonable living in cultural activities or athletics, and be able to do the same in Canada.

What if my experience is part self-employed and part employed?

This is not a bar to qualifying in this category, provided that the part of your work experience that was self-employed made enough income on its own to support yourself and your family, excluding your income from employment. For example, a music teacher might have been employed by a school, and also have provided private lessons to individual students.

If the income from the private lessons was enough on its own to support the music teacher and their family, and the private lessons were provided for at least two one-year periods in the 5 years prior to application up to the date a decision is made, then the requirements of this category have been met.

It is important in this case to clearly separate and present your income streams from employment versus self-employment, and to provide supporting documents showing the separate sources of income.

What if I own and manage my own company but am also personally engaged in cultural activities/athletics under the Federal Self-Employed Program?

The answer to this question is a little less clear-cut. Some applicants, for example, the music teacher from the previous example or an athletic coach, may have an incorporated company that they provide their services through. Or, an artist may be selling their art through an incorporated company.

The applicant may act as a manager and employee of their own company, taking care of the many aspects of the business of the company, and the company may even have employees on the payroll. The applicant may do this at the same time as creating art, coaching athletes, etc.  

The question in this case would be whether the applicant is self-employed in cultural activities or athletics, or is primarily a manager of a business (which would not meet the requirements of this category). The answer to this question depends on the entirety of the situation, so the advice and judgment of an experienced immigration lawyer are highly recommended.

Broadly, the more it looks as if the company is simply a legal entity used by the applicant for convenience or other purposes (such as tax purposes) to carry on what is in reality self-employment, the greater the chance that the requirement of self-employment is met.

Some factors suggesting the above may be none/limited number of employees (other than the applicant), any employees other than the applicant simply serving an assistant or administrative role supporting the applicant’s activities, a very simple management/company structure and most of the applicant’s time being spent on creating art, coaching, etc. rather than management of business aspects of the company.  

On the other hand, if most of the applicant’s time is spent on management, if there are quite a number of employees supervised/managed by the applicant and especially if these employees are the ones engaging in the majority of the cultural/athletic activities/services of the company, and if there are other owners of the company other than the applicant, this may indicate that the applicant is really an owner/manager of a company engaged in business, who just incidentally engages in some cultural/athletic activities.

If you are at all unsure whether your experience is qualified under this category, an immigration lawyer can provide excellent guidance on where you stand and how to best present your situation to give you the highest chance of success.

Immigration is an ever-evolving area of law that sees a large number of policy changes every year. In order to ensure you have the most recent information, please note the dates on each article, as any law and policy information within may have since changed.

For the most up-to-date information, please see Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada’s official website. The information in these articles should not be construed as legal advice.

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