BC PNP business plan: requirements and how we write it Draft

Last reviewed: 2026-11-08. This page is general information and is not immigration advice. The BC PNP can change its rules without notice, so check the official Entrepreneur Immigration page and speak to your immigration representative.

The business plan is the most important document in a BC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration file. It shows an officer what you will build in British Columbia, why it will work and why you are the person to run it. The BC PNP may invite you to an interview where you are asked about your work experience and your business plan.

Wealth Theory writes these plans. We are a Vancouver firm, and we have prepared 357 business plans and worked with 22 immigration firms, consultants and lawyers.

How the BC PNP uses a business plan

The Entrepreneur Immigration program has Base and Regional streams that work from a registration pool, plus a Strategic Projects stream for foreign corporations. This page covers the two streams individuals use.

1. Registration. You submit a business concept. The BC PNP scores it, and it must be consistent with everything that follows. In the Base stream the business concept section has a minimum score; the Regional stream has none.
2. Invitation. The BC PNP invites candidates from the pool in periodic draws. You can see recent scores with our Base points calculator.
3. Application. If invited, you submit a comprehensive business plan with the application.

The business concept is short and scored. The business plan is the full document. Writing the concept and the plan from the same research keeps them consistent, which matters because officers compare them.

BC PNP Entrepreneur requirements at a glance

These are the main published requirements. The guides contain more detail and more conditions.

	Base stream	Regional stream
Personal net worth	At least $600,000 CAD	At least $300,000 CAD
Personal investment in the business	At least $200,000 CAD	At least $100,000 CAD
Business experience	3 years as owner-manager in the last 10 years (the guide allows alternatives involving senior management)	3 years as owner-manager in the last 5 years (same kind of alternatives)
Ownership	At least one-third (33.33%)	At least 51%
Jobs	At least one new full-time job for a Canadian citizen or permanent resident	Same
Language	CLB 4 in English or French	CLB 4; test result needed at registration
Location	Anywhere in B.C.	Outside Metro Vancouver, in a participating community with a referral
Business concept	Scored, minimum 40 of 80	Scored, no minimum
Buying an existing business	Allowed	Not allowed

Fees listed by the BC PNP: $300 to register and $3,500 to apply. Sources: the Entrepreneur Immigration page and the Base and Regional program guides (effective May 27, 2024). Whether you meet these requirements is a question for your immigration representative. Figures checked against the live page and both guides on 2026-11-08.

What a BC PNP business plan should include

The guides and the application guide set out what the plan must cover. This is how we organize it, following the topics in Part 3 and the appendices in Part 4 of the Application Guide.

1. Business overview. The business model, the goods and services, the research behind the idea, the key success factors, and how the business will be commercially viable.
2. Company structure. The legal structure, your ownership share and how you will fund the business.
3. Management structure. Your role and day-to-day duties as owner-manager, and the roles and backgrounds of any other shareholders. A passive investment does not fit the program.
4. Operations. Objectives, suppliers, processes, a cost analysis, your target customers and a timeline.
5. Human resources. The positions you will create, with job descriptions, qualifications, salaries and a hiring schedule.
6. Market study and risk. Competitors, positioning, marketing, distribution and pricing, a SWOT analysis, internal and external risks and how you will manage them, break-even and return on investment.
7. Laws, regulations and licensing. The rules that apply to your business in B.C. and how you will meet them.
8. Investment breakdown. Every item of investment with a reason for the amount. Not every business expense counts toward the program’s investment.
9. Financial statements. Two-year pro-forma balance sheets and income statements, as the Application Guide requires, with notes on the assumptions and rationale behind the revenue and profit estimates.
10. Your CV. Your education and work history, highlighting what is relevant to running this business.
11. If you are buying a business. The documents the Application Guide lists: the last two years of financial statements, the latest T4 summary, proof that the current owner has owned the business for at least five years, the business licence, and evidence of how the purchase price was reached.
12. If it is a franchise. The franchise agreement, the franchisor’s disclosure documents and, when buying an existing franchise location, the franchisor’s letter accepting your expansion plan.
13. If it is a farm. The Base guide asks that the plan cover the issues in the Ministry of Agriculture’s “Taking Stock” farm planning workbook and show that you have researched the feasibility of the operation and contacted local stakeholders.

An immigration plan has a different reader from a bank loan plan. It has to show that the business is viable and also that it fits the program: jobs for Canadians and permanent residents, benefit to the province, a real role for you, and an investment that is eligible under the rules.

BC PNP Regional business plans

For the Regional stream, the plan has to show more about the community. The business must be in a participating community outside Metro Vancouver and match your community referral. The program requires at least 51% ownership and does not allow the purchase of an existing business. We write Regional plans around the community’s economy and its stated priorities. Use the Regional points calculator to see how Regional scoring differs.

How we write your plan

• Custom. Every plan starts from your business, your experience and your funds. We do not reuse a template with new names in it.
• Researched. The market, cost and wage assumptions are sourced so that an officer, or you in an interview, can see where each number comes from.
• Consistent. The plan follows the concept you registered with.
• Explained. We take you through the finished plan in your language, with an interpreter if you need one. See interview preparation.
• Alongside your representative. We work with the consultant or lawyer you have chosen, or with you directly. You can use the white-label or referral arrangement described on our page for immigration professionals.

The BC PNP expects you to have done your own research and to have been actively engaged in preparing the plan, and to be able to discuss every part of it at interview. Its Base program guide also says you must disclose if you received help preparing your registration or application from someone who is paid or otherwise benefits from helping. Your immigration representative can tell you how that applies to you.

Price

The starting price is shown on this page and on our pricing page. The final price depends on the stream, the type of business and how much research is needed. Your first consultation is free.

Next step

Book a free consultation or contact us. If you want to check your score first, try the BC PNP points calculator.