Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (SOR/2002-227)

99 [Repealed, SOR/2016-316, s. 6]

Self-employed Persons

Self-employed Persons Class

Marginal note:Members of the class

• 100 (1) For the purposes of subsection 12(2) of the Act, the self-employed persons class is hereby prescribed as a class of persons who may become permanent residents on the basis of their ability to become economically established in Canada and who are self-employed persons within the meaning of subsection 88(1).

• Marginal note:Minimal requirements

  (2) If a foreign national who applies as a member of the self-employed persons class is not a self-employed person within the meaning of subsection 88(1), the application shall be refused and no further assessment is required.

Quebec Self-employed Persons Class

Marginal note:Class

• 101 (1) For the purposes of subsection 12(2) of the Act, the Quebec self-employed persons class is prescribed as a class of persons who may become permanent residents on the basis of their ability to become economically established in Canada.

• Marginal note:Member of class

  (2) A foreign national is a member of the Quebec self-employed persons class if they

  • (a) intend to reside in Quebec; and

  • (b) are named in a Certificat de sélection du Québec issued by Quebec.

Selection Criteria

General

Marginal note:Criteria

• 102 (1) For the purpose of determining whether a foreign national, as a member of the self-employed persons class, and their family members will be able to become economically established in Canada, an officer shall assess the foreign national on the basis of the following factors:

  • (a) age, in accordance with section 102.1;

  • (b) education, in accordance with section 102.2;

  • (c) proficiency in the official languages of Canada, in accordance with section 102.3;

  • (d) experience, in accordance with section 103; and

  • (e) adaptability, in accordance with section 105.

• Marginal note:Units of assessment

  (2) A foreign national who is assessed on the basis of the factors set out in paragraphs (1)(a) to (e) shall be awarded the applicable number of assessment points for each factor set out in the provision referred to in each of those paragraphs, subject to the maximum number set out in that provision for that factor.

Marginal note:Age (10 points)

102.1 Points shall be awarded, up to a maximum of 10, for a foreign national’s age on the date on which their application is made, as follows:

• (a) 10 points for a foreign national 21 years of age or older but less than 50 years of age;

• (b) 8 points for a foreign national 20 or 50 years of age;

• (c) 6 points for a foreign national 19 or 51 years of age;

• (d) 4 points for a foreign national 18 or 52 years of age;

• (e) 2 points for a foreign national 17 or 53 years of age; and

• (f) 0 points, for a foreign national under 17 years of age or 54 years of age or older.

Marginal note:Definitions

• 102.2 (1) The following definitions apply in this section.

  full-time

  full-time means, in relation to a program of study leading to an educational credential, at least 15 hours of instruction per week during the academic year, including any period of training in the workplace that forms part of the course of instruction. (temps plein)

  full-time equivalent

  full-time equivalent means, in respect of part-time or accelerated studies, the number of years that would have been required to complete the equivalent of those studies on a full-time basis. (équivalent temps plein)

• Marginal note:Education (25 points)

  (2) Points shall be awarded, to a maximum of 25, for a foreign national’s education as follows:

  • (a) 5 points for a secondary school educational credential;

  • (b) 12 points for a one-year post-secondary educational credential, other than a university educational credential, and a total of at least 12 years of completed full-time or full-time equivalent studies;

  • (c) 15 points for

    • (i) a one-year post-secondary educational credential, other than a university educational credential, and a total of at least 13 years of completed full-time or full-time equivalent studies, or

    • (ii) a one-year university educational credential at the bachelor’s level and a total of at least 13 years of completed full-time or full-time equivalent studies;

  • (d) 20 points for

    • (i) a two-year post-secondary educational credential, other than a university educational credential, and a total of at least 14 years of completed full-time or full-time equivalent studies, or

    • (ii) a two-year university educational credential at the bachelor’s level and a total of at least 14 years of completed full-time or full-time equivalent studies;

  • (e) 22 points for

    • (i) a three-year post-secondary educational credential, other than a university educational credential, and a total of at least 15 years of completed full-time or full-time equivalent studies, or

    • (ii) two or more university educational credentials at the bachelor’s level and a total of at least 15 years of completed full-time or full-time equivalent studies; and

  • (f) 25 points for a university educational credential at the master’s or doctoral level and a total of at least 17 years of completed full-time or full-time equivalent studies.

• Marginal note:More than one educational credential

  (3) For the purposes of subsection (2), points

  • (a) shall not be awarded cumulatively on the basis of more than one educational credential; and

  • (b) shall be awarded

    • (i) for the purposes of paragraphs (2)(a) to (d), subparagraph (2)(e)(i) and paragraph (2)(f), on the basis of the educational credential that results in the highest number of points, and

    • (ii) for the purposes of subparagraph (2)(e)(ii), on the basis of the combined educational credentials referred to in that paragraph.

• Marginal note:Special circumstances

  (4) For the purposes of subsection (2), if a foreign national has an educational credential referred to in any of paragraphs (2)(b) to (f), but not the total number of years of full-time or full-time equivalent studies required, the foreign national shall be awarded the same number of points as the number of years of completed full-time or full-time equivalent studies set out in the paragraph.

Marginal note:Official languages

• 102.3 (1) A foreign national must specify in their application for a permanent resident visa which language — English or French — is to be considered their first official language in Canada.They must have their proficiency in that language evaluated by an organization or institution designated under subsection (4).

• Marginal note:Proficiency in second language

  (2) If the foreign national wishes to claim points for proficiency in their second official language they must, with the application for a permanent resident visa, submit the results of an evaluation — which must be less than two years old on the date on which their application is made — of their proficiency by an organization or institution designated under subsection (4).

• Marginal note:Proficiency in English and French (24 points)

  (3) Points for proficiency in the official languages of Canada shall be awarded up to a maximum of 24 points based on the benchmarks referred to in the Canadian Language Benchmarks and the Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens, as follows:

  • (a) for high proficiency

    • (i) in the first official language, 4 points for each language skill area if the foreign national’s proficiency corresponds to a benchmark of 8 or higher, and

    • (ii) in the second official language, 2 points for each language skill area if the foreign national’s proficiency corresponds to a benchmark of 8 or higher;

  • (b) for moderate proficiency

    • (i) in the first official language, 2 points for each language skill area if the foreign national’s proficiency corresponds to a benchmark of 6 or 7, and

    • (ii) in the second official language, 2 points for each language skill area if the foreign national’s proficiency corresponds to a benchmark of 6 or 7;

  • (c) for basic proficiency in either official language, 1 point for each language skill area, up to a maximum of 2 points, if the foreign national’s proficiency corresponds to a benchmark of 4 or 5; and

  • (d) for no proficiency in either official language, 0 points if the foreign national’s proficiency corresponds to a benchmark of 3 or lower.

• Marginal note:Evaluation of language proficiency

  (4) The Minister may designate, for any period he or she specifies, any organization or institution to be responsible for evaluating language proficiency and approve the language test to be used to evaluate that proficiency if the organization or institution

  • (a) has expertise in evaluating language proficiency; and

  • (b) has provided the Minister with an equivalency between its language test results and the benchmarks set out in the Canadian Language Benchmarks or the Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens, as the case may be.

• Marginal note:Public notice

  (5) The Minister must make available to the public the names of the designated organizations or institutions and the approved language tests.

• Marginal note:Definition service agreement

  (6) For the purposes of subsection (7), service agreement means an agreement concluded between the Government of Canada and an organization or institution for the purpose of having the organization or institution supply the service of evaluating the language proficiency of foreign nationals.

• Marginal note:Revocation of designation

  (7) The Minister may revoke a designation of an organization or institution or the approval of a language test if

  • (a) the organization or institution no longer meets the criteria set out in subsection (4);

  • (b) the organization or institution submitted false, misleading or inaccurate information or has contravened any provision of a federal or provincial law or regulation that is relevant to the service provided by the organization or institution; or

  • (c) either the Government of Canada or the organization or institution has terminated the service agreement.

• Marginal note:Conclusive evidence

  (8) The results of an evaluation of language proficiency by a designated organization or institution using an approved language test are conclusive evidence of an applicant’s language proficiency for the purposes of subsection (1) and of paragraph 98.01(2)(b).

Experience

• 103 (1) and (2) [Repealed, SOR/2016-316, s. 9]

• Self-employed person

  (3) A member of the self-employed persons class shall be awarded assessment points up to a maximum of 35 points for relevant experience during the period beginning five years before the date of their application for a permanent resident visa and ending on the day a determination is made in respect of the application as follows:

  • (a) 20 points for

    • (i) two one-year periods of experience described in clause (a)(i)(A) or (B) of the definition relevant experience in subsection 88(1) or a combination of two one-year periods of such experience,

    • (ii) two one-year periods of experience described in clause (a)(ii)(A) or (B) of the definition relevant experience in subsection 88(1) or a combination of two one-year periods of such experience, or

    • (iii) two one-year periods of experience described in subparagraph (a)(iii) of the definition relevant experience in subsection 88(1);

  • (b) 25 points for

    • (i) three one-year periods of experience described in clause (a)(i)(A) or (B) of the definition relevant experience in subsection 88(1) or any combination of three one-year periods of such experience,

    • (ii) three one-year periods of experience described in clause (a)(ii)(A) or (B) of the definition relevant experience in subsection 88(1) or any combination of three one-year periods of such experience, or

    • (iii) three one-year periods of experience described in subparagraph (a)(iii) of the definition relevant experience in subsection 88(1);

  • (c) 30 points for

    • (i) four one-year periods of experience described in clause (a)(i)(A) or (B) of the definition relevant experience in subsection 88(1) or any combination of four one-year periods of such experience,

    • (ii) four one-year periods of experience described in clause (a)(ii)(A) or (B) of the definition relevant experience in subsection 88(1) or any combination of four one-year periods of such experience, or

    • (iii) four one-year periods of experience described in subparagraph (a)(iii) of the definition relevant experience in subsection 88(1); and

  • (d) 35 points for

    • (i) five one-year periods of experience described in clause (a)(i)(A) or (B) of the definition relevant experience in subsection 88(1) or any combination of five one-year periods of such experience,

    • (ii) five one-year periods of experience described in clause (a)(ii)(A) or (B) of the definition relevant experience in subsection 88(1) or any combination of five one-year periods of such experience, or

    • (iii) five one-year periods of experience described in subparagraph (a)(iii) of the definition relevant experience in subsection 88(1).

Adaptability

104 [Repealed, SOR/2016-316, s. 10]

Marginal note:Self-employed person

• 105 (1) A member of the self-employed persons class shall be awarded assessment points up to a maximum of 6 points for adaptability on the basis of any combination of the following elements:

  • (a) for the educational credentials of the member’s accompanying spouse or common-law partner, 3, 4 or 5 points determined in accordance with subsection (2);

  • (b) for any previous period of study in Canada by the member or their spouse or common-law partner, 5 points;

  • (c) for any previous period of work in Canada by the member or their spouse or common-law partner, 5 points; and

  • (d) for being related to, or for having an accompanying spouse or accompanying common-law partner who is related to, a person living in Canada who is described in subsection (5), 5 points.

• Marginal note:Educational credentials of spouse or common-law partner

  (2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(a), an officer shall evaluate the educational credentials of the accompanying spouse or accompanying common-law partner of the member of the self-employed persons class as if the spouse or common-law partner were the member, and shall award points to the member as follows:

  • (a) for a spouse or common-law partner who would be awarded 25 points, 5 points;

  • (b) for a spouse or common-law partner who would be awarded 20 or 22 points, 4 points; and

  • (c) for a spouse or common-law partner who would be awarded 12 or 15 points, 3 points.

• Marginal note:Previous study in Canada

  (3) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b), a member of the self-employed persons class shall be awarded 5 points if the member or their accompanying spouse or accompanying common-law partner, on or after their 17th birthday, completed a program of full-time study of at least two years’ duration at a post-secondary institution in Canada under a study permit, whether or not they obtained an educational credential for completing that program.

• Marginal note:Previous work in Canada

  (4) For the purpose of paragraph (1)(c), a member of the self-employed persons class shall be awarded 5 points if the member or their accompanying spouse or accompanying common-law partner engaged in at least one year of full-time work in Canada under a work permit.

• Marginal note:Family relationships in Canada

  (5) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(d), a member of the self-employed persons class shall be awarded 5 points if

  • (a) the member or their accompanying spouse or accompanying common-law partner is related by blood, marriage, common-law partnership or adoption to a person who is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident living in Canada and who is

    • (i) their father or mother,

    • (ii) the father or mother of their father or mother,

    • (iii) their child,

    • (iv) a child of their child,

    • (v) a child of their father or mother,

    • (vi) a child of the father or mother of their father or mother, other than their father or mother, or

    • (vii) a child of the child of their father or mother; or

  • (b) the member has a spouse or common-law partner who is not accompanying them and is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident living in Canada.