Nova Scotia: run the business for a year, then ask to stay

The Entrepreneur stream of the Nova Scotia Nominee Program (NSNP) is for experienced business owners and senior managers who want to start or buy a business in Nova Scotia. You come on a work permit, run the business for at least a year under a Business Performance Agreement, and then ask the province to nominate you for permanent residence.

The stream is open by invitation only: you submit an Expression of Interest and Nova Scotia invites the highest-scoring candidates. In February 2026 the NSNP went from ten streams to four, and the former International Graduate Entrepreneur stream was folded into the Entrepreneur guide.

From the official Entrepreneur guide (September 2026):

• Net worth of at least CAD 600,000, or CAD 400,000 if the business is outside Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM).
• An investment of at least CAD 150,000, or CAD 100,000 outside HRM.
• At least one third of the equity of the business.
• In the last 10 years, at least 3 years as a business owner with at least one third ownership, or more than 5 years as a senior manager.
• CLB 5 in speaking, listening, reading and writing; at least 21 years old; the equivalent of a Canadian high school diploma.
• For a new business, at least one permanent full-time position (1,560 hours a year) for a Canadian citizen or permanent resident who is not related to you.
• If you buy a business, the same owner must have run it continuously for the five years before your purchase.

Nova Scotia sets a deadline at nearly every step:

• 1. Submit an EOI. It stays valid for one year.
• 2. If invited, name a net worth verifier within 20 calendar days, and submit the application, Business Establishment Plan and fee within 90 calendar days (180 if you are buying a business).
• 3. Interview, usually within 30 days of Nova Scotia contacting you, then the Business Performance Agreement, returned signed within 15 business days.
• 4. After the Entrepreneur Approval Letter, apply to IRCC for a work permit within 60 calendar days.
• 5. Arrive no later than 6 months after IRCC's port-of-entry letter, attend the arrival meeting within 60 days, and start operating within 6 months of arrival.
• 6. After one full year of operation that meets the agreement, request nomination.
• 7. Apply to IRCC for permanent residence no more than 12 months after the nomination letter.

Nova Scotia publishes its Entrepreneur invitation history. In 2026: 9 April (18 invitations, lowest score 88), 19 May (9, lowest 100), 24 June (8, lowest 99) and 23 July (9, lowest 101). There were no Entrepreneur draws between October 2025 and April 2026, and none was listed after July when we checked.

Scores near 100 mean the minimums alone will not get you invited. The points that move a profile are language (CLB 7 or higher earns 28 instead of 20), a location outside HRM (10), buying an existing business (10) and investing more than CAD 300,000 (15).

Nova Scotia does not publish an allocation figure for the stream for 2026; its pages refer only to limited federal allocations.

There is no fee to submit an EOI. Since 1 September 2026 Nova Scotia charges a non-refundable CAD 2,000 application fee for the Entrepreneur stream. IRCC charges its own work permit and permanent residence fees.

Graduates of a Nova Scotia university or the Nova Scotia Community College (at least two academic years of full-time, in-person study) who hold a valid post-graduation work permit and have run their own Nova Scotia business for at least a year, with at least 33.33% ownership, can apply as graduate entrepreneurs. The language minimum is CLB 7, there is no net worth or investment minimum, and the route goes straight to permanent residence without a work permit stage.

We are not immigration lawyers or licensed consultants, and we do not file applications. We mentor the founder: where in Nova Scotia the business makes sense, the Business Establishment Plan and financial model, the points strategy, and preparation for the interview. For the legal filing, work with a licensed representative.