Entrepreneur
 13. (1) For the purposes of subsection 16 (2) of the Act, the criteria for stages 1 and 2 of an application for a certificate of nomination in the entrepreneur category, as described in subsection 3 (1) of Ontario Regulation 421/17 (Approvals Under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program and Other Matters) made under the Act, are set out in subsections (2) and (3). O. Reg. 422/17, s. 13 (1). (2) The following criteria are prescribed for stage 1 of an application for a certificate of nomination in the entrepreneur category: 1.  The applicant has a maximum of one business partner who is a foreign national for the purposes of the application. 2.  The applicant has 24 months of experience, acquired within the 60-month period before the date of registering the expression of interest, as either a business owner or as a senior manager, that meets the following requirements: i.  Experience as a business owner: The applicant had an active role in a business and owned at least one-third of the business. ii.  Experience as a senior manager: The applicant had senior decision-making responsibilities in a business and managed the day-to-day operations of a business in whole or in part. 3.  The applicant has a personal net worth, which was lawfully obtained and is verifiable, of at least the following: i.  $800,000 if the applicant will be operating a business located in the Greater Toronto Area. ii.  $400,000 if the applicant will be operating a business located outside the Greater Toronto Area. iii.  $400,000 if the applicant will be operating a business in the information and communications technology or digital communications sector, regardless of location. 4.  The applicant will make reasonable investments towards expenditures that are essential to the establishment and operation of the business, excluding cash, cash equivalents, working capital, or wages paid to the applicant or family member, equalling at least the following: i.  $600,000 if the applicant will be operating a business located in the Greater Toronto Area. ii.  $200,000 if the applicant will be operating a business located outside the Greater Toronto Area. iii.  $200,000 if the applicant will be operating a business in the information and communications technology or digital communications sector, regardless of location. 5.  The investments mentioned in paragraph 4 will be drawn from personal net worth funds mentioned in paragraph 3 and will not be investments that are indicated as being redeemable within a specified period. 6.  The applicant will create, within the first 20 months of establishing or acquiring the business, i.  at least two permanent, full-time jobs that are paid at no less than the median wage level for the position, if the business is located in the Greater Toronto Area, ii.  at least one permanent, full-time job that is paid at no less than the median wage level for the position, if the business is located outside the Greater Toronto Area, and iii.  at least one permanent, full-time job that is paid at no less than the median wage level for the position, if the business is in the information and communications technology or digital communications sector, regardless of location. 6.1  The applicant will ensure that only Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada are hired for the jobs mentioned in paragraph 6. 7.  The applicant will be actively involved, on an ongoing basis, in the management of the business. 8.  The applicant will control at least one-third of the equity in the business. 9.  The applicant will not be investing the capital in the business for the primary purpose of deriving interest, dividends or capital gains. 10.  The applicant will submit a business plan to the director that demonstrates that the business will be viable and likely to provide material economic benefit to the economy of Ontario as a whole or to the local Ontario economy where the business will be located. 11.  The purpose of the business will be to make profit from active income through the sale of goods, services or both. 12.  The primary income sources for the business will be from active (earned) income, not passive (unearned) income. 13.  The business will comply with any applicable federal, provincial or municipal legal, regulatory or licensing requirements that govern its operation. 14.  The business will operate as a permanent business in Ontario and not on a seasonal or project-dependent basis. 15.  The business will at all times have a place of business in Ontario. 16.  If the business receives third-party financing, such financing will be provided by a bank named in Schedule I or Schedule II to the Bank Act (Canada) or an institutional investor. 17.  If the applicant intends to purchase an existing business in Ontario, i.  the applicant has made at least one business-related visit to Ontario in the last 12 months before the date of registering the expression of interest, ii.  at the time the existing business will be purchased, it will have been in continuous operation by the same owner or group of owners for the preceding 60 months, iii.  the purchase will completely transfer ownership to the applicant, any business partner, the applicant’s third party investors or any combination of them, iv.  at least 10 per cent of the applicant’s investment in the business described in paragraph 4 will be allocated towards improving or expanding the business in Ontario, v.  the business has never been owned or operated by a person who received a certificate of nomination in the entrepreneur category or under the investor component of the Opportunities Ontario program, and vi.  upon transfer of ownership, the applicant will preserve all existing permanent full-time jobs at wage levels and with employment terms that are at least as favourable to the employee as those immediately before the transfer of ownership. 18.  If the applicant will be operating a business located in the Greater Toronto Area, the applicant will not acquire, own or operate any of the following ineligible businesses: i.  An existing franchise in Ontario. ii.  A gas station. iii.  A tire recycling business. iv.  A scrap metal recycling business. v.  A pawnbroker. vi.  A bed and breakfast. vii.  A holding company. viii.  A laundromat. ix.  An automated car wash business. x.  A pay day loan business or a related business. xi.  A business involved in producing, distributing or selling pornography or sexually explicit products or services, or providing sexually oriented services. xii.  A business that was ever previously owned or operated by a person who received a certificate of nomination in the entrepreneur category or under the investor component of the Opportunities Ontario program. 19.  If the applicant will be operating a business located outside the Greater Toronto Area, the applicant will not acquire, own or operate any of the following ineligible businesses: i.  A tire recycling business. ii.  A scrap metal recycling business. iii.  A pawnbroker. iv.  A holding company. v.  A laundromat. vi.  An automated car wash business. vii.  A pay day loan business or a related business. viii.  A business involved in producing, distributing or selling pornography or sexually explicit products or services, or providing sexually oriented services. ix.  A business that was ever previously owned or operated by a person who received a certificate of nomination in the entrepreneur category or under the investor component of the Opportunities Ontario program. 20.  The applicant will submit the application for a certificate of nomination within 90 days after receiving an invitation to apply for it. O. Reg. 422/17, s. 13 (2); O. Reg. 243/19, s. 11 (1-12). (3) The following criteria are prescribed for stage 2 of an application for a certificate of nomination in the entrepreneur category: 0.1  The applicant must have demonstrated that they had the qualifications to which they attested, in stage 1 of the application, and on the basis of which the director ranked their expression of interest and issued to the applicant an invitation to apply for a certificate of nomination. 1.  The applicant must have received a letter of confirmation from the director in support of a temporary work permit from the federal Department of Citizenship and Immigration, as described in paragraph 4 of subsection 3 (2) of Ontario Regulation 421/17. 2.  The applicant must have received a temporary work permit issued by the federal Department of Citizenship and Immigration and arrived in Ontario within 12 months after receiving the letter of confirmation and must inform the director of his or her arrival in Ontario within seven days. 3.  The applicant must have entered into a performance agreement with the Government of Ontario and have satisfied any commitments set out in the performance agreement within 20 months after the date the applicant arrived in Ontario. 4.  The applicant must have provided biannual reports and a final report to the director in accordance with the performance agreement. 4.1  The permanent full-time jobs referred to in paragraph 6 of subsection (2) were filled continuously for at least 10 months before the applicant submitted the final report, and they continue to exist at the time of submission of the final report and at the time of issuing the certificate of nomination. 5.  The applicant must have demonstrated English or French language proficiency at or above the level of Canadian Language Benchmark 4, as set out in the Canadian Language Benchmarks, in all four proficiencies based on a test administered by an institution described in section 15. 6.  The applicant must have lawfully resided in Ontario for at least 75 per cent of the period during which the applicant established the business. 7.  The applicant must have been actively involved, on an ongoing basis, in the management of the business. O. Reg. 422/17, s. 13 (3); O. Reg. 243/19, s. 11 (13); O. Reg. 485/21, s. 1; O. Reg. 597/22, s. 4. 14. Revoked: O. Reg. 243/19, s. 12.