The Investor Program is a great way to start investing abroad it’s also one of the most restrictive. With its geographic restrictions and lack of flexibility, it’s not for everyone, however, for those who do qualify and meet the eligibility requirements, it could be the best option available.

Who is eligible? You must be an individual, not a company or trust, you must also have liquid savings outside of your RRSP that you can use for investments.

If you already have investments outside of your home country and plan on continuing to keep them there indefinitely, you are ineligible to invest through the program because it requires new investors.

What is the Investor Program?

The Investor program is a government-backed program that allows qualified Canadian investors to make American or Australian real estate investments.

The program was designed to help Canadian investors expand their retirement assets by investing in real estate overseas. Qualified investors must meet strict eligibility criteria, which include:

• You must be an individual, not a company or trust.
• You must also have liquid savings outside of your RRSP that you can use for investments, if you already have investments outside of your home country and plan on continuing to keep them there indefinitely, you are ineligible to invest through the program because it requires new investors.

How to Apply

Unfortunately, the qiip quebec program is not open to new investors instead, it’s only available to those who have been investing in the program before, if you meet the program’s criteria to invest through the program, you should talk to your financial advisor about applying.

There are four steps to applying to the Investor program:

• Fill out an application form with your financial advisor and submit it along with your required documents.

• Your financial advisor will review your application and submit it to the QCCP, you will receive a notification if your application is approved.
• Once you are approved, you will need to send the QCCP your original investment cheque not a certified cheque alongside a signed and dated power of attorney authorizing your financial advisor to transfer funds from your Canadian bank account to your U.S. or Australian account.

• Once your U.S. or Australian account receives the QCCP funding, you will need to start investing. Since the program is only available to those who have been approved in the past, you will need to wait at least one year before reapplying.

Before you Invest

Before you invest through the Investor program, it’s important to understand the terms and conditions, this is especially important if you have a large amount of money you wish to invest.

• Geographic restrictions: The Investor program can distribute funds to the U.S. or Australian real estate only.

• Investment restrictions: You can only invest a total of $1,500 USD or AUS$3,000 each year there are no limits on how much you can contribute.

• Investment options: The program currently allows you to invest in two different types of real estate: single-family homes and commercial property.

• Investment timeline: You must have a minimum of 12 months to fund your investment and take possession of the property.