The narrative document traces the lawful origin of your net worth. The business plan shows that your project is viable. The two must answer each other: a contradiction between the account, the supporting documents and the project can weaken an application that would otherwise qualify. The Ministry may verify your information with third parties and call you to an interview.
Who must complete the narrative document
The official A-8100-FO guide applies to three groups: investors, stream 2 and stream 3 entrepreneurs, and self-employed workers. The document supports the demonstration of the net worth the program requires.
A spouse included in the application completes their own document. The official pages say so for stream 2 and for investors alike. The two accounts must therefore agree with each other.
What the narrative document contains
This is not a resume. The document explains how the net worth was acquired, including gifts received. It sets out the source of all income and investments, as well as every asset and liability.
After an identification header and the period covered, the template has five sections:
- Employment: employer or business, field of activity, duties, title and duration.
- Employee or shareholder income: salaries, bonuses, commissions and dividends, by year and by method of receipt.
- Other income: sale of a property or of shares, winding-up of a company, gifts and inheritances.
- Investments, with the source of the funds for each one.
- Borrowings, including guarantees given for the benefit of third parties.
The closing declaration certifies that everything has been explained, including nominee and registered-name holdings. That signature engages your responsibility. Knowingly providing false or misleading information is an offence punishable by a fine.
The formal rules to follow
The guide imposes a precise method. Its main instructions are as follows.
| Instruction | What the guide requires |
|---|---|
| Order of presentation | Start with the earliest period of work |
| New period | Open one for each new employer or new holding, including a nominee holding |
| Several companies | Provide one table per company where earnings come from more than one |
| Currency | State the amounts in the original currency |
| In-kind and cryptocurrency | Declare earnings and investments in kind and in cryptocurrency |
| Signature | Sign by hand, with a stylus or with a scanned handwritten signature, never a typed or digital signature |
The document may be written in French or in your mother tongue. In the latter case, a full translation by a recognized translator must be attached.
The stream 2 business plan
The business plan assesses your project and your capacity to carry it out. The Start a business stream form covers the project description, the market analysis, marketing, financing, the action plan and the expected benefits. Budget forecasts cover three years.
A few instructions deserve attention. The business is not named: it is referred to as “the business”. For the Business already started profile, you must describe the current clientele and concrete activities already carried out.
The budget must also reflect the program thresholds. Start-up or operating expenses must reach $300,000 in the Montréal Metropolitan Community, or $150,000 elsewhere.
The stream 3 succession plan
The Business takeover stream covers the takeover of an existing business. The project is presented there in a succession plan, following the official template. It describes the business, its five-year ownership history and the transfer process.
That process covers the motivations, the transition period, the due diligence and the acquisition offer. The contact person at the support organization initials every page. For the Business being acquired profile, an update will have to be sent later.
Consistency between the account, the documents and the project
The Ministry may verify your information with third parties and call you to an interview. Every statement must therefore be backed by a document. The table below sets out the links to check.
| What the account states | Documents generally useful | Check point |
|---|---|---|
| Employment income or dividends | Pay slips, tax returns, bank statements | The annual amounts match the tax documents |
| A holding in a company | Articles, registers, minutes, agreements | The dates match the periods in the account |
| Sale of a property or of shares | Deed of sale, proof of receipt of the price | The proceeds are traced through to the current accounts |
| Gift or inheritance | Deed of gift, proof of the donor’s capacity | Gifts from the last six months are excluded from the threshold |
| Loan or guarantee | Loan agreement, current balance | The debt is deducted from the net worth |
| Management experience | Resolutions, signed contracts, organization chart | The role described supports the project presented |
The project must also extend the career path. A complete change of sector remains possible. It must, however, be explained and supported by demonstrated skills.
Mistakes to avoid
- Writing a career story rather than reconstructing how the net worth was built.
- Leaving out an asset, a debt or a company thought to be unimportant.
- Saying nothing about a nominee or registered-name holding.
- Converting amounts without stating the original currency.
- Signing with a typed or digital signature.
- Filing a generic business plan with no link to the applicant’s background.
- Letting the spouse write their account without testing it against the applicant’s.
Our advice
The table first
Build a chronological table of income, assets and debts before writing the first sentence.
The account is then drafted from that table.
The documents next
Gather the supporting documents before drafting, not the other way around.
A statement with no document behind it stays a statement.
Validating the figures
Have the figures reviewed by an accountant where the structure is complex.
Gaps are easier to fix before filing than after a question from the Ministry.
The cross-reading
Read the business plan against the account, and the account against the plan.
Prepare for the interview by knowing every figure in the file.
If the origin of a significant part of the funds cannot be documented, that has to be acknowledged. It is better to delay the filing, or to give it up, than to build a fragile account.
How MEKA AVOCAT works on this
We read the narrative document against the corporate record: articles, registers, minute books and shareholders’ agreements. The dates on which holdings were acquired and the dividends declared must match those documents. Our accounting and tax partners validate the figures and their tax consistency.
We then check the fit between the account, the business plan and the forms. Where a notice of intent is issued, we prepare a documented reply, ground by ground.
Our role also includes telling you when a file is not ready. The Ministry states that using a representative gives no priority treatment. What we add is rigour in the file, not privileged access.
Texts and sources
This article draws on the writing guide for the A-8100-FO narrative document, the stream 2 business plan guide, the stream 3 succession plan template, and the official pages on the stream 2 conditions and on filing an application under stream 2 and as an investor, published by Quebec’s immigration ministry.
Frequently asked questions
Does my spouse have to complete a narrative document if they bring no assets?
Yes. A spouse included in the application completes their own document and must show the lawful origin of their net worth, even where those assets are not used for the threshold.
Can I write the narrative document in my mother tongue?
Yes, but a full translation by a recognized translator must then be attached.
Can I name my business in the business plan?
No. The guide asks you to refer to it as “the business”.
Is a digital signature accepted on the narrative document?
No. The guide requires a signature by hand, with a stylus, or a scanned handwritten signature. A typed or digital signature is excluded.
Do your account and your business plan answer each other?
The cross-reading of the narrative document, the supporting documents and the business plan happens before filing. A meeting lets us find the gaps while there is still time to correct them.
Next: net worth and its lawful origin, the Start a business stream, and refusal and rejection of an application.
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Lawyer, member of the Barreau du Québec since 2014, founder of MEKA AVOCAT. This text sets out general legal information: it describes rules that apply broadly, not the answer to a particular case, and does not replace advice on your own situation.
