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An illustrative story

Ahmed’s story

A restaurant owner in Calgary looking for the permanent residence option that fits a business owner.

  • 40
  • Restaurant owner
  • Calgary
  • Provincial and federal options for business owners
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Ahmed, a restaurant owner in Calgary, waving hello
The challenge

Stay for good with his family

Ahmed’s restaurant is busy and his children are settled in school. But the programs he read about seemed written for employees, and he couldn’t tell which ones counted the years he spent running his own business.

The story

Ahmed’s journey with Global Compass

Ahmed, a restaurant owner in Calgary, waving hello
Moment 1 of 8:

Meet Ahmed

“I run a family restaurant in Calgary. This city feels like home.”
Read the whole story
  1. Meet Ahmed. “I run a family restaurant in Calgary. This city feels like home.”
  2. The challenge. “I want to stay for good, but which program fits a business owner?”
  3. Finding Global Compass. “Global Compass asked about my business, not just my job title.”
  4. Telling the story. “I answered questions about my restaurant, my experience and my savings.”
  5. Lawyer-backed answers. “A lawyer explained which programs count my business experience, and which don’t.”
  6. Help that keeps going. “At each check-in, we go over which programs opened or closed since the last one.”
  7. The way forward. “We’re working through the best option with our lawyer, step by step.”
  8. What comes next. “My family has a clear plan to stay in Calgary.”
What Global Compass checked

The rules behind Ahmed’s story

Real requirements, from official sources.

  • Self-employment doesn’t count toward the Canadian Experience Class.
    Official source
  • Alberta’s Rural Entrepreneur Stream needs a business in a rural community, outside the Calgary and Edmonton areas.
    Official source
  • That stream asks for a net worth of at least $300,000 and an investment of at least $100,000.
    Official source
  • Provinces nominate people for permanent residence; Quebec and Nunavut have no nominee programs.
    Official source
The way forward

A clear next step

Instead of chasing programs that didn’t fit, Ahmed and his lawyer focused on the options his experience and location actually support.

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Ahmed is an illustrative character, not a real client, and this outcome is an example, not a promise. Every case is different, and only the government decides.