What Happens If You Don't Meet Your PEI Business Performance Agreement

1. Know Which Program You're Actually In

PEI ran an older entrepreneur stream, cancelled in 2018, that required a $150,000-$200,000 escrow deposit and granted permanent residency immediately upon landing. Under that cancelled model, applicants who defaulted within two years lost their entire deposit to provincial revenue, this generated tens of millions of dollars for the province from defaults alone before it was shut down.

The current Work Permit Stream works differently. There is no escrow deposit, and you do not receive permanent residency until after you've completed your Performance Agreement and IRCC approves your federal application. This is a meaningfully different risk structure than the old program, and outdated articles or consultants describing an escrow deposit are referring to a program that no longer exists.

2. What Actually Happens If You Fall Short

Under your current Performance Agreement, if IIDI determines, at its sole discretion, that you haven't complied with all terms and conditions before you'd otherwise receive IRCC approval, the consequence is direct:

• IIDI will not nominate you for permanent residency
• The Performance Agreement terminates
• IIDI has no further obligation to you

There's no forfeited deposit under this structure, but the practical cost is still severe: your $150,000+ investment is already committed to the business, your relocation is already done, and your immigration pathway ends without a nomination.

3. A Separate, Harsher Track: Misrepresentation

Don't confuse ordinary non-compliance with misrepresentation, they're treated very differently. If IIDI determines you misrepresented, made a false statement, or concealed information anywhere in your application, at its sole discretion, it can:

• Reject and terminate your application immediately
• Forfeit your application fee entirely
• Cancel an existing nomination, if one was already issued
• Bar you from registering with or applying to the PEI PNP for 2 years

This applies even if the misrepresentation was made by someone acting on your behalf, such as a representative, you're deemed to have full knowledge of your application's contents regardless of who prepared it.

4. Your Settlement Officer Is a Resource, Not Just an Auditor

Once your Performance Agreement is signed, you're assigned a Settlement Officer who provides guidance on provincial laws and business support services, and checks in periodically for progress reports. Use these check-ins proactively: if you anticipate falling short on residency days, the investment timeline, or operating expenses, raise it with your Settlement Officer before it becomes a compliance failure on record, not after.

5. Practical Risk Management

• Build a buffer into your investment and expense timelines rather than planning to hit the $150,000 and $75,000 thresholds exactly at the deadline
• Track your 274 physical residency days from day one; travel that seems minor can add up over 12 months
• Get independent legal advice on your Performance Agreement before signing it, not after a problem arises, the agreement itself typically requires acknowledgment that you understand the consequences of non-performance