Immigration consultant's notes. Startup in Canada.
The Canadian Startup Visa program is designed for entrepreneurs with the skills and potential to create a business in Canada, and allows to obtain the status of permanent residence in the country.
Startup Visa was organized in 2013 and at that time was regarded as a kind of “immigration exotic”. It was believed that its main participants could be businessmen in the high-tech sector who did not receive US resident status. At present, this is the shortest way to the country for business owners - authors of original ideas.
Requirements for a business idea (project) submitted by a visa applicant:
- innovativeness,
- the possibility of creating jobs for local residents,
- competitiveness,
- scalability.
If the project received support from one of the authorized organizations:
- venture capital funds (consent of one of the funds to invest $ 200,000),
- angel investor groups (consent of one of the group members to invest $ 75,000),
- business incubators (consent to participate in one of the programs developed by business incubators),
then the applicant gets the right to apply for Start-up Visa.
At the time of obtaining the consent of an authorized organization, the following conditions must be met:
- each applicant (up to 5 people) and an authorized organization own at least 10% of the company’s shares,
- applicants and an authorized entity jointly own more than 50% of the shares.
At the time of receiving permanent residence:
- the applicant provides active and ongoing business management in Canada,
- a significant part of business operations takes place in Canada,
- the business is registered in Canada.
- each applicant must be able to communicate & work in English or French, as evidenced by the results of a language test passed at an authorized agency. Minimum Level - Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 5.
Each applicant must have sufficient finances to support themselves and their family members during their stay in Canada.
A characteristic feature of the program is that the applicant is not required to invest his own funds in the project at the time of applying for a visa.
It should be noted that the province of Quebec is developing its own immigration programs that require separate consideration.
For questions regarding the organization of Startup projects in Canada, obtaining a residence permit & work permit, arranging financing, and optimizing taxation, please contact our specialists.