Immigrating to Canada through the Startup Immigration Program
The Start-Up Visa Program is one of the two immigration programs under the Business Class, the other one being the Self-Employed Person Program. The Start-Up Visa program aims to provide qualified immigrant entrepreneurs with Canadian permanent residence.
The Start-Up Visa program sets itself the goal of linking innovative entrepreneurs with the Canadian private sector businesses in order to facilitate the establishment of their start-up business in Canada.
Under this program, the applicant must seek support from certain designated organizations by presenting them with an innovative business idea. Up to five people can jointly apply to the program with the same business project. Often, one or more of them may be considered essential to the business, which is why if their applications for the permanent residence is rejected, the applications of all others will automatically be rejected.
The start-up business is expected to
a) be innovative
b) create jobs for Canadians and
c) compete on a global scale
A start-up business is considered eligible if the following requirements are met.
1- The applicants have a qualifying business
This means that each applicant owns at least 10% of the total shares of the business and all applicants together with the supporting organization have more than 50% of the total shares. In addition, when the applicants get their permanent residence, they need to actively manage their business from within Canada, have an essential part of the operations done in Canada, and get their business incorporated in Canada.
2- The applicants get a letter of support from a designated organization
The applicants need to find and convince a supporting organization which will be inclined to help them establish their business in Canada. The supporting organization must be one of designated organizations approved to participate in the Start-Up Visa program.
There are three types of designated organizations whose names can be found on the IRCC website. Each organization has their own requirements as outlined on their websites.
The organization can be a venture capital fund, in which case it is required to make a minimum total investment of 200,000 Canadian dollars, or an angel investor, in which case an investment of at least 75000 Canadian dollars is required of the investor, or an incubator, which is not required to provide financial support, but can help by providing work space, consultation or networking with other businesses.
Upon approving the project, the designated organization will give the applicants a letter of support. It will also send the IRCC a certificate of commitment, outlining the details of the agreement.
3- The applicants must meet the minimum language requirements
The minimum level of CLB 5 in either English or French in all four skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing) is required. CLB 5 is equal to the general IELTS score of 4 in Reading and 5 in all other skills. The test must be taken in the past two years from the date of application.
4- The applicants must have enough money to settle in Canada
At the time of applying to the Start-Up Visa program, applicants need to give proof that they have the money to support themselves and their dependents after they arrive in Canada. The amount of required money depends on the size of the family and is subject to change, so applicants must check the latest update on the IRCC website.
