Canada Entrepreneur Immigration

The Canadian Immigration Entrepreneur Program is designed to appeal to experienced entrepreneurs who plan to own and manage actively a business in Canada.

A successful entrepreneur must have the following skills and qualities: leader temperament; willingness and tolerance to take risks; the desire to create; great work capacity; ability to anticipate and solve problems; good self-confidence; ease of communication and above all, good adaptability.

In Canada, there is a program, unique in the world and relatively recent, for aspiring immigrants who want to start a business while permanently settling in the country. This is the Canada Business Startup Visa Program, aimed at immigrant entrepreneurs who have the skills and capacity to establish innovative businesses in Canada that can create jobs for Canadians.

Canada needs immigrants:
The Canada Business Start-Up Visa Program aims to remedy those particular challenges by setting very specific criteria for those who want to apply.

Various Canadian researchers have hypothesized that immigrants can have a very positive effect on the country’s economic growth by providing it with people with specific qualifications, lowering the average age of the workforce, and contributing to innovation.

In addition, immigrant entrepreneurs make direct contributions by creating new businesses and creating jobs. Job creation is essential for economic growth, and a growing number of international studies are examining immigrant entrepreneurship to determine the factors that influence immigrant entrepreneurship and the success of immigrant-owned businesses.

Who can apply?

  • Have a “program eligible business”
  • Obtain a letter of support from a designated organization in Canada
  • Compliance with language requirements. Mastering almost perfectly one of the two official languages (French and English)
  • Bring enough money to settle

An “eligible business” means that the immigrant candidate has created a business that meets all of the following criteria.

  • Got the support of a Canadian organization.
  • When you obtain the commitment of an approved business group to invest or assist in business projects

The candidate owns 10% or more of the voting rights attached to the shares of the corporation at that time (up to five people can apply as owners)

What’s more:
  • The designated organization and the applicants jointly own more than 50% of the voting rights corresponding to all the shares of the company in circulation at that time.
  • Also, at the time of obtaining your permanent residence: you must actively and continuously manage this business from within Canada; an essential part of the company’s activities must be carried out in Canada; the company is incorporated in Canada.

How to obtain a letter of support from a designated organization?

Before starting the immigration process within the framework of this program, the candidate must contact the designated organization to convince the organization that they have a business idea worth supporting.

If a designated organization decides to support you, it must provide a letter of support, which will be the proof that the applicant must provide to demonstrate that the venture capital fund, group, or business incubator is committed to their business idea.

The organization will send the Canadian government directly a certificate of commitment and together with the letter of support it will be used to evaluate your application.

While your application for permanent residence is being processed, you can apply for a temporary work permit to start your business in Canada. 

If you need more information about this program, please do not hesitate to get in touch today at info@dhunnaimmigration.ca