Bring your Start-up to Canada

Canada’s Start-up Visa Program provides entrepreneurs the opportunity to obtain a permanent residence in Canada. The program is known officially as the Canada Start-Up Class but is widely referred to as the Canada Start-Up Visa program (SUV).

The major aim of this program is to connect ingenious entrepreneurs with Canadian investors located in the private sector, thus assisting them in establishing their start ups in the country.

Candidates can first arrive in Canada using a work permit backed by their associated Canadian investor. After this, they can then send in an application for permanent residence as soon as their business is set up.

Investors located in the private sector are basic grouped into 3:

Venture capital fund
Angel investor
Business incubator

Until March 2018 when the program was made permanent, it was a three-year pilot and considered one of the Canadian Business visa options.

The Canada Start-up Visa Requirements?

The main eligibility requirements for the Start-Up Visa are:

Qualifying business

To be seen as a qualifying business, you must have created a business in which you and any other person joining in the application each holds at least 10 percent of the voting rights attached to all shares of the startup.

You can combine with up to five others to apply together as owners of a business.

Also, you and the designated organization must together hold more than 50 per cent of the overall voting rights.

Letter of Support from a designated entity and Commitment Certificate

Before applying to the Start-up Visa Program, you must get the commitment of a designated organization that will support your startup’s development in Canada.

Sufficient, available and transferable settlement funds

You must show that you have enough money to support settlement in Canada for you and your family members. To do this, you have to show that you meet IRCC’s proof of means of financial support requirement:

Proficiency in English or French

Canadians speak mainly English and French. Hence, you have to demonstrate proficiency in one of the two before you start the application. Qualifying for the start-up visa requires you to present results from a recognized language test showing the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) Level 5 or higher ability. Also, the result should not be more than two years old at the time of the application.

What is a Start-up visa designated entity?

A designated entity refers to any Canadian private sector investor that would confirm the investment of a specific amount of capital in the start-up.

Here are the three types of investors in this program and the required investment:

Angel Investor – At least $75,000
Venture Capital Fund – At least $200,000
Business Incubator – No financial investment, but must accept start-up into its business incubator scheme

How to Apply for Canada Start-up Visa

Once you’ve confirmed that you meet all the application requirements, you can begin your application. Here is a 4-step guide on how to apply for the Canada start-up visa:

Get and the application package and fill the Form

The first step to applying for a start-up visa is to obtain an application package. The package contains a document checklist, an instruction guide, a general application form for Canada [IMM 0008] and other important files.

You can easily fill the application form on your PC. To ensure all necessary fields have been filled, click the “Validate” button. If there are fields that still need to be filled, they would be highlighted in red.

Complete the document checklist

Put together all the documents supporting the claims in the form you filled. This includes proof of payment, language test results, and signature, among others.

Check off each item from the checklist as you compile them. Then, print out the checklist, sign it, and use it as your application’s cover page.

However, you must consider that it’s not an easy process, and you should hire an approved RCIC to help you get thrpugh the process successfully.

Pay your application fees.

Most of the times, your fees would include:

Processing fees covering for you and any other person you include in your application
Biometrics fee
The Right of Permanent Residence fee
Any associated third-party fees

All payments must be made online here using your debit or credit card. Do not pay a third party.

Submit your application

To ensure your application is complete, you must:

Provide the answer to all questions
Sign your application and every other form
Pay all required fees and attach proof to your application
Include all the supporting documents

If you miss anything in your application, it would be sent back to you to fix and resubmit.

An email address has been provided in the instruction guide that came with the application package. Send your application there when you are done and await feedback.