CANADA

Canada is a North American country stretching from the U.S. in the south to the Arctic Circle in the north. Major cities include massive Toronto, west coast film centre Vancouver, French-speaking Montreal and Quebec City, and capital city Ottawa. Canada’s vast swaths of wilderness include lake-filled Banff National Park in the Rocky Mountains. It’s also home to Niagara Falls, a famous group of massive waterfalls.

Capital
Ottawa
Population
37.06 Million (2018)
Currency
Canadian Dollar
GDP
$ 20.50 Trillion
Provinces
Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and more..
BRITISH COLOMBIA BUSINESS IMMIGRATION INTRA COMPANY TRANSFER (ICT) OWNER OPERATED LMIA PROGRAM QUEBEC IMMIGRANT INVESTOR PROGRAM SASKATCHEWAN FARM OWNERS/OPERATORS STREAM START-UP VISA PROGRAM

Start-Up Visa Program

The Start-Up Visa program grants Canadian permanent residence to qualified immigrant entrepreneurs. The program aims to recruit innovative entrepreneurs to Canada and link them with the Canadian private sector businesses, (angel investor groups, venture capital funds or business incubators) and facilitate the establishment of their start-up business in Canada.

Successful candidates will receive a letter of support from a government-designated entity (angel investor group, venture capital fund or business incubator). The government-designated entity is primarily responsible to determine the viability of the applicant’s intended business and present an approved project along with a Commitment Certificate to immigration authorities. Applications are assessed on a pass-fail basis.

Applicants to Canada’s Start-Up Visa program must meet four basic eligibility requirements:

  1. Have a qualifying business
  2. Obtain a commitment from a designated entity in the form of a Commitment Certificate and Letter of Support;
  3. Have sufficient unencumbered, available and transferable settlement funds, updated each year (the requirements identical to those for skilled workers);
  4. Demonstrate sufficient proficiency in English or French through standardized testing (Canadian Language Benchmark level 5) ;

The required commitment from a designated entity must meet the following criteria:

  • A designated angel investor group must confirm that it is investing at least $75,000 CAD into the qualifying business, or two or more commitments from designated angel investor groups totaling $75,000 CAD; OR
  • A designated venture capital fund must confirm that it is investing at least $200,000 CAD into the qualifying business or two or more commitments from designated venture capital funds totaling $200,000 CAD; OR
  • A designated business incubator must confirm that it is accepting the applicant into its business incubator Program.

In order to qualify, the intended business must be incorporated and carrying on business in Canada at the time the commitment is made and:

  • The applicant owns a least 10% of the voting rights in the corporation; AND
  • No other person holds 50% or more of the total amount of voting rights in the corporation.

Up to five applicants may have their application for permanent residence supported by the same business investment. However, certain applicants may be designated essential to the intended business. If any of the essential applicants withdraw their application or are refused for other reasons, all other applicants under the same business investment will see their applications terminated.

Applicants who have secured a Commitment Certificate from a designated entity, and who wish to begin working in the business during the processing of their permanent residence application may apply for a short-term work permit on the basis of their Commitment Certificate if the designated entity supports such a request.

To receive a work permit, an applicant must provide:

  • A letter of support from the designated entity; and
  • Proof they have sufficient funds to meet the low-income cut-off (LICO) for their family size, for one year.

To receive permanent residence, the following criteria must be met:

  • Applicants must be actively involved in the management of the business within Canada;
  • The operations of the business, or an essential part, must take place in Canada; and
  • The business must be incorporated in Canada.

Canada’s Start-Up Visa program does not apply to applicants who intend to reside in the province of Quebec.

Designated entities that may support an application under the Start-Up Visa program are:

Designated venture capital funds

  • 7 Gate Ventures
  • BCF Ventures
  • BDC Venture Capital
  • Celtic House Venture Partners
  • Extreme Venture Partners LLP
  • Golden Venture Partners Fund, LP
  • Impression Ventures
  • Innovation Platform Capital International LP
  • iNovia Capital Inc.
  • Lumira Capital
  • Nova Scotia Innovation Corporation (o/a Innovacorp)
  • OMERS Ventures Management Inc.
  • Pangaea Ventures Ltd.
  • PRIVEQ Capital Funds
  • Real Ventures
  • Relay Ventures
  • ScaleUp Venture Partners, Inc.
  • Top Renergy Inc.
  • Vanedge Capital Limited Partnership
  • Version One Ventures
  • Westcap Management Ltd.
  • Yaletown Venture Partners Inc.
  • York Entrepreneurship Development Institute (YEDI) VC Fund

Designated angel investor groups

  • Canadian International Angel Investors
  • Ekagrata Inc.
  • Golden Triangle Angel Network
  • Keiretsu Forum Canada
  • Oak Mason Investments Inc.
  • Southeastern Ontario Angel Network
  • TenX Angel Investors Inc.
  • VANTEC Angel Network Inc.
  • York Angel Investors Inc.

Designated business incubators

  • Alacrity Foundation
  • Alberta Agriculture and Forestry
    • Agrivalue Processing Business Incubator
    • Food Processing Development Centre
  • Biomedical Commercialization Canada Inc. (operating as Manitoba Technology Accelerator)
  • Creative Destruction Lab
  • Empowered Startups Ltd.
  • Extreme Innovations
  • Genesis Centre
  • Highline BETA Inc.
  • Innovacorp
  • Interactive Niagara Media Cluster o/a Innovate Niagara
  • Invest Ottawa
  • Knowledge Park o/a Planet Hatch
  • LatAm Startups
  • Launch Academy – Vancouver
  • LaunchPad PEI Inc.
  • Millworks Centre for Entrepreneurship
  • NEXT Canada
  • North Forge Technology Exchange
  • Platform Calgary
  • Real Investment Fund III L.P. o/a FounderFuel
  • Ryerson Futures Inc.
  • Spark Commercialization and Innovation Centre
  • Spring Activator
  • The DMZ at Ryerson University
  • Toronto Business Development Centre (TBDC)
  • TSRV Canada Inc. (operating as Techstars Canada)
  • VIATEC
  • Waterloo Accelerator Centre
  • York Entrepreneurship Development Institute

Share

Watch our video

Skilled Immigration
Business Immigration
M-J Global team assisting various applicants for visit visa. As we do everythingwe can to ensure the achievement...
Visit Visa
M-J Global team assisting various applicants for visit visa. As we do everything we can to ensure the...
Student
M-J Global Team- ``Your Education advisors`` Excited by the idea of studying Internationally...

Follow M-J Global

Frequently Read Topics
Austria has one of the strictest citizenship laws in the EU
Austria has one of the strictest citizenship laws in the European Union. Currently around ... Read More
Why Study in Canada?
There are many reasons why more than 400,000 International Students chose to live and stud ... Read More
Why Did Canada Launch Express Entry?
Canada launched Express Entry in 2015 in order to move from a "first-come, first-served" i ... Read More
Who Qualifies for Canadian Permanent Residence/Skilled Worker Immigration?
On January 1, 2015, the Government of Canada implemented the Express Entry Immigration sys ... Read More
What is an Electronic Travel Authorization?
Foreign nationals from visa-exempt countries arriving in Canada by air are required to obt ... Read More
The Express Entry Job Bank
The Express Entry Job Bank is an online job site created by Employment and Social Developm ... Read More
Express Entry Candidate Pool
Once the Canadian government considers an applicant’s online Express Entry profile to be ... Read More
Study in Canada: Work After Graduation
There are many options available to you after you have completed your study in Canada prog ... Read More
Study in Canada: Internships and Co-Op Programs
If you’re looking to gain valuable international work experience while you attend school ... Read More
Requirements for the Federal Skilled Worker Program
In order to apply for skilled immigration under the Federal Skilled Worker program, an app ... Read More
Open Work permit in Canada – Work in Canada
An open work permit allows a foreign national to work for any Canadian employer he/she wan ... Read More
Nova Scotia ‘Study and Stay’
The Nova Scotia Study and Stay program specifically targets international students from Ch ... Read More
Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs)
An LMIA is a document that an employer in Canada needs to obtain before hiring most types ... Read More
Invitations to Apply for Permanent Residence (ITAs)
Applicants who receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) will become eligible to apply for perm ... Read More
Canada Inadmissibility for Individual Criminality: Definitions
Here you will find a description of the kinds of behaviour that can cause a person to be ... Read More
Federal Skilled Worker Program Eligible Occupations
Under Express Entry, Federal Skilled Workers across 347 eligible occupations who meet mini ... Read More
Express Entry Job Offer
While possessing a job offer is not mandatory for those seeking to immigrate using the Exp ... Read More
The Express Entry Candidate Pool
Once the Canadian government considers an applicant’s online Express Entry profile to be ... Read More
Eight Things to Know About Canada’s Start-Up Visa Program
Canada’s Start-Up Visa Program offers Canadian permanent residence to qualified immigran ... Read More
Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS)
All the skilled immigration applicants that are eligible for the Express Entry System will ... Read More
Citizenship Language Requirement
Applicants for citizenship between the ages of 18-54 must provide evidence of their knowle ... Read More
Canada Visit/Tourist Visa
A visitor is a person who wants to come to Canada to work, study or visit. A visitor is no ... Read More
Canada To End Special Temporary Foreign Worker Program Processing For Owner/Operators
Canada immigration authorities are moving to abolish the special Temporary Foreign Worker ... Read More
Buy a Business and Move to Canada Immigration Program
Canada immigration authorities have abolished the special Temporary Foreign Worker Program ... Read More
If you have a criminal record, you cannot become a citizen of any of these five EU nations.
Exams that overseas students must take in order to study in the UK
What's behind Hungary's record salary?
Hungary's Digital Citizenship Program Will Remove the Need for ID Cards

Get in touch

Would you like to speak to one of our immigration expert over the phone? Just submit your details and we’ll be in touch shortly. You can also email us if you would prefer.

Code

Number

headset_mic FREE CONSULTATION
Get Free Consultation
Cancel