Canada
Canada has near ONE million job vacancies, moving the country toward ‘immigration’ as a solution for its labour shortage.
Immigration Levels Plan
To address this, Canada has set ambitious immigration targets for the next Three (3) years, with the goal of attracting a total of 1.45 million immigrants between 2023 and 2025.
Currently, over 20% of Canadians are immigrants, and the government is prioritizing skilled workers in fields where there are critical labour shortages, such as health care, manufacturing, engineering, and trades.
The Government of Canada is embracing Canada’s emerging role as a leader in global tech talent recruitment and attraction to ensure Canada is not only filling in-demand jobs today but also attracting the skills and business talent to create the jobs of tomorrow.
The Immigration Levels Plan outlines targets of 465,000 permanent residents in 2023, 485,000 in 2024, and 500,000 in 2025. This represents a 23% increase from the record-breaking 405,000 newcomers accepted by Canada last year.
According to Statistics Canada, if current immigration patterns continue and the country’s birthrate falls below what is necessary to maintain the current population, immigrants could make up 29% to 34% of the population in about 20 years.
START-UP VISA (“SUV”) PROGRAM
The Start-up Visa (“SUV”) Program in Canada presents an extraordinary opportunity for inventive entrepreneurs worldwide to set up their ventures in a promising and supportive ecosystem.
The SUV Program is ideal for entrepreneurs with an existing business that is ready for investors. To be eligible to apply under the SUV Program, applicants must have already created their business and secured commitment from a designated Canadian business investment organization or incubator.
There are no restrictions on what kind of business can qualify. In general, the business must be innovative and have the potential for substantial growth and job creation.
Industry sectors that may attract the interest of investment organizations or incubators are advanced manufacturing, engineering, internet, big data, artificial intelligence, robotics, biotech, cryptocurrency, and environmental technology.
The key benefits of the SUV Program are:
- Successful applicants and their family members receive permanent residence in Canada.
- Permanent residence visa processing time is 24-to-36 months. A work permit may be issued to go to Canada to start the business while the permanent residence visa is processed.
- Applicants can settle anywhere in Canada except the Province of Quebec.
- There is minimum investment required in the SUV program. A permanent resident visa is issued before investment is made in the business.
- Previous business ownership or management experience is not required.
- There is no minimum education required to be eligible for the SUV program.
- No age limits are applicable to the SUV program.
- Up to Five (5) applicants can apply together as a group to the SUV program. Each applicant and their respective family members will receive Canadian permanent residence.
- The applicant obtains their permanent residence before they start their business in Canada and, further, their permanent residence is unconditional and does not depend on the success of their proposed business.
- There is no requirement to demonstrate a minimum net worth.
SUV Applicants’ Requirements
Entrepreneurial applicants who wish to be considered for the Start-Up Visa Program must meet the following conditions:
Propose an Eligible Business Idea
The proposed business idea must be innovative, scalable, and possess the potential to create jobs in Canada
Obtain a Commitment from a Designated Organization
Applicants must secure a letter of support from a ‘Designated Organization’. These organizations include venture capital funds, angel investor groups, and business incubators.
Meet the Minimum Financial Requirements
Applicants must demonstrate that they have enough funds to settle in Canada and fund their business venture, based on the number of accompanying family members.
Satisfy Language Proficiency Requirements
Applicants must prove their proficiency in either English or French by taking a standardized language test. This means that the applicant must take a language test from an approved language testing agency and meet the minimum level of the Canadian Language Benchmark ‘5’ in speaking, reading, listening and writing in either English or French.
Pass Security and Medical Examinations
All applicants and their family members must pass security and medical examinations before being granted permanent residency.
Procedure and Processing Time
To qualify for permanent residency in Canada, applicants are required to submit a business proposal for approval by a designated government business organization.
Upon approval by a designated organization such as a business incubator, angel investment group, or venture capital fund (depending on the selected investment option), the applicants will receive a letter of support, allowing them and their family to apply for permanent residence.
The process typically takes between 24 to 36 months.
Successful applicants who have been permanent residents in Canada for Three (3) years (1,095 days) within a Five-year period are eligible to apply for Canadian citizenship.
To maintain permanent resident status, clients must be physically present in Canada for at least Two (2) out of Five (5) years (730 days).
SELF-EMPLOYED VISA PROGRAM
To qualify for business immigration to Canada under the Self-employed Persons Program, an applicant must demonstrate that they have the relevant artistic or athletic experience that has allowed them to be self-employed while living in their country of origin.
The candidate must furthermore be able to make a reasonably significant contribution to one of these fields through their relevant experience and skills in Canada to be successful in their application.
Advantages of the Self-employed Persons Program
The candidate must be able to make a significant contribution in Canada to one of these fields through their experience and skills to be successful in their application.
To this end, they are only required to provide proof of experience within their industry-sector as well as evidence supporting their claims to being successfully self-employed.
Selection Criteria
At least Two (2) years of relevant work experience in the applicant’s professional industry are required within the Five (5) years that precede their business immigration application.
Professional athletes and individuals in the arts and culture industry must either provide proof of:
- Two (2) years of being self-employed within their industry. OR
- Two (2) years of participating at a world-class level within their domain. OR
- A combination of One (1) year of each of the above.
Applicants’ Requirements
In addition to meeting the definition of a self-employed person, as defined above, applicants are required to obtain a minimum of 35 points out of a possible 100 points on a point system used to better assess their eligibility for a Self-Employed Visa.
Applicants are awarded points for their education (25), experience (35), age (10), language proficiencies (24), and adaptability (6), for a total score of 100 points.
FOOTNOTE
The Start-Up Visa Program is a great opportunity for foreign entrepreneurs who are looking to bring their innovative business ideas to Canada.
The program not only provides a pathway to permanent residency, but also offers access to Canada’s thriving startup ecosystem, which includes world-class universities, research centres, and venture capitalists.
Canada is prioritizing applications that are supported by venture capital, angel investor groups, and business incubators who are members of Canada’s Tech Network, and that have capital committed.
If you are an entrepreneur who is interested in the Start-Up Visa Program, we encourage you to consult our office to help you navigate the application process and ensure that your business idea meets the program’s requirements.
With the right guidance and support, you could well be on your way to building a successful business in Canada and contributing to a vibrant economy.
SUV Program’s Options
Foreign entrepreneurs seeking permanent residency in Canada will be required to propose a scaling, innovative start-up business, and receive approval from a Designated Organization.
They can choose from the following options:
- Business Incubation. No minimum investment is required.
- Angel Investment. Applicants must raise CAD 75,000 from an angel investment group, depending on the business stage.
- Venture Capital Fund. Applicants must raise CAD 200,000 from a venture capital fund, depending on the business stage.
All Three (3) options require additional charges for optional consulting, government fees, business structure, document processing, and immigration filing.
PROVINCIAL NOMINEE PROGRAMS (‘PNP’)
Each province operates several PNP streams. These streams are designed by the provinces to help meet their unique immigration goals, so the eligibility criteria and application procedures vary.
PNPs are a popular option because they can be the fastest pathway to Canadian Permanent Residence. Program requirements and application procedures vary greatly between provinces, so interested applicants should consult each of the provinces to determine their eligibility.
A connection or link to the province is generally required having, for example, a job offer from an employer in that province or a study or work history in the designated province.
EXPRESS ENTRY PROGRAM
Express Entry is an application management system used by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to manage and process applications received through Three (3) of Canada’s federal economic immigration programs for skilled workers.
Express Entry is a competitive immigration system, ranking all eligible candidates against one another based on their age, education, language proficiency, work experience, among other factors, and then inviting the best ranking candidates to apply for permanent resident status.
Procedure of Express Entry
Step 1. Determine Eligibility
Potential applicants will need to be eligible under one of the following federal economic immigration programs.
- The Federal Skilled Worker Class (FSWC) OR
- The Canadian Experience Class (CEC) OR
- The Federal Skilled Trades Class (FSTC)
Though the eligibility requirements differ for each of the Express Entry-aligned programs, all candidates are required to have at least One-year of skilled work experience, as well as a certain level of proficiency in either English or French.
Canada screens all Express Entry applicants for criminal history and medical issues that could prove to make a person inadmissible.
Step 2. Create an Express Entry Profile
Eligible individuals must submit an Express Entry profile to the pool of candidates.
The Express Entry profile acts as an Expression of Interest (EOI). Eligible candidates will automatically receive a score based on their profile and will be ranked against the other candidates in the pool.
The ranking score for Express Entry is based on the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) and is calculated out of 1,200 points. The higher a candidate’s CRS score, the higher the likelihood they will receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA).
The CRS score is used as a cut-off point in Express Entry Draws. It is designed to project a candidate’s likelihood of being economically successful in Canada.
It serves to rank different candidates based on their career and educational history, language skills, and whether they have already received a qualifying job offer or provincial nomination in Canada, among other factors.
Candidates can receive additional points if they have a valid job offer from a Canadian employer, or if they have received a provincial nomination.
Step 3. Receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA)
IRCC conducts Express Entry draws at regular intervals and invites candidates above a certain rank to apply for Canadian permanent residence. If a candidate is not invited, their profile will expire after 12 months, at which point they may submit a new profile.
Step 4. Submit Your Application for Permanent Residence
If you receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA), you will be given 60 days to submit a complete application for permanent residence.
In this application you will have to provide extensive personal information along with supporting documentation. The entire application is submitted electronically.
Eighty (80) percent of Express Entry applications are processed in Six (6) months or less.
CANADA EXPERIENCE CLASS (CEC)
The CEC is an immigration program that allows individuals who have worked in Canada for at least One (1) year to immigrate permanently. Applicants are processed through Canada’s Express Entry immigration selection system.
CEC Applicants’ Requirements
- Have at least 12 months of full-time (or an equivalent in part-time) skilled work experience in Canada within the last Three (3) years.This experience must have been obtained while on a valid work permit and needs to be in one or more occupations classified as skill type 0, A or B under the National Occupation Classification (NOC).The One year of experience can be gained in Two (2) different NOC codes so long as they are skilled positions, and the work experience is gained legally.Note that work experience gained through self-employment and work experience gained while a full-time student is not eligible under CEC.
- Plan on living outside the Province of Quebec. AND
- Meet the required language levels needed for the job for each language ability (speaking, reading, listening, and writing).
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