Business Class (Start-Up Visa)

Canada Immigration: Business Class (Start-Up Visa)

Generally speaking, the Start-Up Visa Program (SUV) is the fastest and most straightforward Immigration program offered by the Federal Government for businesspeople/entrepreneurs.  Under this Program, Work Permits are initially issued to the entrepreneur, which typically take ten (10) business days to process.  Thereafter, Permanent Resident Visas are generally processed and issued in two (2) to six (6) months.

There are a number of requirements for this category as mandated by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).

These requirements are:

1.      The entrepreneur must be English OR French-speaking and must achieve a language test score of at least Canada Language Benchmark Level 5;

2.      The entrepreneur must genuinely want to start and grow a high-potential start-up company that sets a goal of selling to customers in at least five (5) countries between months twenty-four (24) and thirty-six (36);

3.      The entrepreneur must have strong sales and distribution channels available internationally, or must be an expert in an area, or must have significant management experience;

4.      The entrepreneur must be high net-worth as he/she will be responsible for funding the R&D/development stage from ideation to first customer acquisition;

5.      The entrepreneur will work together with one of our partner firms (a designated new business incubator designated by CIC to assist SUV entrepreneurs). This partner firm will provide applicants with an incubation program to pursue early adopting customers with the first objective being to attain validated learning about the assumed problem and solution to be solved, as well as assumptions about the early adopting customers to whom the business incubator offers the solution;

6.      This Business Immigration Program does not allow “passive” investment schemes. This is an “active” start-up program that requires the entrepreneur to participate in building the start-up.

Regarding the entrepreneur's time commitments, the SUV program with the business incubator allows the entrepreneur to balance the competing demands of running his/her existing business(s) internationally, transitioning his/her family to Canada, and launching his/her new start-up in Canada. By aligning with the business incubator, the entrepreneur is building a start-up team to accomplish objectives.

Start-up fund money to seed the venture is determined based on (a) what is required, (b) what is the proposed venture (based on the proposed venture), to be selling to customers in five (5) countries between months twenty-four (24) and thirty-six (36). There is no “off-the-rack price” for this Business Immigration Program as no funds are being paid related to obtaining Immigration.  Funds are used to seed the start-up and pursue incubation goals.