Canada Startup Visa

Canada’s Start-Up Visa Program offers Canadian permanent residence to qualified immigrant entrepreneurs. It is officially known as the Canada Start-Up Class. But it is largely referred to as the Start-Up Visa program (SUV).

The program targets innovative entrepreneurs and links them with private sector investors in Canada who will help establish their start-up business.

Candidates can initially come to Canada on a work permit supported by their designated Canada-based investor, before qualifying for permanent residence once their business is up and running.

There are three types of private-sector investor:

1. Angel investor.
2. Venture capital fund.
3. Business incubator.

The basic candidate eligibility requirements for the Start-Up Visa are:

1. Qualifying business.
2. Commitment Certificate and Letter of Support from a designated entity.
3. Sufficient unencumbered, available and transferable settlement funds.
4. Proficiency in English or French at minimum Canadian Language Benchmark level 5.

A designated entity is a Canadian private sector angel investor, venture capital fund or business incubator.

The required commitment must meet the following criteria:

1. A designated angel investor group must invest at least $75,000 into the qualifying business. Candidates can also qualify with two or more investments from angel investor groups totaling $75,000.
2. A designated venture capital fund must confirm that it is investing at least $200,000 into the qualifying business. Candidates can also qualify with two or more commitments from designated venture capital funds totaling $200,000.
3. A designated business incubator must accept the applicant into its business incubator program.

If an entrepreneur has a viable start-up business project, it will take about 4-6 months to secure a commitment certificate/letter of support from a designated entity. Once a letter of support is received, the application for permanent residence can be submitted. It will take approximately 18-months to finalize the application for visa issuance.

Through our Canada based facilities, our firm works extensively with industry-acclaimed designated entities in the Canadian start-up ecosystem. We provide a range of hands-on business advisory services to help entrepreneur immigrants and their start-up business concept meet all industry requirements. For more details, you can obtain a free consultation here.