Canada’s Start Up Visa (CSUV) program allows business minds and entrepreneurs to immigrate over to Canada to start a new business. Entrepreneurs are tasked with exemplifying why they believe they should be allowed to venture into new business in Canada which includes job creation for Canadians, being globally competitive and demonstrating that the business is innovative. While not the easiest of tasks, talented entrepreneurs can use this program to help jump start their businesses in Canada.

REQUIREMENTS

The requirements for a start-up visa include 4 integral things:

Business must be qualified

• You must have a minimum of 10% of the voting rights attached to all shares of said business
• Along with the designated organization, you must hold a minimum of 50% of the voting rights attached to all shares of the company

Commitment Certificate and Letter of Support from designated organization

• Must have backing from a valued designated organization or private sector investor. This can be an angel investor, venture capital fund or business incubator
• Must pitch business idea to said entities, if successful; you will receive a letter of support

Meeting the language proficiency standards

• Must be at the minimum of Level 5 on the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) in either English or French for all linguistic practices

Proof of funds

• Funds must be sufficient, readily available and transferable
• Enough funds to support yourself and dependants, size of family effects how much funds are considered sufficient

DESIGNATED ORGANIZATIONS/ENTITIES

Apart of being eligible for CSUV is proof of a Commitment Certificate and Letter of Support from a designated organization. This proof will show backing in your business, and there are different standards depending on what type of entity decides to take on your business. Applicants are not required to invest any of their own capital.

If the designated organization is an angel investor group, they’re required to invest a minimum of $75,000 into the business. It is also possible to qualify multiple angel investors, to achieve the $75,000 minimum that is required.

If the designated organization is a venture capital fund, an investment of $200,000 is required at the minimum. Again, multiple commitments can be agreed upon to reach the $200,000 required.

For business incubators, the applicant's business must be accepted into the business incubator program.

HOW TO APPLY

The start-up visa application begins with filling out a generic application form for Canada. Once all required fields are filled, click the “Validate” button and print the form including the barcode page. Make sure your signature and date are on the form.

Complete the document checklist. This checklist must be completed and signed and acts as the cover page to your application. From here you must pay your application fees. This depends on what type of applicant it is for the business in regards to processing fees. An individual’s processing fee is $85, while families applying together can be up to $170 and groups of 3 or more performers can be up to $255. Other fees are also charged which include biometric fees, medical exams, police certificates, right of permanent residence fee, and language test fee.

Following this is the submission of the application, all documents should be put in a 9” x 12” envelope and mailed to the correct address. The process for the start-up visa takes anywhere between 12 to 16 months to be completed. Our professionals at Just To Canada can make the process for a start-up Visa no only attainable, but help kickstart the vision for all foreign entrepreneurs and the business they dream about having.

We have been effectively assisting our clients in this category. References can also be made available from various clients who have received their Letter of Support for their permanent residence in Canada with our assistance.