To attract technology entrepreneurs with the know-how and ideas to build new company ventures backed by capital pools of incubators and angel investors, Canada introduced the Start-Up Visa Program in 2013 as a five-year test. The fact that international entrepreneurs and their immediate family members are granted permanent residence under the program makes it very appealing to many people throughout the world.
The government has made the program ongoing. Since it was founded, more than a thousand business people have been awarded citizenship. The program has seen steady growth in applications, albeit it is still relatively modest compared to other types of immigration. While the project has been effective in attracting international talent, it has been criticized for being too difficult to participate in and manage.
For a company to flourish in Canada, employees need to be fluent in English or French. Therefore, applicants must demonstrate proficiency in either English or French at or above the Canadian Language Benchmark (“CLB”) to be considered for the program. This standard must be reached in all four modalities of communication: oral, written, and read/listen.
Applicants for start up visa canada must demonstrate that they can financially support themselves and any dependents they bring to Canada to be considered for this program. No participant in this program will receive any kind of financial assistance from the Government of Canada, and no loans will be made available. The minimum quantity necessary varies from year to year based on factors such as family composition and economic status.
What The Program Is About
The program is designed for company owners who have the drive and resources to create successful enterprises with significant potential for expansion. It has been previously decided by the courts that applicants cannot utilize the program to gain immigrant status or privilege under the Act. The collapse of a startup firm, however, will not impact the permanent resident status of an individual after their application has been accepted and they have earned permanent residence status.
This is a radical change from prior immigrant entrepreneur programs, which made permanent status contingent on meeting requirements such as creating jobs for Canadians and meeting financial goals. Risk is permitted to be shared between the public and private sectors on the understanding that not every business initiative will succeed.
However, there is still a lack of disclosure on the program’s success rate. It is currently unclear how many applications are accepted annually out of the government-set goal, and how many applicants are successful in establishing their business enterprises after acquiring a work visa or residence in Canada since no one has made an access to information request to IRCC.
However, a visa officer must be convinced that the applicant’s primary motivation for entering into an agreement or arrangement concerning a commitment is to participate in the commercial activity for which the commitment was designed, and not to obtain status or privilege under the IRPA. The program takes advantage of the ready availability of private capital pools for the launch of technology ventures.
Even though there is room for improvement in the program and despite the fact that additional research is required to establish how successful the proposals provided for approving firms have been, the initiative has helped to build Canada’s image in the eyes of business owners based in other countries. This is the case despite the fact that there is room for advancement in the program.