Startup Visa Program is the newest Visa Program of Canada that aims to attract innovative foreign businesses and entrepreneurs to startup businesses in Canada.
The main purpose is to create job positions in Canada and make the country competitive on the global scale. In April 2013, the Startup Visa Program was implemented as a pilot project by the ministerial instruction.
Requirements for Applying for a Startup Visa Program in Canada
The persons who have innovative ideas and are interested in relocating to Canada can get the support from the designated organizations namely designated venture capital funds, designated angel investor groups, and designated business incubators. This is a must as you cannot apply for a Startup Visa without having the support of any of these designated organizations.
To get the support of these designated organizations for startup visa program, you will have to contact the organization to get your business evaluated. The organization will assess and review your business proposal to check whether it will have any prospects of growth and viability. The evaluation criteria and the process of all these organizations are different. You will get a letter of support if organization chooses your business proposal. This letter is proof that your business idea is backed by the designated organization and later you will need to show it to CIC (Citizen and Immigration Canada).
Eligibility for Startup Visa Program
For receiving the Start-up Visa you must have these eligibilities:
- Obtain a Letter of Support from the Designated Organizations and include it in the application.
- Your business should meet the requirements for ownership. For this these requirements should be fulfilled:
- Single or up to five persons can apply for the ownership of a single business.
- In the business, each owner must have at least 10% of voting rights.
- In the business, all the applicants and the designated organization should together hold more than 50% of the right to vote.
- You should possess language proficiency in English or French which would be demonstrated through the Standardized testing. In all the areas of speaking, listening, reading and writing you should meet the Canadian Language Benchmark level 5. If your minimum language proficiency is not fulfilled, your application will be refused.
- You must have adequate settlement funds for supporting yourself and your family. Canada government does not provide the money for supporting the Start-up Visa immigrants. You cannot buy the money from the persons in Canada and before arriving in Canada, you should provide the proof of having sufficient funds.
- Lastly, you should also pass the medical tests and the Canadian security tests.
So, check all these eligibilities and requirements before applying for the Startup Visa Program in Canada.