It is possible to begin a business within Canada as a non-resident, however, there are certain requirements that have to be met. Based on the kind of business you undertake, and the province where it is set for operation, the laws vary.
A requirement for residency needs to satisfy, to start the business, by showing an address in Canada. For this, you may have to jointly partner and collaborate with a citizen of Canada or by getting relocated to Canada.
Eligibility for Loan to Set Up Business in Canada- Are you a citizen of Canada?
Other than the post-office address, if you possess an address in Canada, and is a citizen of Canada or an immigrant who has landed in Canada, as a sole proprietorship, your business, or other approved type of companies in the country of Canada can be registered.
The new business can then be registered in a province where the business is located. Since business registrations are administered province wise, as a process of registering a name for the business the process and procedure may vary between provinces. To give an example, Ontario or Quebec may have different rules on business registration as compared to business registration in Alberta
If your intention to incorporate the business and are planning to operate across Canada, you have to integrate federally instead of provincially. You can do business Canada wide with the exact name as Federal incorporation gives you that right.
Finance for Business For Non-Canadian Citizens in Canada
You could still incorporate a company in Canada, even if you are not a citizen of Canada or an, however, your options have limitations:
By forming a partnership that includes Canadians who are residing in Canada. To start your incorporation in Canada, their address can be used.
The incorporated business can be started. And also, to take the benefits of tax you will need the Canadian address and have a Canadian controlled private corporation (CCPC) and must have the proper account of the proportion of Canadians as the Directors of the Board must be able to fulfill all other requirements of such corporation. Depending on the authority or jurisdiction, where you incorporate, there should be proportionate resident Canadians. You can establish provincially or federally in Canada. It is vital to comprehend the required procedures, the merits, and demerits of each type of business.
There are certain residency requirements that are imposed for the company directors in Canada. Therefore foreign investors are expected to be mindful of this.
Federal law entails that 25% of the company directors must be Canadian residents. The CBCA (Canada Business Corporations Act) explains that at least one of the directors must be a resident of Canada, in the case where there are less than four directors. An investor who is willing to establish in Canada should be aware that each province will have different requirements for residency and the person who invests wishing to establish in Canada must take this issue into consideration.
For instance, there are some provinces that do not enforce requirements or residency for the directors (e.g.: New Brunswick, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Yukon).”
Foreign Corporations that Wish to Begin Operations in Canada
Requirements for residency for company directors established in Canada applies to all kinds of corporations in Canada, and not only for CCPCs.
Foreign companies that are willing to operate within Canada
Existing overseas corporations are able to register to be able to start their operations in Canada with either:
Branch office opening. The overseas corporation must apply for registration, to open a branch office, as an extraprovincial or as an overseas company in each of the province where the business is intended to function.
Subsidiary Incorporation. When an overseas company holds the shares of a Canadian company, the Canadian company becomes a subsidiary company. The subsidiary company can be established provincially or federally. In comparison to branch offices, establishing a subsidiary provides the holding or parent company a liability that is from the activities that of that subsidiary.
In whichever case, the residency requirements for directors apply.
Bottom Line
The information presented here is on the hypothesis that your nonresidency status will continue. However, in case you are planning on migrating to Canada on incorporating your business, you must apply through the immigration program of Canada. The next option for you for establishing a company is to continue residing in the current location you are in, and join as a partner with at least a single citizen or more than one citizen of Canada or landed migrants. This way, to start a business, you will also be successful in providing an address in Canadian which is necessary to incorporate your business.