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Canada Business Visa
CANADA BUSINESS EXPANSION
Canada, one of the most migrant-friendly nations in the world, offers enormous scope for developing businesses. Its premier cities of Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver are home to renowned IT, financial, and engineering companies, offering a lot of prospects to do business. Best Migration Consultant (BMC) aids in you leveraging opportunities with our Canada Business Visa offerings.
DETAILS OF CANADA BUSINESS VISA
This North American country offers quite a few Business Visas to temporarily let entrepreneurs, professionals, and top executives visit Canada to participate in business ventures. The Canada Business Visa allows its holders to:
Arrive in Canada for business purposes
Attend conferences, seminars, and trade shows
Interact with potential clients and engage in new deals
Undergo training for your business in Canada
With the Canada Business Visa, you can stay for up to six months in Canada.
NECESSARY DOCUMENTATION
You must have the following documents in order to apply for a Business Visa in Canada:
- A valid passport
- Your organization’s documents
- Documents providing proof that you will not overstay in Canada
- Proof of having paid application & visa fees
- Enough medical insurance to cover your stay in Canada
- It would help if you had a convincing reason to visit Canada.
- You need to have adequate money to sustain yourself and your dependents, if any, during your stay.
- You need to have no criminal records. You may need the provide a Police Clearance Certificate (PCC).
- You need to satisfy Canada’s health regulations.
- You need to have a formal invitation from an accredited company in the country where you operate a business.
Canada Startup Visa program
Suppose you are not a native of Canada and intend to float a new business here. In that case, you can enter the country with its startup visa program that urges migrant entrepreneurs to set up their Canadian startups.
Applicants who get a visa can partner with private companies in Canada and obtain assistance for funding and help to run their businesses. But this visa program has defined guidelines on the requirements for startup ownership.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
Eligibility criteria for applicants for visas are:
Evidence that the business can obtain the necessary support
Need to meet the eligibility criteria for ownership
Need to be adequately proficient in English/French
Need to have finished a minimum of one year in post-secondary education
Need to have sufficient financial resources to stay in Canada permanently and be able to support dependent family members
Need to clear the medical exams and meet the security conditions
These visa applicants must be supported or sponsored by a specific venture capital fund, an angel investor in Canada recognized by the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
The IRCC has nominated particular venture capital funds, investors, and incubators to take part in this visa program.
Startups that manage to get accepted by this program need to be able to have with them the minimum finances for the investment. If they get it from a venture capital fund, the investment should be at least $200,000 (American currency). If an angel investor group is involved, the minimum investment needs to be at least $75,000 (American currency). Applicants need to be also members of a business incubator program in Canada.
How BMC
can help ?
With a Canadian Business Visa, you can access an entirely new market. Canada offers a lot in trade and business because of being one of the world’s advanced economies. BMC can assist you in applying for a business visa confidently through our expert visa & immigration services of Canada. A dedicated staff member of Best Migration Consultant will help you by working with you to:
Sort out and gather all your documents
Use the checklist to gather all visa documents
Create your package of application
Fill out all the forms and applications properly
Bring up-to-date & follow-up regularly
Prepare you for the interview
Reach out to us at BMC to get on track with your Canada Business Visa process.
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Mr.Ronak Gandhi shared a feedback regarding the BMC services, he was fully satisfied with the process consultant assigned and appropriating them a lot.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Foreigners looking to invest in a business in Canada must undergo a two-stage process:
They will have to apply for a temporary work permit in the first stage while complying with the federal owner-operator rules.
In the second stage, they can apply for a permanent residence in Canada under various immigration programs.
Another option for business immigrants looking at investing in a business in Canada is using the Owner Operator policy offered by the Canadian government.
Owner-Operator Policy
The Owner-Operator policy is not a formal immigration program but a work permit issued under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP).
Under this policy, foreign entrepreneurs who wish to acquire an existing business or start a new business in Canada must first apply for a work visa for a manager position. They must be hired by an employer recognized as a business entity by the government. They can qualify for a work permit as Temporary Foreign workers.
To qualify as an owner-operator, the foreign employee/investor must be able to acquire a controlling interest in the business he has been hired for. He can be eligible as an owner-operator if he gets the required immigration approval and displays sufficient interest in running the business.
The Owner-Operator policy has gained considerable attention from many foreign business entrepreneurs and investors.
The existing federal investment-based immigration programs have a minimal scope.
The provincial investment-based residence immigration programs work under the Expression of Interest scheme. Under this program, candidates must first apply for a temporary work permit and then a PR visa. The programs are quota-based, which leaves a large pool of investors who are also applicants for a PR visa subject to a relatively small number of quota-based openings.
These factors decrease their chances of getting a PR visa. However, under the Owner Operator policy, candidates interested in settling down in an area of Canada can buy a suitable business in that area and subsequently get a permanent residency to live there.
There are three options to start a business in Canada
1.Expanding an established business in Canada
The process of expanding an established foreign business in Canada is straightforward with every province having its own registration procedure and fees. If you are a non-Canadian and wish to open your business in the province of Alberta, then you must register your business as an extra provincial corporation in the province. For this you will need an Agent for Service who can either be an individual above 18 years who is living in the province or a corporation with a registered office in the province.
If you wish to do business in different provinces, then you must follow the required procedure for each province.
2. Starting a new business in Canada
If you are a non-Canadian and want to start a new business or company in Canada, then you can use the country’s startup visa program.
This program encourages immigrant entrepreneurs to develop their startups in Canada. Successful applicants can tie up with private companies in Canada and receive help on funding and guidance on running their business.
However, this visa program has specific guidelines on the ownership and shareholding requirements for a startup.
Eligibility requirements for visa applicants are: • Have proof that the business has the required support • Must fulfil the ownership requirements • Must have the required proficiency in English or French • Must have completed at least one year of post-secondary education • Must have enough funds to settle in Canada and support dependent family members • Must clear the medical tests and security requirements
Applicants for this visa must have the support or sponsorship of a specified Canadian venture capital fund, angel investor or business incubator to qualify for the visa.
The IRCC has designated specific venture capital funds, investor groups and business incubators to be part of this visa program.
Startups that succeed in getting through this program must be able to get the minimum required investment. If it is from a venture capital fund, minimum investment should be USD 200,000. If the investment is from an angel investor group, the investment should be at least USD 75,000. Applicants must also be a member of a Canadian business incubator program.
Applicants need not invest their own money in the business. Individuals who are granted PR visas through this program will retain their PR visa even if their startup is unsuccessful.
3.Starting a business from outside Canada
Even if you are not a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident, and not living in Canada, you can still start a business in Canada. But you will have to be clear about the rules about who can and cannot start certain types of business in Canada. These rules are specific to each province. Some provinces like British Columbia have flexible rules regarding businesses by non-residents which can be started on a sole proprietorship basis
To start a business in any province where a non-Canadian is not allowed, you can start the business by getting into a partnership or corporation agreement with one or more citizens or landed immigrants in Canada. You will first have to register your partnership or corporation in the province.