Canada's Start Up Visa Program - (Business Incubator stream)

5 years permanent residency in Canada

Canadian citizenship & passport after living in Canada for 3 years

Business Incubator Stream

Business Incubator selects and approves applicants to develop business concepts or proposals. The Business Incubators stream has many preferred benefits for the applicant.

• Royal Visas uses professional business consultants that will advise you on how to get your business idea approved and accepted into one of the government approved incubators.
• Royal Visas works directly with ICCRC Consultants only.
• We Make sure that your immigration application is handled professionally.

Start Up Visa (SUV) step by step process:

1. Sign retainer with Royal Visas for business advisory service and guidance.
2. Royal Visas will help you prepare your business proposal.
3. Royal Visas will use your business proposal to submit an application with an immigration approved incubator in Canada.
4. Once you are accepted into a government approved incubator, you will attend a two week incubator session that you will be guided through by Royal Visas.
5. Once you complete the two week incubator session, you will receive a letter of support(LOS) from one of the Incubators approved by the government of Canada.
6. Royal Visas will introduce you to a certified immigration consultant who will use your letter of support to apply for your permanent residency application to Canada.
7. Arrive in Canada and work on your business.

Start Up Visa (SUV) Eligibility Criteria:

1. You must have basic proficiency in English or French CLB (IELTS) 5 or greater.
2. Any adult age.
3. Any education level.
4. A unique and innovative idea will be considered.
5. Willing to participate in a two week program.

The link to the Canada immigration site for the Start-up Visa Program is: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/start-visa.html

Why the Start-Up Visa?

"Canada continues to compete in a global innovation race. As technologies become more widely available to everyone, the only competitive edge for countries and businesses is the distinctive talent and creativity of their people. While skilled immigrants are now identifying Canada as a country of choice in which to apply their knowledge and ideas, we also need to prepare our homegrown talent for a rapidly changing job market. Our government wants to create good quality, high-paying jobs for the middle class and those working hard to join it." - The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development

Program Basics

• A start-up business must be a new business intended to be operated in Canada and must meet the criteria to be a qualifying business.
• Sections 2(2)(a) and 2(3) of the MIs requires that the new start-up business must have received a commitment from a “designated business incubator confirming that it is accepting the applicant into its business incubator program

Start-Up Visa to Canada Overview

• An investment of at least USD $220,000
• Acceptance into a business incubator program by a Canadian designated business incubator.
• Must be incorporated in Canada prior to or upon the issuance of PR visas; The program requires that the applicant has to get score of 5 minimum in IELTS , English language Test.
• All kids lesss than 22 years old + spouse, are included.

Processing Time - Client intake process: Eligibility requirements for founders

Persons who intend to reside in a province/territory other than Quebec have the support of a Canadian business entity, in the form of a Commitment Certificate meet/exceed the minimum language proficiency threshold set by the Minister for each of the four language skill areas have completed at least one year of post-secondary education; and have sufficient funds to economically establish themselves in Canada Settlement funds – applicant must demonstrate that they have funds that are available, transferable and unencumbered by debts or other obligations. Amount of funds is assessed according to the applicant's family size.

Client intake process: Eligibility requirements for companies

• No more than five essential persons per business proposal
• “Essential person”: foreign national considered by the designated entity to be essential to the business being established under the program.
• If the application for an essential person is refused for any reason, all other applications related to that commitment must also be refused
• Applicant must hold 10% or more of the voting rights attached to all the shares of the corporation outstanding at the time the commitment is made
• No persons or entities, other than qualified participants, hold 50% or more of the total amount of the voting rights attached to all the shares of the corporation outstanding at the time the commitment is made

“Qualified participants” include: an applicant in respect of the business, a designated business incubator/angel investor group/VC fund or a foreign national who has been issued a permanent resident visa under the Startup Visa

Application process: Forms to be completed by the designated entity

• Commitment Certificate
• Summarizes pertinent details of the agreement between the designated entity and the applicant
• Designed to facilitate CIC's determination as to whether the applicant meets the specific requirements to qualify as member of the Start-up Business Class
• Provides an opportunity to indicate whether work permit is essential
• Sent directly from the designated entity to CIC via entrust
• Letter of Support
• Automatically generated after completion of commitment certificate and provided to the applicant for submission
• Term Sheet
• To be submitted by designated entity along with Commitment Certificate

Application process: Term sheet

The agreement made by a designated entity must:

• identify the applicant
• confirm that the applicant's qualifying business has been accepted into its business incubator program
• specify the period of time for which the applicant will be in the business incubator program if such a period has been established;
• describe the nature of the business operations to be carried out by the applicant
• describe the applicant's role in the business
• name and function of person who holds or is expected to hold an interest in the business (ie. shares, voting rights, BoD)
• confirm that it has performed a due diligence assessment of the applicant and the business
• specify any terms and conditions applicable to its business incubator program or to the commitment
• confirm that the business it has accepted into its business incubator program is a qualifying business;
• qualified participants own 50% or more of the voting rights (as per section 7(1)(b) of the MIs) Eg. The applicant may be the child of a wealthy overseas industrialist who has bought a significant number of shares and is investing large sums into the applicant's intended business venture. This could raise concerns that the parent will be the de factor controlling interest while the applicant will simply be acting on the latter's instructions

Application process: Work Permit

• Where the designated entity considers it critical that an essential applicant come to Canada before they obtain permanent resident status in order to expedite the establishment of the start-up business, they may indicate their support for the applicant's work permit application.
• This support will also be reflected in the letter of Support provided to the applicant

Application process: Fees

• Cost Recovery Fee - payable by applicant + family members at the time application is made
• Right of Permanent Residence Fee - payable by applicant + family members prior to issuance of permanent residence documents

Post-aplication: Peer review

• Process is designed to ensure that the deals made between private sector partners and foreign entrepreneurs are legitimate
• Review of term sheet and other relevant supporting documentation and application package
• Ensure due diligence was performed by designated entity and that the agreement is consistent with industry standards
• Officers still assess the information and render a decision based on their own findings
• Authority to make a final decision on the case rests with the officer

The program difference

• Irrevocable PR status even if business fails;
• Leads to citizenship