Savory and Partners: Canada Start-Up Visa Advantage: Permanent Residency Status for Entrepreneurs

Canada broke its own record for the number of incoming immigrants in 2022, as it welcomed slightly over 430,000 new permanent residents in the past year. This occurrence was no fluke, as it was part of the Canadian Government's immigration plan that was already making waves the years prior.

The Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, praised the achievement, saying: "Today marks an important milestone for Canada, setting a new record for newcomers welcomed in a single year. It is a testament to the strength and resilience of our country and its people. Newcomers play an essential role in filling labour shortages, bringing new perspectives and talents to our communities, and enriching our society as a whole."

In 2021, Canada welcomed 401,000 permanent residents (another record back then), and the Government's objective is to continue this growth going forward, as Fraser stated: "I am excited to see what the future holds and look forward to another historic year in 2023 as we continue to welcome newcomers." The Canadian Government intends to maintain the 5% rate of increase until 2025, and if the past five years were any indication, they are on the right track.

Canada aims to welcome 465,000 in 2023, then 485,000 in 2024, and finally, 500,000 in 2025, breaching the half-a-million mark and setting a staggering standard for immigration worldwide.

Immigration in Canada has become one of the country's critical growth foundations, as it accounts for 75% of Canada's population growth, 100% of its workforce growth, 36% of its physicians, and 41% of its engineers.

The 2021 census highlighted the streamlined integration of immigrants in Canada, as it had the highest proportion of immigrants in a population among all G7 countries.

Canada's goal is to raise the immigrant populace as a percentage of the overall population from 20.7% (2011) to 30% in 2036. The Government is also taking significant steps to make this happen, as evidenced by the additional $50 million added to the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's (IRCC) budget for the fiscal year of 2022-2023.

Economic immigration to Canada
Canada boasts abundant immigration channels for prospective newcomers to choose from, but the majority of those come under what the IRCC labels as "Economic Immigration".

Economic immigration encompasses a wide array of immigration routes, from Federal Skilled, Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs), Federal Economic Policies, Economic Pilot Programs (EPPs), the Atlantic Immigration Pilot, Quebec Skilled, and - most interestingly -the Federal Business route.

Economic immigration accounts for the bulk of newcomers, as Canada plans to attract 266,120 economic immigrants in 2023, which accounts for roughly 57% of all newcomers. The most interesting aspect of this all is Canada's plan to increase its Federal Business intake target from 1,000 to 3,500 per year.

The Federal Business route includes the highly illustrious Start-Up Visa (SUV) and the Self-Employed Route, although the latter is not as popular and does not garner nearly as much demand as the SUV.

The previous plan was to keep the amount set at 1,000, but they have upped the intake plan by a staggering 250% to accommodate the rising demand for the SUV and because the Government has witnessed the growing effect of investment immigrants in the country, as immigrants now account for 33% of all business owners with paid staff, an astronomic figure for any economic structure.

From the immigrants' perspective, the SUV provides a simplified route at an affordable investment amount. Those who want to immigrate to Canada through investment should consider the SUV as their optimal choice.

Requirements

The SUV requirements are simple; a person with a clean criminal background and an innovative business idea can apply to government-approved bodies to obtain an endorsement letter, and once they have it, they can apply for permanent residence in Canada to come and start their business.

Canada has a long list of business incubators, angel investors, and venture capitalists that qualify as government-approved bodies, and the terminology of innovative ideas is much simpler than most may assume. Any business that is non-existent in Canada can qualify as an innovative idea, while those who plan to open a business to provide a new service to underdeveloped areas in a new way may also qualify.

There is no set investment amount for the SUV, but the best threshold that increases the chances of approval is CAD 160,000(USD 120,000), which makes it more affordable than all of the PNPs on offer.

The SUV also allows for five investors to apply under one business idea, on the condition that they all make a qualified investment and meet the eligibility criteria, making the SUV much more streamlined for immigrants.

The SUV has lower human capital criteria requirements than the Self Employed or PNP business streams, as it only requires applicants to have experience or education relevant to their business idea and meet the English language requirement of CLB 5, which is lower than most other immigration channels.

Why SUV

However, what makes the SUV such a popular immigration route is that it grants its holders a direct permanent residence permit, which means their immigration status is not conditional on the success of their business, unlike the PNPs which give a work permit and need continuous follow-up on the company which may end with the investor's immigration status being revoked.

SUV holders become direct permanent residents, and the only condition they have on their status is that they must reside for two years out of five to renew their permit. Those who live for three years in the same period may apply for citizenship.

SUV applicants can also add their spouse and dependent children below 22 years of age to the application, providing them all with a permanent residence in the country at a very affordable cost.

Canada's plan to increase Federal Business intake levels coincides with the growing demand for the SUV, and right now is surely the opportune moment for those looking to relocate to Canada to take advantage of the program under the current immigration conditions.

Savory & Partners is an accredited agent for multiple governments where citizenship by investment is offered with coverage in over 20 jurisdictions including Europe and was the first firm to obtain all five authorised agent licenses for the governments of the Caribbean Islands. To date it has processed second passports for over 4,000 citizens with a 100 percent success rate. To know more, contact us today for a consultation with one of our experts.

For more information, please send an email to [email protected]. You can also call +971 04 430 1717 tel:+97144301717 or send a WhatsApp message to +971 54 440 2955.

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