How to Be an Entrepreneur in Canada

Being an entrepreneur is risky but if you believe you have the ability to be your own boss, you get to explore your ideas and spend energy on them. Canada supports entrepreneurship and its culture and environment supports entrepreneurs. It is known to be supportive of success attained through personal effort. Innovation and creativity is encouraged and their initiatives support self-sufficiency and autonomy. Canada introduced the startup visa program to promote the growth of entrepreneurship in the country and it is a great help to entrepreneurs a well. The Canadian entrepreneur Visa grants an individual permanent resident status.

How Does it Work?

Firstly, to immigrate to Canada through this program, you should have the support of a Canadian venture capital fund, angel investor group or business incubator. They should be willing to invest in your new business. Ensure that they are designated by the Canadian government to participate in the Entrepreneurship Visa program. Your first task is to convince them your idea is worth investing in.Please note that different groups have different processes for application. You will have to contact each of the groups and find out the process and documents required. Note that if any of them are interested in their idea, they will send letter of support to you and a complete Commitment certificate to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). If you receive support from multiple organizations, it is known as syndication and the Commitment certificate is made after all of them get together.

Once you get the letter of support you can apply for the Canadian Entrepreneur Startup Visa.

Requirements

• You should be proficient in either English or French or both and the proof of your language proficiency should be submitted to the IRCC. You will have to take a test from an agency approved by the IRCC which will determine your Canadian Language Benchmark level.
• Your business should meet the ownership requirements. Up to five owners can be named for a single business but each should have at least 10 percent voting rights in the business along with the criteria that the designated organization and applicants must jointly have more than 50 percent voting rights.
• You should have sufficient settlement funds to support yourself and your family.

The Application Process

If you meet the above requirements, you can apply for a startup visa. If it is complete, the authorities will process and verify it. In case it is incomplete, it will be sent back to you. The IRCC Intake Office will contact you if they accept your application and guide you on what to do next.