A Guide to the Canadian Entrepreneur Visa Program

If you would like to move to Canada to live permanently and do not want to work but have money you can invest in starting a business in Canada, you might qualify for immigration under the Canadian Entrepreneur Visa program. The Canadian Entrepreneur Visa is technically a business visa and is part of the Canadian Entrepreneur Immigrant Programme and the Canadian Business Immigration Programme. The Canadian Entrepreneur Visa program is designed to attract people that want to move to Canada to live on a permanent basis that have attractive business skills and business experience. The Canadian government sees the Canadian Entrepreneur Visa program as a way to strengthen the Canadian economy. Click here to read another interesting article about starting a business in a down economy.

The Canadian Entrepreneur Visa program provides the qualifying applicant permanent residence in Canada. This means that once you are approved for the Canadian Entrepreneur Visa program you can come to Canada straight away with no need for a specific job offer. By having the Canadian Entrepreneur Visa you are also able to apply for Canadian citizenship after only 3 years of being a permanent resident. Remember that you are automatically granted permanent residence status when approved for this program.

Canadian entrepreneur visa program

To qualify for the Canadian Entrepreneur Visa program, you should be prepared to offer proof that you possess at least two years of business experience. You will also need to provide proof having a net worth of $300,000 CDN (that is in Canadian dollars.). If you are curious of what your current net worth is in Canadian dollars, you can check it out on currency exchange site XE.com. Since the purpose of this visa is to attract immigrants that will start businesses and create more jobs in Canada, you must commit to managing and owning at least a third of a business for a minimum of one year. In addition to that requirement, the business must also create at least one job that a Canadian resident or citizen can fill.

Like the Canadian skilled worker visa, the Canadian Entrepreneur Visa program relies upon a point based skills assessment to find qualified candidates. The assessment asks questions about and ranks the applicant on business experience, educational background, language proficiency, age and more. The minimum pass mark is 35 points. By having a master’s degree or PhD you get 25 points, which means you only need 10 more to qualify for the Canadian Entrepreneur Visa program.

You can bring your spouse to Canada with the Canadian Entrepreneur Visa program. You can also bring unmarried children under the age of 22 as dependents. Read another article about WY limited liability company by clicking here.