The Canadian Startup Visa Program you’ve never heard of.

In 2022, Canada is open for business. And while the USA is doing its level best to keep foreign immigrants out — to its own economic detriment — Canada is rolling out the proverbial red carpet for skilled immigrants and foreign startup founders, in particular.

The problem?

Given the sheer scope and complexity of the country’s provincial and federal immigration paths, the country’s exceptional Startup Visa Program has gone largely unnoticed by the world at large.

A quick backgrounder on Canada’s federal Startup Visa Program

Before we get into the program’s specifics, it must be noted that Canada does not have a formal Golden Visa program in the classic sense, i.e. based on an investment in real estate. (Think Portugal, Spain, Greece, etc.)

Nor does it have a Citizenship By Investment Program, such as the ones offered by Turkey, Vanuatu, and a number of Caribbean countries such as St Kitts, St Lucia, Antigua and Dominica.

In most of the countries mentioned above, applicants can obtain the right to live and work in the host country, but not the obligation to do so. That’s why these programs are highly popular among well-heeled foreigners seeking a Plan B outside of their countries of origin.

What Canada offers, instead, is a bouquet of provincial and federal settlement visa programs that aligns with the country’s developmental objectives.

Canada seeks to attract suitably skilled, entrepreneurially minded foreigners to its shores. And for those willing to make Canada their new home, the country offers a range of options, including its Express Entry route, a host of Provincial Nominee Programs, the now-paused Quebec Individual Investor Program, and the federal Startup Visa Program.

The Quebec IIP (now paused) is ostensibly the closest thing Canada has to a Golden Visa. Under the program, applicants with a net worth of at least $2 million have to lend the Quebec government the sum of $1.2 million, for a period of 5 years, on a 0% yield basis.

This is a passive investment in infrastructure projects, and is fairly comparable to the Regional Center — Targeted Economic Area stream of the USA’s EB-5 Program — although price-wise, the Canadian SUV wins hands-down. It is also comparable to a number of government bond investment based Golden Visa Programs historically found in Europe.

However, applicants are not allowed to settle anywhere outside of Quebec province. And whereas Portugal’s Golden Visa only requires applicants to spend one week per year, on average, in the country, Canada’s QIIP (and Startup Visa, for that matter) requires applicants to spend a minimum of 183 days per year in Canada.

So essentially, Canada’s emphasis is on attracting long-term and full-time new residents, rather than “economic residents” who are largely absent from Canada, but hold the legal right to settle there.

And this makes a lot of sense. Canada is a massive country, with a low population density, so in order to sustain their economic growth, they need to grow their domestic talent base AND attract foreign skilled workers.

This is where the Canadian Startup Visa comes in. Launched in April 2013, the program offers three streams under which foreign entrepreneurs and startup founders can move to Canada.

The shortcomings of the American H1-B Visa Program, the go-to for prospective skilled US immigrants, are widely and comprehensively documented.

And even compared with the proposed US Startup Visa Program currently in the works, the Canadian SUV is a pretty sweet deal:

And crucially, the Canadian government understands that startups can and do fail; should your startup not prove viable, this will NOT affect your Canadian PR status once granted. The program also offers a clear path to obtaining eventual Canadian citizenship.

The Canadian Startup Visa Program at a glance

The Canadian SUV Program is arguably the business migration program most well suited to the largest number of applicants’ needs. Whereas the Provincial Nominee Programs’ eligible business types are limited to the handful of priority industries set by the province, virtually ANY business idea can qualify under the Startup Visa Program — as long as it is innovative.

Moreover, whereas gaining approval for programs like the QIIP can take up to 64 months, you can apply for Canadian permanent residency in as little as 15–19 months under the SUV Program.

And whereas the QIIP and Provincial Nominee Programs all require you to settle in one specific province, the SUV allows you to settle anywhere in Canada.

What are the investment requirements for Canada’s SUV Program?

As discussed earlier, the Canadian SUV Program is not a passive investment program. The program offers three tracks for obtaining Canadian PERMANENT residency directly, namely:

1. The Business Incubator Program (Idea Stage Startups): No minimum applicant or third-party investment or job creation requirements.
2. The Angel Investor Group Program (Product Stage Startups): This track has no applicant investment requirement, however an investment of US$75,000 must be secured from a government designated Angel Investor Group in Canada.
3. The Venture Capital Program (Scaling Stage Mature Enterprises): This track has no applicant investment requirement, however a capital investment of US$200,000 must be obtained from a government designated Venture Capital firm in Canada.

Outside of the conventional requirements (sufficient settlement funds, CLB / IELTS 5+ language requirement for either French or English, medical and criminal clearance, etc.), you’ll have to gain the support of a Canadian Designated Organization in the form of a formal Letter of Support to apply for Canadian permanent residency under the Business Incubator Program.

This is arguably THE crucial requirement associated with your residency application, and you’re not going to get it without a significant amount of effort if you were to apply independently. And to the uninitiated, navigating and meeting the program requirements can be near impossible. In fact, around 99% of independent applicants fail.

The good news is that there are around 38 Government Designated Business Incubators in Canada that can assist you in applying, albeit for a substantial fee.

And while these fees may seem hefty, the sheer number of government grants — over 4,500, in fact — which new Canadian startups can apply for can significantly offset the cost of getting in the door.

The bottom-line

Compared to the high net worth and investment requirements associated with Canada’s Provincial Nominee Programs and the Quebec Individual Investor Program, the country’s federal Startup Visa is both more affordable and more accessible.

Yet in the instance of the Business Incubator stream, for example, you’re looking at a sunk cost, rather than a capital investment per se. (Unless, of course, your startup requires significant capitalization, in addition to your incubator program fees.)

Given Canada’s stability, quality of life and dynamic economy, however, this price point still compares very favorably with most residency and citizenship by investment programs (and those requiring non-refundable government donations, in particular).

Yet ironically, it is estimated that the product features on the shelves of less than 1% of the world’s residency and citizenship planning firms.

It therefore comes as no surprise that the program only received a total of 1,173 applications in 2019, with applicant volumes dipping to 719 applicants in 2020 as the pandemic struck.

Yet as the world starts learning to live with Covid, and global travel restrictions start lifting, the future of the Canadian Startup Visa looks bright going into 2022.

PLEASE NOTE: The above information should not be construed as constituting investment or immigration advice, and is intended as general information on the topic only. Be sure to discuss your individual situation with a qualified immigration attorney before making any decisions pertaining to Canadian business immigration.