
The candidate should have a qualifying business and must acquire Letter of Support (LOS) from the designated organization. To get this letter of support, the applicant pitches his or her business idea to the Canadian designated bodies: Venture capital fund, Angel investor group or a designated Canadian business incubator program. Apart from this, the applicant has to qualify for the minimum English language proficiency benchmark and must have sufficient money to manage living expenses in Canada, till such time that the business starts making money.
With regards to the Start-up Visa, immigrant entrepreneurs need the support of one of designated organization to implement their innovative business idea. These organizations review the business proposal and assess the potential for success. Entrepreneurs whose proposals are selected receive a Letter of Support from the organization.
Both Angel investors and venture capitalists are key components of the start-up funding ecosystem. Angel Investors are wealthy and thus prefer to invest their own money into any start-up company. They invest their money very early when the start-up company is formed. They fulfil the larger financial and capital needs of the company.
On the other hand, venture capitalist funds invest other people’s money through a fund of pooled money. Venture capital firms invest in a number of companies at the same time.
To begin with the application process for Canada start-up visa, prepare a business plan after a thorough market research. Next, the business idea has to be convincing enough for designated organization so that they support the start-up when the plan is presented before them. Once, the idea has been approved, the designated authorities will send commitment letter to the IRCC and will issue a Letter of Support to the applicant. Once the Letter of support has been received, arrange for all the documents that are being asked for in the Canada Start-up Visa application and submit it along with the required fees. The file will then be reviewed by the respective authorities and a decision will be taken on your application.
A designated organization is either a Canadian venture capital fund, Angel investor group or a Canadian business incubator program. They have to be contacted to understand how to retain support from them. The applicant has to pitch his/her business idea to them and convince them to issue Letter of Support. The process to pitch and requirements are different for each of the designated organization. Once they have agreed to support your innovative business idea, they will issue the Letter of Support to you. This letter has to be submitted along with the application and rest of the documents, to the federal government, as a proof of support from the designated organization.
No, to obtain a Letter of Support you need to contact a designated organization and understand their eligibility criteria. You must convince the organization that your business proposal is worthy of their support. Each organization has a different process for pitching a business idea, and distinct eligibility criteria. You may have to make a presentation in-person or offer an in-depth business plan. Once you reach agreeable terms with the designated organization, you will receive the Letter of Support, and send a commitment certificate to IRCC. The Letter must be included in your immigration application to IRCC – as proof that the angel investor, venture capital fund or business incubator supports your business idea. IRCC may demand additional information to determine the final outcome of your visa application.
In order to apply for a Canada start up visa you will be required to have scored a Canadian Language Benchmark of 5. Along with your application, you must also submit results of a third-party language test that showcase that you fulfill the eligibility requirement to apply for Canada Start up visa. Language is an important requirement when you apply for visa, and helps you in getting you the proper score. To prove your proficiency in English, you should be able to take a language test by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
The amount of money will depend upon the number of family members that are coming along with you to reside in Canada. While applying you will be required to furnish proof that you have enough settlement funds to support yourself as well as your dependents. In case you do not have sufficient funds, you can get support from designated organizations such as Venture capital funds, Angel investor groups as well as Business incubators. These organizations are basically business groups that are approved to invest or assist possible start-ups via Canada Start up visa program.
Yes they can, up to 5 individuals can apply via the Start-up Visa Program in the form of owners of a single business. While assessing the proposal sent by you, the designated organizations will choose who is essential or non-essential in relation to the business. An essential person on one hand is pivotal to the proposed start-up. Without the presence of this person, the designated organization would not invest or provide their assistance to the proposal. If there is a refusal of an essential person, then as a result all the applicants related to the application will also be refused.
An essential person is basically a person who is considered or specifically identified as a key person to the business by the designated organization. The name of the essential person is highlighted on the commitment certificate and letter of support. If for any reason, the application submitted by the essential person is rejected, the application of all others will also be refused by default.
Therefore, it is critical for the essential person to keep his/her information updated and correct during the application submission for the Start-up visa to avoid any changes of failure.
Under Canada Startup Visa, all the eligible candidates are not required to invest any of their own money or savings. Another advantage is that you don’t need to declare their net worth for the start-up venture in Canada. Only requirement is to acquire minimum investment from a Canadian venture capital fund or angel investor group registered under the program, and proceed with the application. Upon acquiring the investment, you will be eligible for the program and will be ready establish the startup business in Canada.
However, the scenario may change where the presented and approved business idea requires significant investments and the designated organization may like to see some additional financial commitment from the promoters/applicants. It may also be the case, where the essential applicant may have an idea but lacks funds and other applicants bring on additional investments, besides providing key management inputs for the project.
Though, there is no direct investment or net worth requirement under the program, but you need to have minimum settlement funds to support your initial stay in Canada. Below is the requirement:
Number of Family members Funds required (CAD)
1 12,960
2 16,135
3 19,836
4 24,083
5 27,315
6 30,806
7 34,299
For each additional member 3,492
During the initial stage of the Canada Startup Visa application, applicants may try to approach multiple designated bodies in order to maximize the visibility and improve the chances. And, during this course many times applicants tend to receive support from multiple designated bodies such as (designated venture capital funds or angel investor groups). This phenomenon is known as syndication. Under this scenario, all the interested investment bodies must be identified and acquire their commitment certificate which will secure your Letter of Support. Syndication scenario explained:
Even before you apply for the Canada Startup Visa application, one may experience the fear of failing the business venture in Canada. It is a common fear among all the investors and entrepreneur before venturing into a new business, but isn’t the businessman supposed to be a risk-taker? The advantage of this program is, even if your business venture fails in Canada, your Canadian Permanent Residence Permit will not be compromised. This means, you can still enjoy the benefits of Permanent Residency. Another upside of this program, it is designed in such a way that the risk is shared between the public and private sector.
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