Why Canada?

• Expand your business
• Start a new business
• Attend trade shows
• Meet clients
• Apply for Canada PR

Canada business permit

Foreign nationals can visit Canada for a limited time to conduct business with Canadian companies holding a permit under the Business Visitor category. The successful applicants would be able to explore business prospects, engage with Canadian business counterparts, and attend trade shows. This permit, however, does not allow applicants to work in Canada.

With the Canada business permit one can:

• Visit Canada for the purpose of business
• Attend trade shows and conferences
• Meet prospective clients and take new orders
• Attend training from your company in Canada
• Stay for up to 6 months in Canada.

Eligibility requirements

• You must have a legitimate and good reason for visiting the country.
• You must have enough money to support yourself and any dependents during your stay.
• You must have close links to your home country in order to return after your stay.
• You must be of good character and have a clear criminal record. For this, you may be required to have a PCC (Police Clearance Certificate).
• You must at least meet the authorities’ minimum health standards.
• You must have a valid invitation from a legitimate company in the country where you are/will be doing business.

Business immigration to Canada

If you are a non-Canadian and want to start a new business or company in Canada, then you can use the permit under the Canada Startup program.

It also offers permanent residency to qualified immigrants who start a business in the country. The other name for this program is the “Startup Class”.

Under this program, candidates can come to Canada on a work permit which is sponsored by their Canada-based investor and then apply for a permanent residence once their business is established in the country.

This program encourages immigrant entrepreneurs to develop their start-ups in Canada. Successful applicants can tie up with private sector investor in Canada to receive help on funding and guidance on running their business. The three types of private sector investors they can approach are:

• Venture capital fund
• Business incubator
• Angel investor

 Eligibility requirements for visa applicants are:

• Proof that the business has the required support from a designated entity in the form of a Commitment Certificate and Letter of Support
• Have a qualifying business
• Have the required proficiency in English or French
• Have completed at least 1 year of post-secondary education
• Have enough funds to settle in Canada and to support dependent family members
• Clearing the medical tests and security requirements

Specific guidelines

This program for permit has specific guidelines on the ownership and shareholding requirements for a start-up.

Applicants for Canada Business Permit must have the support or sponsorship of a specified Canadian venture capital fund, angel investor, or business incubator to qualify.

The IRCC has designated specific venture capital funds, investor groups and business incubators to be part of this program.

Start-ups that succeed in getting through this program must be able to get the minimum investment required. If it’s from a venture capital fund, minimum investment should be USD 200,000. If the investment is from an angel investor group, the investment should be at least USD 75,000. Applicants must be accepted by a designated business incubator as a member of the business incubator program.