Permanent residence in Canada. How to get this status using a startup visa.

The programs we work with usually require an investment to obtain residency or citizenship status. But there are exceptions, including the Canada Start-up Visa Program. The basis for this program is not the investment that the applicant makes, but an attractive and promising business idea, an innovative start-up.

Important: A start-up can be registered anywhere in Canada, except for the province of Quebec.

Theoretically, it is possible to participate in the program even without contributing personal money, using venture capital or sponsorship. The applicant only needs to pay legal fees and ensure his life in Canada before his startup starts generating revenue.

In reality, in order for the project to be approved by the Canadian authorities, it is better to show immigration officials that you, in addition to a good idea, have the means to bring it to life (at least 165 thousand dollars).

Client's story

Yuri K., 39, a resident of Kursk, asked for advice. He is a programmer and has extensive experience of working not only in Russia. Recently, using his experience, Yuri has been inspired by the idea of developing a new Internet service. The essence of the idea is to create artificial intelligence dialog systems for businesses, allowing them to interact more effectively with their customers.

Yuri learned about the Canada Start-up Visa Program, but the client was not sure that it was suitable for him.

Yuri's request: to obtain a Canadian residence permit using this program. The family plans to apply for Canadian citizenship in the future.

Additional information about the client.

1. Married, has a daughter 11 years old.
2. Wife Anna, owns a beauty salon.
3. In addition to their own home, own a second apartment, renting it out.
4. The spouses have accumulated funds in their accounts, but they did not have enough to fully cover the required minimum.

Lawyers discouraged the spouses from using venture capital money.

The reason - having equity, rather than debt, greatly increases the applicant's chances of having their application approved.

What they decided: the spouses sell their second apartment, and Anna sells the salon. In this case, the money on the accounts will be more than enough.

For reference. Under the terms of the program, to obtain Canadian citizenship (which our clients sought), they need to permanently reside here for 3 years. This means that Anna would not have been able to continue her business in Kursk anyway. For Yuri, the question of where to live was not particularly important, he could work remotely.

Development of the case work

1. We collected the necessary package of documents and conducted a preliminary check of them. We paid special attention to the study of Yuri's previous professional experience. The relevance of his knowledge to the ideas stated in the startup is an important point that Canadian immigration officials pay attention to.
2. We told the client that he should have a certificate of English language proficiency (IELTS): at least 5 points for each module.
3. We enrolled Yuri in a two-week compulsory business course in Moscow. He paid for them himself. As a result, he received a certificate and a letter of recommendation. It confirmed that the applicant was familiar with the basic requirements of startup policy and was ready to develop his business idea.
4. with the help of lawyers, Yuri prepared a text version of his business idea. Together with the ready package of documents, it was sent to the authorized Canadian organization. 
5.  After 2.5 months, a letter of recommendation came with the approval of the project.
6. With the help of a lawyer, the client applied for a permanent residence card in Canada, attaching the letter of recommendation. At the same time, we opened a bank account in Canada remotely. The package of documents contained a confirmation from the bank about the availability of funds for living in Canada (12.5 thousand Canadian dollars for six months per person).
7. The positive answer came in 1.5 months. On its basis the family received entry visas to Canada. There, after submitting biometric data and paying the necessary fees, they personally received the residence permit cards. The family left for the city of Winnipeg, where Yuri decided to settle down and register his Internet project.

The result of the cooperation, which lasted about half a year. Yuri and his family members received the status of permanent residence in Canada. The path to citizenship of this country is open to them.