Top 3 Ways for Tech Companies & Entrepreneurs to Move to Canada
How Can Tech Companies and Entrepreneurs Most Effectively Move to Canada?
Consider the Intra-Company Transfer Program, the Start-Up Visa Program, and the Significant Benefit Work Permit, among other choices.
Program for intra-company transfers (ICT)
What is the Intra-Company Transfer Program in Canada?
The ICT Program was created by the Canadian government to encourage successful foreign firms to locate or launch operations in Canada.
This program also provides for the movement of senior executive, managerial, and important personnel from the parent business to the Canadian subsidiary.
Foreign technology businesses wishing to participate in the ICT program must meet the following criteria:
- A foreign corporation must be operational and actively conducting business for at least 12 months, which entails delivering goods and/or services in a foreign country on a regular, systematic, and continuous basis.
- Strong Financials: The company must be able to begin operations in Canada, pay people appropriately, and demonstrate financial viability.
- The company must publish realistic plans for its new Canadian operations in its business plan. When transferring executives or managers, the organization must demonstrate its capacity to sustain executive or management functions.
When moving a worker with specialized knowledge, the corporation must establish that it intends to conduct business and ensure that the employee is managed by the Canadian operation.
- Structure of Ownership: Both the Canadian and foreign enterprises must be owned or controlled by the same person or group. The Canadian and foreign firms must be legal entities with a business relationship at the level of parent, subsidiary, branch, or affiliate
Start-Up Visa Program (SUV)
What is Canada’s Start-Up Visa Program?
This is a federal initiative aimed at immigrant entrepreneurs with the abilities and ability to establish firms in Canada that are I innovative, (ii) capable of creating jobs for Canadians, and (iii) globally competitive.
This program gives permanent residence to qualified applicants and is open to up to five founding partners of a startup.
To qualify for the SUV program, candidates must provide evidence of the following:
Business in Canada: In order to qualify for permanent residency, applicants must have an incorporated business in Canada, with a substantial portion of its operations taking place in Canada.
A Letter of Support: Applicants are also required to provide a letter of support from a designated Canadian organization outlining the level of their investment or support.
An approved investment company, such as an angel investor, venture capital fund, or incubator, that is willing to support and invest in the startup is a designated entity.
Each candidate must own at least 10 percent of the company’s voting rights. Applicants and the designated organization must have more than fifty percent of the entire voting rights in their prospective Canadian firm.
Each applicant must demonstrate language proficiency at the CLB level 5
Applicants must demonstrate that they have sufficient funds to maintain themselves and their families in Canada. The amount of funding is contingent on the size of the applicants’ families. For instance, a family of six individuals must demonstrate the availability of $30,806 CAD, whilst a family of four must have approximately $24,083. These numbers are revised annually.
Important Advantage Work Permit
What is a Canada Significant Benefit Work Permit?
This type of work visa is accessible to immigrant entrepreneurs with the abilities and potential to start innovative and job-creating firms in Canada. This program provides an initial work visa valid for two years, with the potential of future renewals.
Applicants with this sort of work permit may qualify for permanent residency through Express Entry or their respective provincial nominee programs.
To qualify for this sort of work permit, applicants must provide evidence of the following:
- Business in Canada: Applicants are required to have an operating or almost operational business in Canada that is incorporated.
- Strong Financials: Applicants must demonstrate the ability to start a business in Canada and pay staff accordingly.
- Business Plan: Applicants must provide a solid business plan that demonstrates the important benefit aspects, such as the creation of a sustainable business in the technology field that employs (or will employ) Canadian workers, which stimulates the economy. Applicants must also demonstrate a background or set of skills that will enhance the business’s viability.
There is little doubt that tech entrepreneurs searching for a location to begin a business should consider Canada. The majority of Canadians are hospitable, accommodating, and inclusive, and the country was founded on the principle that diversity breeds strength. This makes Canada an extremely desirable environment for individuals and families to reside and conduct business.
To develop their enterprises in Canada, global tech corporations and entrepreneurs might also investigate various immigration schemes.
The first step towards moving to Canada is to get an assessment of your specific situation. Call us today at +1 613.222.7154 for an assessment to see if you are eligible to move to Canada, or fill out our online assessment form.
