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The Canadian Entrepreneur visa allows a business person to live and work in Canada on a permanent basis. The Entrepreneur visa is a business visa issued by the Canadian government to foreign nationals willing to move to Canada to develop and expand their business. The Entrepreneur visa along with the Canadian Immigrant Investor Program and Self-Employed Immigrant visa is issued to applicants who have the necessary skills to successfully run a business.
Benefits
The Canadian Entrepreneur visa is considered as a route to permanent residency in the Canada. An applicant can live and work or develop their business. The visa holder can work in Canada without possessing a work permit which doesn’t require a job offer from any Canadian employer. After living and working in Canada as a permanent resident for three years, they can apply for Canadian citizenship.
Short term visas such as visit or tourist has certain limitation with work while an Entrepreneur Visa gives the client the complete freedom to invest in the country and start up their own business.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for a Canadian Entrepreneur visa the applicant has to satisfy the qualifying criteria besides submitting mandatory proofs for their application.
Listed below are three important requirements to qualify for an Entrepreneur Visa:
- Two years of Business Experience: the applicant must have some sort of business experience. A minimum of 2 years of business experience within the last 5 years is mandatory.
- Minimum Net Worth of $300,000 CAD: an applicant should legally obtain a net fund of $300,000 CAD as cash or assets.
- Ownership: Candidates who become permanent residents must be committed to managing and own at least one third of the business. He should also employ at least one person who is a Canadian national and a non-family member.
- Medical and Security Checks: The applicant and if any dependants must pass a medical examination and a criminal record check.
- Maintenance: All applicants under the working categories of Canada must have enough funds to maintain living expenses of the primary applicant as well as all the dependants. The amount of money the applicants need to support their family is determined by the size of the family.
Applicants are assessed based on their skills to manage their own business and at the same time capable of creating job opportunities to contribute to the Canadian economy.
Points Based Assessment
A point based skills assessment is mandatory for a candidate applying for a Canadian Entrepreneur visa. Candidates who seek to stay in Canada as permanent residents are assessed and awarded points based on their business experience, age, education, language skill, dependents and adaptability to live in Canada. The applicant has to secure a minimum point’s threshold of 35.
Business Experience
Candidates can achieve between 20 and 35 points under this criteria. Points are awarded based on the applicant’s business experience over the last 5 years.
Age
Applicants can also gain points on the basis of their age. These points apply to applicants who fall between 21 and 49 years only. If the applicant falls out of this age group then 2 points will be deducted for every year.
The table below shows the number of points an applicant will get for their age:
|
Age |
16 or Under |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21–49 |
50 |
51 |
52 |
53 |
54+ |
|
Points |
0 |
2 |
4 |
6 |
8 |
10 |
8 |
6 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
Education
Candidates can be awarded with 5 to 25 points for their educational achievements. The point will be calculated based on the number of years a candidate has spent in education and the candidate’s highest academic achievements. The points awarded for educational experiences are stated below:
|
For University Degree Qualification |
|
Master or PhD, AND at least 17 years of full-time or full-time equivalent study |
25 Points |
|
Two or more university degrees at the Bachelor's level AND at least 15 years of full-time or full-time equivalent study |
22 Points |
|
A two-year university degree at the Bachelor's level AND at least 14 years of full-time or full-time equivalent study |
20 Points |
|
A one-year university degree at the Bachelor's level AND at least 13 years of full-time or full-time equivalent study |
15 Points |
|
For Diploma, Trade Certification or Apprenticeship |
|
A three-year diploma, trade certificate or apprenticeship AND at least 15 years of full-time or full-time equivalent study |
22 Points |
|
A two-year diploma, trade certificate or apprenticeship AND at least 14 years of full-time or full-time equivalent study |
20 Points |
|
A one-year diploma, trade certificate or apprenticeship AND at least 13 years of full-time or full-time equivalent study |
15 Points |
|
A one-year diploma, trade certificate or apprenticeship AND at least 12 years of full-time or full-time equivalent study |
12 Points |
|
Secondary School (also known as High School) |
5 Points |
Language Proficiency
A candidate needs to be proficient in either French or English. One of these two languages should be marked as ‘first language’ for bilingual candidates. Language proficiency points are allocated for speaking, writing, listening and reading. A maximum 4 points are allocated for the first language and for second language a maximum 2 points are given. Thus, a maximum 16 points and a maximum of 8 points in total can be secured from first language and second language proficiency level respectively. The total points secured from two languages sums up to a maximum of 24 points.
The English language proficiency is mandatory for all application from all nationalities including UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and USA. For your application to be considered you must include results from one of the following language test highlighted by CIC (Canadian Immigration and Citizenship Department):
For English:
• IELTS (International English Language Testing System)
• CELPIP (Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program)
For French:
• TEF (Test d’évaluation de français)
Contact Capital Visas to know more about the recognised testing agencies who can assist you with the above mentioned tests.
Adaptability to life in Canada
Applicants can gain extra points by signifying an ability to get accustomed to the life and business in Canada.
A max of 6 points can be earned by demonstrating any one of the following:
• You been to Canada for an exploratory business trip in the past five years prior to submitting your application.
• You have been a part of an immigration programme run as a joint federal-provincial initiative.
It is essential that you provide documented evidence indicating that you have met one or both of the above requirements to be awarded points under the adaptability criteria.
Dependants
The Canadian Entrepreneur Visa allows an applicant to take their spouse, partner and dependent children to Canada. If the children are not married, then dependents on the applicant who are below the age of 22 can also live with their parents in Canada.
Capital Visas can assist you
Capital Visas being a leading specialist in Immigration can help you in every aspect of your immigration process. Our immigration specialists and caseworkers have a wide range of immigration expertise and experience to assist you through the complete process. Fill out our Free Visa Assessment forms by clicking on the link below or call us NOW and speak to one of our friendly specialists on 0207 100 1919.
