Canada Immigrant Investor Venture Capital Class – Determining Membership in the Class

Last Updated on November 16, 2016

This section contains details on policy, procedures and guidance that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) staff typically use. The authorities have posted this on the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) website as a courtesy to stakeholders.

The processing office bears the responsibility for assessing the applicant against the prescribed requirements that follow. The officers would need to evaluate the application based on the information and documents provided in it. It is worth mentioning that applicants would need to meet all of the prescribed requirements. Only then would the authorities consider approving the applications.

The Prescribed Requirements – The Net Worth

The authorities require the applicants to demonstrate that they have a lawfully acquired net worth of at least $10 million Canadian dollars. In addition, they would need to show that they have derived this net worth from a business or investment activity. This is in accordance with the provisions specified in MI 2 (2) (a).

Therefore, applicants would need to provide due diligence reports obtained from the designated service providers. These due diligence reports would need to exhibit that the applicants meet the prescribed net worth requirements. This is in accordance with the provisions specified in MI 3 (a). This report would need to be the result of an independent examination and validation of:

The applicant’s past business and / or investment activity
The applicant’s source of funds and,
The applicant’s net worth

More importantly, this report would typically have its base in the information submitted by the applicants to the designated service provider.

The due diligence report would need to include the designated service provider’s opinion about the net worth of the applicants. In addition, it would need to specify whether the applicant derived this net worth via lawful, private sector business or investment activities. In addition, it will also need to identify any potential concerns for consideration by the officers.

Thereafter, the designated service provider would need to provide the assessment of the applicants’ net worth in the due diligence reports. However, it is worth highlighting that this due diligence report is not conclusive evidence that the applicants meet the prescribed net worth requirements. Situations could arise where officers have concerns about the source of funds or the net worth of the applicants. In this scenario, the officers would need to communicate their concerns to the applicants. In addition, they would need to provide the applicants with the appropriate opportunities for responding to those concerns. The officers might even require the production of any documentation related to the applicants for the purpose of evaluating the applications for permanent residence as members of this class. This is in accordance with the provisions specified in MI 4.

The Guidelines for Determining Net Worth Derived from Business or Investment Activity

Applicants would need to demonstrate that they have acquired their net worth lawfully through their past business or investment related activities.

It is worth highlighting that the definition of “business or investment activity” is not overly prescriptive. As such, it does not serve to unduly limit the pool of prospective applicants under this class. This, in turn, allows Canada to attract candidates with a diverse range of business and investment experience.

Because of this, officers have the flexibility to consider an assortment of applicant profiles in terms of the nature and breadth of business or investment activities through which an applicant has lawfully acquired their net worth. For instance, business or investment activity could include income or capital gains typically derived from the ownership or management of commercial, for-profit entities. Alternatively, business or investment activity could include financial returns acquired through various private sector activities as well. Such private sector activities could generally include public equity investments or private equity placements.

Note:

It is worth highlighting that the authorities do not count net worth derived through inheritance or the value of the applicant’s primary residence towards meeting the prescribed net worth requirements

The Prescribed Requirements – The Language Proficiency

The authorities require the applicant to have attained a level of proficiency of at least Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLBs) (for English) or the Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens 5 (for French) in either of the official languages for each of the four language skill areas. The applicants would need to demonstrate this proficiency via the results of a designated language test. This is in accordance with the provisions specified in MI 2 (2) (b). For more details on this, readers would need to go through the section on language requirements given on the website of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).

The Prescribed Requirements – The Educational Credentials

The authorities require applicants to provide evidence that the applicants have:

A completed Canadian post-secondary educational credential of at least one year or,
A completed foreign educational credential and an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report issued by an organisation designated by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC)
- The Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report issued by an organisation designated by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) would need to indicate that the completed foreign education credential is equivalent to a completed Canadian post-secondary educational credential of at least one year
- This is in accordance with the provisions specified in MI 2 (2) (c)

It is worth mentioning that the authorities consider the assessment outcome specified in the Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report as conclusive evidence that the applicant’s completed foreign educational credential(s) are equivalent to a completed Canadian post-secondary educational credential of at least one year.

Equivalency assessments would typically include assessments by the designated organisations of the authenticity of the applicant’s completed foreign educational credentials. However, this assessment provided by the designated organisation does not provide conclusive evidence of the authenticity of the foreign educational credentials. As such, situations could arise where officers might have concerns about the authenticity of the applicant’s foreign educational credentials. In this scenario, the officers would need to communicate their concerns to the applicant. In addition, they would need to provide the applicant with an opportunity for responding to these concerns. Moreover, the officers would need to give the applicant sufficient time for providing any additional information and / or documentation. The officers could require the applicant to produce any documentation related to the applicant. This is especially so for the purposes of evaluating an application for permanent residence as a member of this class. This is in accordance with the provisions specified in MI 4.

Note:

The authorities have waived the requirement of providing evidence of meeting the prescribed educational requirement for applicants who can demonstrate that they have a legally acquired net worth of at least $50 million Canadian dollars derived from business or investment activity
This is in accordance with the provisions specified in MI 3 (c)

The Prescribed Requirements – The At-Risk Investment

The authorities require the applicant to enter into an agreement. This agreement would typically include an undertaking to pay the Minister a sum of $2 million Canadian dollars, the repayment of which will not be guaranteed. The agreement would need to specify the form and the manner in which the applicant will pay the money. In addition, the agreement would need to indicate that the authorities would add any amounts of money paid by the applicant towards the formation of a pool i.e. the Immigrant Investor Venture Capital Fund. The authorities would typically invest the funds paid by the applicant in venture capital exclusively. This would serve to benefit Canada, in accordance with the provisions specified in MI 2 (2) (d).

At first, the officers would need to ascertain those applicants who meet all the other requirements prescribed for membership in the class. Thereafter, the processing office would need to advise these applicants that they need to submit signed agreements. Moreover, the processing office would need to notify these applicants that they need to pay the sum of $2 million Canadian dollars as well. It is worth highlighting that the authorities require applicants to pay this sum within 75 days of a written request from Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).

The applicants would need to make this payment before they can become members of this class. This is in accordance with the provisions specified in MI 2 (2) (e). In some cases, the applicants might not make the payment within the prescribed timelines. If the officers find that the applicants have not made this payment within the prescribed timeframe of 75 days, the officers would need to refuse these applications. This is in accordance with the provisions specified in MI 6.

Note:

Approved immigrant investors would need to make their payments to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC)
Thereafter, the Department would need to transfer these funds to BDC Capital for investment into the Immigrant Investor Venture Capital Fund
BDC Capital is the wholly owned subsidiary of the Business Development Bank of Canada

The Prescribed Requirements – Fraud Detection and Deterrence

The office responsible for processing the applications will interview all the applicants whose applications are in the possession of the office.