The Canadian government this month announced the official launch of the new startup visa program, which is expected to attract more young entrepreneurs to the country.
Starting on April 1, immigrants who are backed by Canadian investors will be able to apply through a special category which, if accepted, grants unconditional permanent residency status. This granting of status is expected to be especially alluring to entrepreneurs who might be attracted to places like Australia or the U.K. where permanent resident status is conditional based upon performance.
“When this thing gets launched, I plan to go down to Silicon Valley with some of the industry associations here and fly the Canadian flag and say to those bright young prospective immigrants, some of whom are going to create massively successful companies in their lifetime, that they can come to Canada through this program and they can get permanent residency here, and have the certainty that this represents and start their businesses in Canada,” said Immigration Minister Jason Kenney while announcing details of the new stream.
Kenney says that the new program has been met with much enthusiasm amongst Canada’s business community, including support from the National Angel Capital Organization (NACO), Canada’s Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVC) as well as Canadian Association of Business Incubation (CABI). These organizations are pledging assistance in identifying eligible candidates and investors.
The exact details of the requirements are still not yet public, but the Department of Citizenship and Immigration has shared the basic requirements for language (intermediate proficiency in English or French) and education (at least one year of post-secondary education). More details are expected to become available in the coming months.
Source: Financial Post