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The Canadian Startup Visa Program, also known as SUV, for direct permanent residence (PR) to Canada, is like sushi - you either love it or you avoid it at all costs. Launched in 2013, the SUV program’s goal is to draw entrepreneurial talent from around the globe to Canada. The ultimate objective is to create more jobs, drive economic growth, and increase overall innovation within the country. For the qualified applicant, the program provides a path to permanent residence. We’re going to explore the key decision factors of why many are choosing the Startup Visa program and why some are avoiding it and deciding on another route.
At INGWE we are EXPERTS in the Canada Startup Visa. We will guide and support you throughout the endorsement letter or Letter of Support process and the entire immigration process including work visas and permanent residencies. Get a FREE email assessment, click here.
Dependent Age Locking
* Startup Visa is the most secure method to lock in the age of the applicant’s dependent children.
* When you apply for a PR, your child’s age is ‘frozen’ in time. Why is this important? Let’s say your child is below the age of 22 when you submit your PR application so they’re eligible to be part of your application. However, by the time the PR is approved - which may take up to 2 years, your child may be 24 years old. As long as they are not married and are financially dependent on you, they can remain as part of your PR application since it locks in their original age at the time of application.
Quick Application
* The SUV program provides the fastest business immigration program application, even if you’ve never visited Canada before. No other Canadian business or investor immigration program allows you to submit an application for direct PR from overseas in just a few days or weeks, depending on how diligently you can put your application together after obtaining your letter of support.
Location Flexibility
* SUV is the only program that allows applicants to have location flexibility while waiting for a PR decision. This is particularly beneficial for applicants holding work permits who must navigate the complexities of settling family members—such as children with study permits or a spouse with an open work permit— in Canada. Unlike other PR programs that require applicants to remain within Canada, thus potentially sacrificing income opportunities abroad, the SUV program accommodates the need for applicants to travel between Canada and their home country due to work commitments.
The SUV program gives applicants 3 flexible options:
1: Remain overseas until the decision on the Permanent Residency is issued.
2: Apply for optional work permits to come to enter Canada with their family and remain inside the country until the final PR decision is issued.
3: Apply for the optional work permit and go back and forth between Canada with no obligation to remain in Canada until the PR decision is made by the IRCC.
Opportunities to Work with a Group
* The Startup Visa program allows friends and/or family members to immigrate together. Within the SUV program, adult children (over the age of 22 with education and work experience) can be co-founders, work colleagues or even siblings can all apply as part of the same Startup Visa group. This allows a pooling of resources that makes an investment pathway more reasonable for many applicants.
* The key is to have the profiles match and be relevant to the Startup Visa concept that the founders are launching in Canada.
Fewer Mandatory Requirements
* The SUV program does not have mandatory net worth requirements, official age restrictions, minimum education requirements, or as many location restrictions as some of the entrepreneur programs.
Previous Visa Flexibility
* Under the Startup Visa program, applicants do not need to enter Canada before applying to have higher chances of approval – unlike other programs like C10/C11/ICT and the provincial entrepreneur program.
* If the applicants have previous refusals on visitor visas, it won’t hurt their PR application (as long as all refusals have been declared on the immigration forms).
Although there are many reasons to choose the SUV pathway if you qualify, there are also reasons that another business immigration program might be a better fit for your situation and objectives.
At INGWE we are EXPERTS in the Canada Startup Visa. We will guide and support you throughout the endorsement letter or Letter of Support process and the entire immigration process including work visas and permanent residencies. Get a FREE email assessment, click here.
Better ROI Bet
* A Startup business doesn’t always have promising business metrics in terms of Return on Investment. Some applicants would rather invest in an operational business in Canada and increase their chances of a tangible income. If they’re eligible, these applicants may choose a provincial entrepreneur pathway or a C10 investor work permit program.
Existing Business Leverage
* Some applicants may already have a thriving business overseas that they’d rather utilize for their immigration and set up a branch or subsidiary in Canada. The intra-company transfer (ICT) pathway is a good option here. However, they must be careful to select the right province to apply otherwise they could get stuck without a PR.
Prefer to Go Alone
* Sometimes joining with other applicants is not the best way to go – especially if you’re not 100% confident that they don’t have a hidden reason your group might be refused. Medical issues, previous immigration applications, and other red flags could disqualify your whole group. Some investors just want a direct path to PR without mixing themselves up with other applicants. Therefore, the applicant can select any other program in Canada that would be just for 1 applicant, not groups, or worst-case scenario do a Solo-Founder Startup Visa application which can also be an option.
Two Year Timeline
* Some applicants just don’t have two years to wait for permanent residence and would rather go with a faster program, such as our hybrid owner/operator provincial/regional PR program – if they meet the eligibility criteria.
Approval Rate Uncertainty
* Not all applicants are comfortable with the uncertainty of the Startup Visa program approval process or success rate. Although the approval rates have increased, sometimes the stress of waiting around for an IRCC officer to decide on your PR based on their high discretionary powers just doesn’t fit the applicant’s risk tolerance.
PR is secondary
* Many applicants just want to do business in North America and Canada represents an easier gateway to obtain a work permit than the USA. The applicant’s sole purpose may be to conduct business here, and permanent immigration is not really their main goal. They want to have a banking footprint in North America, set up their operations, facilitate their business or trade from Canada. In this case they may prefer to just apply for a work permit, that will be quick and painless.
At INGWE we are EXPERTS in the Canada Startup Visa. We will guide and support you throughout the endorsement letter or Letter of Support process and the entire immigration process including work visas and permanent residencies. Get a FREE email assessment, click here.
What we covered today hopefully provided you a high-level overview of why applicants select the Canadian Startup Visa program and why some applicants choose other programs. There is no right or wrong decision – it’s all about your unique profile, eligibility criteria and goals. Whether it’s SUV, ICT, C10, the provincial Entrepreneur programs or the hybrid owner/operator PR program we provide customized solutions for our clients.
Just recently our South African clients (husband and wife) who are two members of a Startup Visa group, were processed in exactly 3 months. They were approved because they took our advice and kept on making progress with the start-up. They didn’t even have investment funds but we used their current business equity to show viability of funds for the Startup.
If you’re thinking about immigrating whether permanently or temporarily - you’re at the right place! Our team speaks over +9 languages, and we help applicants from over 50 different countries during their immigration process. Get a free email assessment, click here.
If you’re ready to apply and would like a 1-on-1 session with one of our immigration team members at INGWE, you can also book a session directly using this consultation link.
