Canada is an excellent country to set up a business due to its friendly business regulations, educated work force, renowned legal structure, financial system, competitive tax environment. In addition, a Canadian business has easy access to the American and Pacific Rim markets. This attracts many non- Canadian to set up a business in Canada.
Non- Canadians who wish to establish a business in Canada can primarily be classified into:-
- Established Businesses looking to expand into Canada
- Persons looking to establish a new business in Canada.
The former case requires the business to register themselves with the extra provincial corporation in the province where it wishes to setup the business. If one wishes to do business in more than one province, they would be required to register the business separately in every province. This procedure would require the assistance of a resident Canadian, whose 18 years or above or it could either be a corporation which has been established in the province of Canada in which the person wishes to do his business. In the latter, there are numerous ways in which a non-Canadian, who doesn’t possess any already established business, but wishes to establish one in Canada, can do so by resorting to the following. Firstly, he may opt for immigration. This enables the person to live and do business in Canada as a business immigrant.
Business immigrants are further categorised into start-up visas for entrepreneurs and self- employed persons. The start- up visas targets innovative immigrant entrepreneurs with skills that can help in job creation for Canadians and which can compete on a global scale. The eligibility criteria for start- up visas are that the person must have a qualifying business where each person has 10 percent voting rights attached to shares of corporation outstanding at that time and applicants along with the designated organization must hold 50 percent of total voting rights jointly as well, it must be supported by a designated organization which are recognised to help start-ups, it must meet the language requirements i.e. the ability to communicate in English, French or both and the person must bring enough money to settle since the government of Canada does not fund new start- ups and one must show that they have enough money to fund themselves and their dependents. The amount of money required for one person to lead a normal life in Canada would be $12,475 dollars. For each additional member to the family, the sum would raise by $3361. There are a certain set of additional requirements for Canadian entrepreneur visa such as minimum investments of about $1,50,000, a minimum of 3 years business ownership or senior managerial experience, submission of detailed business plan and financial statements, scoring sufficient points on the applicable provincial points grid, intention to invest in a Canadian business and actively manage the business and sign a performance agreement. Lastly, there is a genuine entrepreneur test which involves an assessment of your background, business plan, job creation and supporting evidence. In some circumstances, an interview may be required. Disclosure of funds is a requisite and its failure would attract penalty.
The general and basic procedure involved for provincial entrepreneurship programs are exploring your desired destination of business setup, expressing interest in setting up business in that particular province by means of applying for and submitting the provincial nomination certificate. Followed by that, the PIO (Provincial Immigration Officer) conducts an interview and a performance agreement is signed if they accept your nomination. Once these procedures are done, you will be entitled either to a 2 year work permit or a permanent residence in Canada.
In the case of self-employed persons, they must have relevant experience in cultural activities or athletics, and they must intend and be able to make a significant contribution to the cultural or athletic life of Canada. They must satisfy the eligibility norms i.e. have relevant experience, intend and be able to be self-employed in Canada, meet the selection criteria for self-employed people and meet medical, security and other conditions. A new addition to this is that people who have experience in farm management, and intend and be able to buy and manage a farm in Canada also fall under this category.
The standard of living is high in Canada and most people consider settling in Canada after establishment of business. If one does not wish to immigrate to Canada but wishes to setup a business there, then he may do so by way of a partnership or a corporation with one or more Canadian citizens or landed immigrants. According to section 118(3) of the Canada Business Corporation Act at least 25 per cent of the directors must be resident Canadians (if 25% of the directors is not a whole number round up to the nearest whole number). In simpler terms, where a corporation has less than four directors, at least one must be a resident Canadian.
Canada is an international business hub and incorporating a business in Canada can benefit the Company and bring the Company at par with global giants.
For further queries relating to Investment in Canada, establishing a business in Canada, start-up visa in Canada, kindly book an appointment and consult our Canadian immigration expert.