Visas & Advice Detail
Business and investor visas
People usually think of business visas as requiring you to run a business after you immigrate, writes BC-based immigration lawyer Ian Goldman
However, many people who immigrate using a 'business' visa don't ever run a business! Before we get into the details of business applications, it is important to note that if you want to operate a business after you emigrate, one option is to immigrate as a skilled worker. Skilled worker applications can be faster and place no restrictions on what occupation you may do after you immigrate. So you may run a business after you qualify as a skilled worker.
Should you, however, decide to take the formal business visa route, there are three general categories for both the federal and provincial programmes: Self-Employed; Investors; and Entrepreneurs. Within each category there are variations depending on whether you are going through the federal programme or a particular provincial programme.
The Investor category is best looked at as for people who buy their way in. The Entrepreneur category is the only one where you are required to run a business. The Self-Employed category only applies to farmers, athletes and cultural workers so we won't go into it in this article.
Investors
Perhaps surprisingly, there is no investment required for an investor application, but it certainly doesn't come for free. The main benefit of using the Investor programme is that you will emigrate in five-to-ten months and there are no requirements for you to run a business, although you are free to do so if you want. You may also work as an employee after you emigrate as an investor. So the process is quite fast, and can take as little as two months exclusive of medicals.
There are two main requirements to be an investor.
Firstly, you have to have management experience. This means either supervising people or having financial responsibilities. Note that you are not required to own any part of a business to qualify. The experience may be in a small business like managing a shop, supervising people, or in the non-profit or governmental sectors.
The second requirement is that you and your spouse must have a minimum net worth. 'Net worth' means your total assets including your home minus your total debts. The net worth requirement ranges from about £150,000 to £400,000 depending on the specific programme that is used.
If you meet those two requirements, then you may 'buy your visa'. This sounds like a dubious phrase, but I think it is an apt description. After all, the cost of the visa depends on whether you borrow to pay for the visa and over how long you pay it back. If you are willing to make payments over a period of time, then the payments can be only hundreds of pounds per month.
Entrepreneurs
Unlike investors, entrepreneurs are required to actively manage an active business after they emigrate. This means that they cannot merely hire others to run the business for them and that the business must not be involved only in passive investments. The federal programme's processing time is usually no faster than a skilled worker application and many people who qualify as entrepreneurs also qualify as skilled workers.
The provincial entrepreneur programmes usually result in you emigrating in about one year so they are usually slower than an investor application. Also, note that Alberta and Nova Scotia do not offer entrepreneur programmes at present. From my experience, these provincial factors add quite a bit of stress to an already stressful relocation experience and often with no benefit. Therefore, entrepreneur applications should only be made in appropriate circumstances.
There is wide range of requirements for entrepreneurs depending on whether you are using the federal programme or a specific provincial programme. However, they all require management experience and that you make a business plan as part of your application. Most require that you make an exploratory visit and that you do proper research to gain information for your business plan. Most have a minimum net worth requirement and a minimum investment requirement and some even have a requirement for creating a certain number of jobs for non-family members.
Application tips
Having advised potential immigrants for over 12 years, there are a few lessons that experience has given me.
Firstly, make sure that you get proper legal and financial and immigration advice for business applications. Significant amounts of money are involved and there are many risks that should be drawn to your attention before you go down any route. For example, entrepreneurs can be deported if they do not meet the requirements after immigrating.
Secondly, you should look through all of the marketing that surrounds some of the investment programme. Try to find out how the programme actually works in reality. This will allow you to do a thorough comparison of the cost and benefits of each option before you start down any path as the application fees are higher than skilled worker applications.
Finally, if you choose the entrepreneur route, it is a good idea to approach the business plan for more than immigration purposes. It should also be the basis of your actual business so the process of researching and developing financial projections should be done with a mind to actually using it for the purpose of starting and running your business.
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