Visas & Advice Detail
Business visas: what we learned
We are the Wood family: Richard, 45, Vicky, 36, and Owen, 12, or as we are known to our fellow emigration families, ‘The Woodies’.
We applied under the entrepreneur class, writes Richard Wood, and as a result of this we have to start a business, of which we must own at least 33.3 per cent, employ one Canadian (or permanent resident) for a minimum of one year within the first three years of landing.
The Alberta government requires that you invest a certain amount of money as an Entrepreneur (CDN$100,000), this was not highlighted by any representative that we met at any of the shows/seminars, neither was it mentioned in the Entrepreneur requirements on the Canadian High Commission website, and as such would recommend that you enquire about the suggested investment for the province you are considering. We only found out about this figure during our visit in December 2004.
Whilst this figure is not set in stone they do like to know that you have the intention to invest in the province. We have set up our own company (incorporation). This was done at the local Registry Office (which you can find at almost every shopping area) at a cost of approximately $250.
We also registered for the Canadian version of VAT, known as GST (Goods and Service Tax); in Alberta we don't have to worry about PST (Provincial Sales Tax). This was easy to do and we completed the registration over the phone. Much like the UK, the sooner you register for GST the sooner you can start claiming back the GST you spend on business items, although we were informed that the items are looked into closely over here so as to avoid abusing the system.
Now we can sub-contract as self-employed, which we are currently doing with a local transport company driving their vehicle whilst invoicing them every two weeks. Insurance for any kind of transport work is extremely high over here but this is one of the biggest costs you will incur as overall it is relatively inexpensive to start up a business. This is filling the time before starting our own business once we move into our house, mid February 2006. As of now we have not decided on the business venture we originally intended to pursue (offering rental accommodation in our house and helping people decide if and how to emigrate), but we have our irons in a few fires.
The one thing that we have found about Alberta, and Calgary in particular, is that there is a chronic labour shortage and to find work is not difficult, if you are prepared to turn your hand to anything.
While I am the main applicant, my wife is still able to enter the labour market and be employed as the spouse does not fall under the Entrepreneur remit, neither does our son, but he is only 12 and we will get him working as soon as possible!
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