Canadian Minister confirms commitment to Start-Up Visa

Building on the momentum of the launch of Canada’s Start-Up Visa (SUV) Programme earlier this year, Canada’s Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander yesterday spoke to members of Canada’s startup community and industry leaders as part of Start-up Canada Day on the Hill.

Made In CanadaThe SUV Programme is the first of its kind in the world, providing sought-after entrepreneurs with permanent residency and access to a wide range of business partners. Through this programme Canada hopes to become a destination of choice for start-up innovators, which will help Canada remain competitive in the global economy.

“Innovation and entrepreneurship drives economic growth and helps to secure future prosperity for all Canadians,” said Alexander. “Immigration is vital to innovation and to meeting Canada’s economic and labour market needs.”

The SUV is a five-year pilot programme and is limited to no more than 2,750 applications per year. It is designed to attract high quality and select entrepreneurs who can advance the Government’s innovation agenda. In addition to standard admissibility requirements, SUV applicants must meet certain programme eligibility criteria.

In October, Minister Alexander announced that the programme was being expanded to include a new stream for business incubators. The Business Incubator stream complements existing venture capital and angel investor streams by attracting early-stage and high growth businesses, and entrepreneurs who can contribute to a culture of innovation and commercialization in Canada.

“Government plays an important role in supporting and empowering entrepreneurs, who are the backbone of Canada’s prosperity,” said Alexander. “Our government will continue our efforts to attract the best and brightest immigrant entrepreneurs, who have the potential to build innovative companies that can create jobs for Canadians and compete on a global scale.”

Startup Canada Day on the Hill is organized by Startup Canada, which represents more than 55,000 entrepreneurs, over 400 partner organizations and over 250 volunteers.

Article published 22nd November 2013