Canada Start-up Visa (SUV)

Obtain permanent residency in 6 months. No management experience required, no explanation of source of funds needed, IELTS score of 5, no residency restrictions. This program offers a new opportunity for business elites with a certain level of language proficiency to immigrate to Canada quickly, with the possibility of obtaining permanent residency within the year.

1. About the SUV

The SUV program has been the subject of much discussion and controversy since its inception. It has almost no requirements regarding the applicant's background, and a single startup project can allow up to five applicants, along with their families, to immigrate to Canada simultaneously. More importantly, even if the project ultimately fails, the entrepreneur's permanent resident status will not be lost or revoked.

The selection and recommendation of startup projects are handled by private sector institutions in Canada, including:

• Venture Capital Funds

• Angel Investor Groups

• Business Incubators

2. SUV Application Steps:

1. Entrepreneurs submit their Business Plan (BP) to one of the three organizations mentioned above and meet one of the following three requirements:

• For VC Funds: Receive at least CAD 200,000 in investment.

• For Angel Investors: Receive at least CAD 75,000 in investment.

• For Incubators: Guarantee acceptance by the Incubator; investment from the Incubator is not required.

2. Entrepreneurs who receive funding or are accepted by an incubator will receive a Letter of Support from the organization.

3. Applicants who meet the first step must also ensure the following equity distribution:

• Each founder (applicant) holds at least 10% of the voting rights in the registered company, and the founders (applicants) and the organization jointly hold more than 50% of the voting rights in the registered company.

4. After receiving the Letter of Support and meeting the equity distribution requirements, the applicant submits their permanent resident (PR) application to the Immigration Department. Additionally... As part of the Immigration Department's approval process, the business venture project must also undergo a neutral industry peer review.

3. Requirements for Applicants:

SUVs have almost no requirements for applicants:

• Age 18 or older

• Intend to settle in a province outside Quebec

• Language proficiency CLB 5 (equivalent to IELTS: Listening 5/Reading 4/Writing 5/Speaking 5)

• Sufficient settlement funds (approximately RMB 100,000 for a family of three)

4. Analysis of SUVs

The SUV application process can be divided into two parts:

The first part involves applying for support from non-governmental organizations before applying to the Immigration Department for permanent resident status. However, these three types of non-governmental organizations are not government agencies; they make investment decisions primarily for profit, and therefore are very cautious and meticulous in selecting investment projects. The Immigration Department's assessment report states that designated organizations face a problem of high volume but low quality of business plans, and many organizations are unable to review all received SUV project applications due to resource limitations. The reason the Immigration Department received fewer applications than expected is that many entrepreneurs got stuck at the first stage. To successfully gain the support and funding of these organizations, businesses need to ensure their business plans are compelling enough, or they need to find suitable industry referrals in Canada.

5. Other Reference Data

• The Evaluation of the Start-Up Visa Pilot (SUV) report contains several other noteworthy data points:

• Entrepreneurial projects are concentrated in software development and sales (74%), followed by non-software product manufacturing and sales (24%), and other services such as construction and business services (2%).

• Based on all approved SUV applications, the success rate is 80%.

• Regarding the age distribution of approved entrepreneurs, applicants aged 18-24 account for 4%, and those aged 25-44 account for 77%.

• The gender distribution of approved entrepreneurs: 89% are male, and 11% are female.

• Of the approved entrepreneurs, 74% hold a bachelor's degree or higher in a relevant field.

• Of the approved entrepreneurs, 28% are from India, 13% from China, and 11% from the UK.

For a detailed list of required documents, please contact our immigration consultants: info@canatrue.com