The Canadian government must be big fans of Duncan Bannatyne, Peter Jones and friends as they have introduced a process whereby foreign entrepreneurs can secure permanent residency through a Dragon’s Den style interview process.
Article written by The Overseas Guides Company
The new ‘start-up’ visa will grant expats access to the country for as long as they like, regardless of whether or not their business idea succeeds.
In order to be granted this type of visa, entrepreneurs will first need to secure a minimum investment of CAD$200,000 (approx. £129,000) from a venture capitalist fund or $75,000 (approx. £48,000) from an angel investor group that features on a specific list of designated Canadian investors.
For clarity venture capitalists invest funds collected from a variety of external sources whereas Angels invest their own money.
Understandably, the most important selection criteria is being able to provide return on investment several times over.
In exchange for demonstrating this, Canada offers these entrepreneurs a strong research and development culture as well as guidance from investors who are experienced in helping start-up companies to avoid the most commonly encountered pitfalls.
So – if you have a business idea that you think might be of interest you will need to submit your business plan directly to the investors through Canada’s Venture Capital and Private Equity Association. You must be proficient in English or French and have at least a year of post-secondary education to apply for the visa.
In their bid to attract the ‘next big thing’, the Canadian government plan on introducing the programme for a trial period of five years and over this period they plan to issue 2,750 start-up visas per year. What are you waiting for?
In other Canadian visa news, Canada’s biggest permanent residency scheme, the Federal Skilled Worker Programme, will once again begin accepting applications from May 4 after being frozen in July 2012. Priority will be given to those who have strong language skills and have Canadian work experience.
To research properties for sale in Canada, visit the Canadian listings on Rightmove Overseas. Preparation for anyone considering a move to Canada should include planning for the transfer of your pounds into Canadian dollars. For information on how to do this safely and save money when doing so, speak to currency exchange specialist Smart Currency Exchange.
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