About the Start Up Visa Program
The federal Start Up Visa program is the latest immigration program to be implemented, having been in existence for just over a year (since April 1, 2013). Its essence is to attract aspiring entrepreneurs with unique innovative ideas that have good prospects for development. The selection of those who ultimately receive immigration visas is carried out by investment funds accredited with the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Currently, there are about 30 investment funds on this list.
The essence of the program is as follows. Holders of an interesting idea or project must apply to investment funds accredited with the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration Canada. If a fund becomes interested in the idea, a project presentation is conducted, including a demonstration of the prototype, explanation of the development strategy, and presentation of a detailed business plan.
If the investment fund considers that the project has commercial prospects, it undertakes to invest in the project an amount not less than that stipulated by the program terms, after which it issues a Letter of Support.
Receiving a Letter of Support means that you can submit documents to the embassy for an immigration visa. All applicants at this stage receive permission to work and live in Canada.
A feature of this program is that up to four people can immigrate under one project. For example, in the case of the project for which the first immigration visas were issued under the Start Up Visa program, two people (plus their family members) immigrated.
In total, up to 2,750 immigration visas are planned to be issued each year under this program.
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Letter of Support Program
This program opens up good opportunities for immigration to Canada for individuals involved in high-tech business or information technology.
For example, the project that allowed its developers to receive the first immigration visas is in the field of information technology. In essence, it is an application that allows companies to receive, process, and respond to customer complaints interactively from mobile devices.
A big plus of the program is that 2,750 applications are issued per year. Obviously, at the moment there are clearly not that many applications that have received approval from investment funds, which means there is a fairly large reserve for those who can meet the requirements of the Letter of Support.
It is very easy to explain why there has not yet been an increase in applicants under the Start Up Visa program. Despite the apparent attractiveness of this program, meeting its requirements is not so simple. To successfully go through it, it is not enough to just have an interesting project.
First, the project must indeed be original and primarily focused on the North American market. From experience working with startups from Eastern European countries, primarily Russia and Ukraine, a strong impression has formed that most IT companies from this region are adapting what already exists in the North American sector to their local conditions. Or, at best, they create something new for the needs of the local market, but which is not of interest to North America.
Second, you need to have a ready innovative project, competently developed and detailed, with good potential for growth. That is, at a minimum, you need to show an idea implemented at least at the prototype level, with a well-developed business plan and development strategy.
You need to understand that a huge number of people apply to investment funds, both those wishing to immigrate under the Start Up Visa program and local developers seeking financing for development. Therefore, to be noticed and interested, the project must meet a certain level and be presented appropriately.
Finally, and most importantly, you also need to understand that investment funds are not engaged in altruism; they invest money with the aim of making a profit. Given that innovative projects are mostly risky, with a high probability of losing the invested money, funds are extremely cautious in their investments. Therefore, the selection of projects is quite rigorous.
That is, you need to understand that the selection is not formal, as sometimes happens with the distribution of government funds. We are talking about the money of a commercial enterprise, and the approach is corresponding.
This is precisely why there are not that many real projects under consideration under this program, apparently. Therefore, if you present a well-developed innovative project, you can have a fairly high chance of success.
Special attention should be paid to the following. If you have a promising innovative project, you can simultaneously try to immigrate through provincial business programs, since provincial governments are also interested in attracting promising businesses.
That is, at the moment, the Start Up Visa program has quite a lot of advantages, including a safety net in the form of six provincial business programs, for which an innovative project prepared for the Start Up Visa program is also suitable.
However, there is a fly in the ointment. More precisely, two.
Difficulties of Immigration under the Start Up Visa Program
This problem can actually be dealt with quite simply if you refine the idea to fit the realities of North America, prepare a prototype and presentation materials, and also conduct a decent presentation of the project to investment funds.
What is concerning is something else. According to the information that occasionally leaks from the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration of Canada, most likely the new federal Investor program will be focused on financing new startups. It is possible that its funding may be linked to the Start Up Visa program.
This fact immediately opens the door for financing innovative projects related to the investor. All this could lead to a huge number of projects that will formally meet the selection criteria for the Start Up Visa program, but in reality will be ordinary duds. If that happens, getting through the Start Up Visa program will become problematic for those who have a chance now.
In general, the time factor is extremely important for immigration. There is a very clear pattern: immigration programs work well only in the very first time after they are introduced. Then people start finding loopholes, and a huge number of people wanting to immigrate through this program rush in. The next step is a response from the immigration authorities, with the introduction of restrictions and tightenings, after which it becomes much more difficult, or even impossible, to go through this program.
Therefore, while the Start Up Visa program is in its initial phase, it opens up good opportunities for successfully immigrating through it. However, such a situation is unlikely to last long. Especially considering that a month ago, nearly 85,000 applicants waiting for processing under the federal business programs Investor and Entrepreneur had their applications returned. And many of them are refocusing on the Start Up Visa program, by purchasing or taking a stake in innovative companies that have a chance to go through this program. This will immediately increase the number of projects submitted for review and sharply reduce the chances of those who could go through this program now.
So do not hope that this favorable situation that has now developed for the Start Up Visa program will last long. Unfortunately, the experience of at least the last 15 years shows that favorable periods in immigration are short-lived.
Therefore, if you have an interest and the opportunity to go through this program, do not waste time, as delay may lead to what was said above – it will be much harder to immigrate or the program may be closed altogether.
«Russian Toronto».