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April
2013
 |
Citizenship and Immigration Canada Publishes Ministerial Instructions Establishing the Start-Up Business Class
Introduction
As previously reported, on January 24, 2013, the Minister of
Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism (the “Minister”) announced
that Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) would launch a Start-Up
Visa Program to recruit innovative immigrant entrepreneurs who will
create new jobs and spur economic growth. 1
On March 30, 2013, CIC published Ministerial Instructions (the
“Instructions”) in the Canada Gazette, which formally establish the new
Start-Up Business Class. 2 CIC also published Chapter 27 of the Overseas Processing Manual (“OP 27”), which provides further details regarding the processing of such applications. 3 An overview of the Start-Up Business Class is provided below.
Start-Up Business Class Defined
Pursuant to Section 14.1 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (“IRPA”) 4,
the Instructions establish the Start-Up Business Class as a subgroup of
the broader Economic Class described in Subsection 12(2) of IRPA.
According to Subsection 2(2) of the Instructions, foreign nationals are
members of the Start-Up Business Class if they:
- Have obtained a commitment from:
-
One or more designated angel investor groups, confirming that they
are collectively investing a total of at least $75,000CAD in a
qualifying business; or
-
One or more designated venture capital funds, confirming that they
are collectively investing a total of at least $200,000CAD in a
qualifying business;
-
Have attained a level of proficiency of at least benchmark Level 5 in
either English or French for the four language skill areas (reading,
writing, listening, speaking), as set out in the Canadian Language Benchmarks and the Niveaux de Compétence linguistique canadiens,
as demonstrated by the results of an evaluation conducted by an
organization or institution designated by the Minister for the purpose
of evaluating language proficiency under Subsection 74(3) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (“IRPR”)5;
-
Have completed at least one year of post-secondary education during
which the applicant was in good standing at the educational institution,
whether or not the applicant obtained an educational credential; and
-
Have in the form of transferable and available funds, unencumbered by
debts or other obligations, an amount that is equal to one half of the
amount identified (in the most recent edition of the publication
concerning low income cut-offs published annually by Statistics Canada
under the Statistics Act for urban areas of residence of
500,000 or more) as the minimum amount of before-tax annual income
necessary to support the foreign national and his or her family members.
According
to Subsection 2(4) of the Instructions, no more than five foreign
nationals may seek permanent residence as members of the Start-Up
Business Class, pursuant to the same business venture.
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Blaneys on Immigration
is a publication of the Immigration Law Group of
Blaney McMurtry LLP.
Editor:
Henry J. Chang
