Interview with CEO of CBC Mr. Slava regarding the Canadian Startup Visa

— Thank you so much, Mr. Slava, for coming to join us in our office.

— My pleasure.

— We just want to have a brief discussion about the Startup Visa program. Could you please explain to us and give us a brief overview of the Canadian Startup Visa?

— Wonderful. Canada Startup Visa is a great program for anyone who wants to come to Canada to open up a business that is innovative, and their experience can support it. The qualifications for rent, the qualifications for the business are being outlined directly on the Government of Canada website, but we guide our clients through to make sure that it's properly set up.

Qualification for the individuals - all they need to do is to provide to us their biometrics, meaning their passport information to make sure they have no criminality, to make sure they're in good health, and this is entire family migration, meaning husband, wife, kids, everyone in the family with kids dependent under 22 years old can come to Canada under this program.

The overview of the program is that it's a multi-step process, but we handle it for clients. Step number one, we create a proposal that the Government of Canada has designated organizations, meaning approving bodies will review, take a look at whether that is a good business for Canada.

In the last 5, 7 to 10 years, 100% of our clients have achieved the milestone of their businesses being reviewed and approved. The second milestone is for the client to apply directly for permanent residency. So with that letter of approval in hand, they can now go directly and apply for permanent residency. Of course, we handle that for them as well.

Permanent residency takes anywhere from 12 to 14 months for them to be approved, to land in Canada, start their businesses, and start their lives.

— Thank you for the insightful explanation. We’d also like to explore how the Canadian Start-Up Visa differs from other immigration programs available in Canada. What key features set it apart?

— Sure, there are a lot of different ways for people to come to Canada. We like Canada's start-up visa program because it is a federal program allowing them to move everywhere, English-speaking Canada, meaning everywhere except for Quebec. Outside of that, it has advantages over many of the other programs. So majority of the Canadian programs are meant to be score-based or merit-based, and it's a competition. Top 500 people, approximately, every month get selected based on the points that they have achieved.

Unlike in Sardinvisa, where you're not competing against others. But just to give you an example, if someone is a 25-year-old, they get 100 points towards their overall score. They need to score about 550, so 100 points for a 25-year-old is a big number. The same person with the same merits of education in English applies, that's a 45-year-old, they get zero points. So the chances of someone being 40, 45, 50, 60 years old qualifying for the other most popular program that gets hundreds of thousands of people through are very, very low.

That's where it leads them into the Startup Visa path because their age is not being held against them. Their level of English is a requirement much lower. So they can apply without being that young engineer, which majority of the other programs are using. Now, there are many other programs as well. So for that one, you would need to be consulting through a proper immigration consultancy, sitting down and reviewing, because there's a student path, there's a work path, there's a family sponsorship path.

There's many different ways to be coming to Canada. But what we know and what we have seen, if you're a 45-year-old plus, if you're a high net worth individual, if you're a manager style, if you're an investment style person and you want to come to Canada quickly, Startup Visa becomes the most appropriate way for them to be coming here.

— One common concern among applicants is what happens if the business supported under the Start-Up Visa program does not succeed. Does a failed business impact the individual’s permanent residency status?

— It is one of my favorite questions because the Government of Canada has received that question so many times. They put it as their top five frequently asked questions directly on their website. And it reads approximately in this way. What happens to my permanent residency if my business fails? And the answer directly from the Government of Canada, written directly on their website, says, If your business fails, it does not impact your immigration.

It doesn't impact your permanent residency, meaning even if the day after you arrive in Canada, your business decides to pivot and do something else, if you want to shut it down, if you don't want to run the business, and you want to run another business, it is completely fine. You can go ahead and do that instead of being stuck in a business that is no longer appropriate for you.

— Are there any restrictions for any nationalities?

— There's no restrictions. So, right now, looking at the past three years, the most common nationality that is applying would be people from Iran. So, close to 30% of the people. Previous to that, it was people from Vietnam. We have a lot of people from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, lots of people from Nigeria. But after Donald Trump was elected at the end of last year, close to 50% of our clients are coming from America. Lots of Americans are coming to Canada now. It is a much better way for their lifestyle.

— Thank you so much, Mr. Slava, for taking the time to walk us through the Start-Up Visa and answer these important questions.

— It was a pleasure. I’m always happy to share insights that can help future entrepreneurs take the next step.

If you’re interested in starting your journey through the Canadian Start-Up Visa program, feel free to contact us at One World Migration. We’ll guide you every step of the way.