INVESTOR THROUGH FREE TRADE AGREEMENT
Application type
Work permit to operate a business followed by Permanent Residency
Eligible Countries
USA, Mexico, Japan, Australia (including permanent residents), Vietnam, Peru (including permanent residents), Colombia, Chile, Korea, European Union states: Austria, Italy, Belgium, Latvia, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Croatia, Luxembourg, Cyprus, Malta, Czechia, Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, Estonia, Portugal, Finland, Romania, France, Slovakia, Germany, Slovenia, Greece, Spain, Hungary, Sweden, Ireland.
Timeline from application sent to PR status
2.5 years processing
Level of English/French required
Intermediate-high
Level of Education
1-year post-secondary education or more
Program description​
The government of Canada welcomes investors from different countries around the world to start a new business or purchase an existing business and move to Canada to actively operate it. The investor program is available to citizens of countries who have a free trade agreement with Canada with an investor clause put into force. For Peru and Australia, permanent residents of these countries are also eligible. This program provides investors with a work permit to operate their business in Canada for 1 year and the opportunity to apply for permanent residency after this year of operation. This program does not require an Owner Operator LMIA, which means one less government agency to process the application.
When you have a business idea that you’d like to implement in Canada or if you are interested in purchasing and operating a business in Canada, you can request a work permit as an investor, work for 1 year in Canada in your business and apply for permanent residency if you wish to live in Canada on a long-term basis.
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Minimum requirements to be eligible for the program:
In order to qualify as an investor under the free trade agreements between your country and Canada, the following must be proven:
01
RELEVANT BUSINESS MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE
You must show that you have several years of business management experience. Although there is no specific number of years that must be shown, it is desirable to show at least 3 years of work experience either as owner of your own business or having had a position of high management in another business.
02
EDUCATION
You do not need any minimum education for this program. This means that you can have a work permit without showing any specific education. However, the more education you have, the more points you gain in the Express Entry program should you be interested in applying for permanent residency. In this case, we highly recommend that you have at least 1 year of post-secondary education. A bachelor’s degree or more will be even better.
03
AGE
Age is not a factor in getting a work permit. However, if you want to apply for permanent residency, age will affect your points. The age that receives a majority of point (110 points) is between 20 to 29 years old. You start to lose points at age 30 and after the age of 44, you no longer can receive points for age. This is why it is best to have a post-secondary education, so you can compensate for the points lost in age.
04
LANGUAGE:
ENGLISH OR FRENCH
Canada’s official languages are English and French. Although to receive the work permit, you probably only need an intermediate level in any of these two languages, we recommend that you continue to improve your language skills to reach an advanced level in order to increase your chances at being selected in the Express Entry program for permanent residency. You will need to choose one of these two languages (your strongest one) to pass an official test.
For English testing: IELTS GENERAL or CELPIP
For French testing: TEF
05
BUSINESS PROJECT IN CANADA
Canada wants to have a dynamic economy that provides stable jobs and innovation. If you choose to start your own business from scratch, the business idea you will present in this program should have a certain degree of novelty so it is easy to show the aggregated value your business will bring to the Canadian industries it is involved in. Alternatively, if you will purchase a business that already exists, it should also have a positive impact on the economy. An important aspect to consider is that the business should be able to grow and scale. You should have plans to hire employees who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents.
06
MONEY
While the Investor program does not have a set amount of money required, you will need to show that you have enough funds to immigrate to Canada. You will need to show proof of funds for two aspects of life: to cover for personal expenses and business expenses. For your personal expenses, this will depend on your family size. The government of Canada establishes the minimum settlement funds required based on your family size and it increases a little bit every year in January. As a single person, it is approximately $13 000 CAD, for a couple, it is just over $16 100 CAD and for a family of 4 it is just above $24 000 CAD. Please refer to the hyperlink above to see the updated and accurate full chart published by the government. For your business expenses, you will work together with our team at North Horizon Immigration Consulting while we build the business plan for your project in Canada and we will establish a realistic amount required for a successful execution of your plan. This will be based on your specific project and the community where you will live. If you will purchase a business in Canada that already exists, you need enough money to purchase the business and add your own capital to suggest enhancements to the business. For example, you may purchase a business that costs $175 000 CAD and in addition to this, you will invest an extra $40 000 CAD to expand the business operations, hire new staff, develop new technology, etc.
07
MEDICAL AND SECURITY BACKGROUND CHECK
Depending on the country you are from, when you apply for the Investor work permit you and your family will have to pass the Canadian Immigration Medical exam and provide your police certificates from all the countries where you have lived for 6 months or more since you are 18 years old. This will be mandatory for everyone who wishes to apply for permanent residency.
The Application Process
IDENTIFY
Once we have identified that you qualify for this program, there will be 2 general phases to the application process:
01. THE WORK PERMIT APPLICATION
This is when you request a work permit for yourself and permits for you family to move to Canada and start operating your business. You must actively operate your business, passive investment is not considered for this program.
02. THE PERMANENT RESIDENCY APPLICATION THROUGH EXPRESS ENTRY
After actively managing your business in Canada for 1 year, you will gain extra points that will be added to the other points you accumulate through age education, work experience, and language skills. If your points are high enough to be invited by Immigration Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), we will prepare a permanent residency application for yourself and your family.
TIME
The timeline for this entire process is usually 2 and a half years from beginning to end.
ASSISTANCE
The North Horizon Immigration team will assist you in preparing the most compelling application to properly describe how your business project will enhance the Canadian economy and labour market to receive your Investor work permit and we will prepare your permanent residency application. We will assist you along the way to maximizes your chances of success in Canada.
The services we offer include:
Prepare a Business Exploratory Trip to Canada (when possible, after COVID19).
Coach you on how to keep track of important administrative aspects of your project in Canada including: Bookkeeping - Tax obligations - Human Resources -
- Busines license registrations - Bank account opening.
Connect you with a network of professionals required for your success such as: Accountants - Corporate lawyers - Marketing experts - Web designers.
We will also review your family members’ immigration status to ensure they will also be involved during the process.
Assess your profile for eligibility in the program.
Prepare the Business Plan for your project in Canada.
Prepare the investor work permit application.
Research your industry of choice in Canada to assess the contributions you will be making.
