Business Visa To Canada

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Canada business visa

Foreign nationals can visit Canada for a limited time to conduct business with Canadian companies under the Business Visitor visa category. The successful applicants would be able to explore business prospects, engage with Canadian business counterparts, and attend trade shows. This visa, however, does not permit applicants to work in Canada.

With the Canada business visa one can

Visit Canada for the purpose of business
Attend trade shows and conferences
Meet prospective clients and take new orders
Attend training from your company in Canada

The business visa for Canada allows you to stay for up to six months in Canada.

Eligibility requirements

You must have a legitimate and good reason for visiting the country.
You must have enough money to support yourself and any dependents during your stay.
You must have close links to your home country in order to return after your stay.
You must be of good character and have a clear criminal record. For this, you may be required to have a PCC (Police Clearance Certificate).
You must at least meet the authorities’ minimum health standards.
You must have a valid invitation from a legitimate company in the country where you are/will be doing business.

Documents required

Passport & travel history
Background documentation
Documents from your company
Documents proving you will not be staying beyond the stipulated time
Completed application & consulate fees
Adequate medical insurance

Business immigration to Canada

If you are a non-Canadian and want to start a new business or company in Canada, then you can use the Canada Startup Visa program.

The Startup Visa for Canada also offers permanent resident visa to qualified immigrants who start a business in the country. The other name for this visa program is the Startup Class.

Under this visa program, candidates can come to Canada on a work permit which is sponsored by their Canada based investor and then apply for a PR visa once their business is established in the country.

This program encourages immigrant entrepreneurs to develop their startups in Canada. Successful applicants can tie up with private sector investor in Canada to receive help on funding and guidance on running their business. The three types of private sector investors they can approach are:

Venture capital fund
Business incubator
Angel investor

Eligibility requirements for visa applicants are:

Have proof that the business has the required support from a designated entity in the form of a Commitment Certificate and Letter of Support
Have a qualifying business
Have the required proficiency in English or French
Have completed at least one year of post-secondary education
Have enough funds to settle in Canada and support dependent family members
Must clear the medical tests and security requirements

Specific guidelines

This visa program has specific guidelines on the ownership and shareholding requirements for a startup.

Applicants for this visa must have the support or sponsorship of a specified Canadian venture capital fund, angel investor or business incubator to qualify for the visa.

The IRCC has designated specific venture capital funds, investor groups and business incubators to be part of this visa program.

Startups that succeed in getting through this program must be able to get the minimum required investment. If it is from a venture capital fund, minimum investment should be USD 200,000. If the investment is from an angel investor group, the investment should be at least USD 75,000. Applicants must be accepted by a designated business incubator as a member of the business incubator program.

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FAQ

How long can I stay in Canada on a Business Visa?

The Canada Business Visa is a Provisional Visa and has a maximum validity of 6 months. It is advisable that you stay for the period that you have specified in the application even if less than 6 months. The Embassy can offer you a Visa that has longer validity such as 10, 5 or 3 years. However, you must not remain for more than 6 months at a time.

How do I get a Canadian Business Visa?

The below five stages are common in any application for Canada Business Visa irrespective of the business immigration stream you choose to apply:

Check your eligibility

The first step is to assess if you fulfil the requires of the business program that you are interested in

Select the program that best suits your business

You must select the category that is most suitable for the business type that you want to expand overseas in Canada

Collate the required paperwork

This is undoubtedly the most tiresome part of the process of business immigration to Canada. You must have all the documents that will be a poof of fulfilling the requirements of the chosen business stream.

Confirm submission format and deadlines

There can be some tough deadlines to be met depending on your chosen business immigration stream. This is to ensure that your application remains valid.

Obtain a Visa or an ETA

You will have to get ready for your trip to Canada once your application is successful. You can obtain the Visa or the ETA – Electronic Travel Authorization.

How long does it take to get Canada Business Visa?

This will depend on the workload of the Embassy of Canada that you have applied to. You may have to wait for 1 to 6 weeks for processing your Canada Business Visa.

How much money is required for Canadian Business Visa?

Canada has diverse programs under Provincial Business Immigration that are a great option over investment immigration. In comparison with the Investor Visa, obtaining the Business Visa requires much lower net worth personally. The minimum investment required is often as less as CAD $100,000.