Canada started accepting applications from April 1 under its new Start-up Visa progamme which aims to attract what immigration minister Jason Kenney calls “the best and brightest entrepreneurs from around the world, with ideas for new business ventures.”
In its first year, 2,750 Start-up visas will be issued to entrepreneurs and their families.
The new Start-up Visa programme, which was unveiled in January this year, will link immigrant entrepreneurs with private sector organizations in Canada that have experience working with start-ups and who can provide essential resources.
“Canada is open for business to the world’s start-up entrepreneurs. Innovation and entrepreneurship are essential drivers of the Canadian economy. That is why we are actively recruiting foreign entrepreneurs – those who can build companies here in Canada that will create new jobs, spur economic growth and compete on a global scale – with our new start-up visa,” the immigration minister said on Friday, announcing the start of the new visa programme.
Under the Start-up Visa programme, entrepreneurs are given permanent residency and connected with business partners.
Canada’s Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA) and the National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) will work with Citizenship and Immigration Canada to identify which members of their associations will be eligible to participate in the Programme.
