Being into the Residency / Citizenship by Investment & Business Migration industry for over 14 years, people ask me one common question almost every day and that is “Can I obtain Canadian citizenship directly by investment? the answer to this is NO.
Unfortunately, what I have seen is that most of the migration advisors sell many investments base programs in Canada with this misconception or misleading information, so I thought to share some details on how an individual may work their way towards becoming a Canadian citizen.
Like most of the European residence permits / golden visas programs (i.e., Greece, Malta, Portugal, Spain etc.) Canada does offer some residence route via investment that will lead you to citizenship, these programs are designed to attract business owners, entrepreneurs, self-employed individuals, or investors, some of these programs allow you to obtain Canadian PR “Permanent Residence” such as Immigrant Investor Program that allowed foreign investors to obtain permanent residence status by investing CAD 800,000 (the program was shut down by the Canadian government in year 2014) and the others may require you to start or purchase a business in Canada (investment starting with CAD 100,000 and over) that must be genuinely operational for a certain time period depends on business type/module
The Government of Canada always encourages and attract such individuals who wishes to transfer home company or establish and operate a new business in Canada, a business that creates jobs for Canadians and benefits the economy.
The program offers ideal opportunity to qualified business individual (business owners, entrepreneurs, self-employed individuals etc.) who wish to expand their existing business operations to Canada, not only this but companies may temporarily transfer qualified employees to Canada for the purpose of improving management effectiveness and enhancing competitiveness in overseas markets, through this you will be able to secure an ICT Work Permit and eventually permanent residence (PR).
Why ICT “INTRA COMPANY TRANSFER”
ICT “Intra Company Transfer” is one of such special (an LMIA-Exempt work permit) Federal programs under the International Mobility Program, and is considered to be one of the simple, straight forward, and quickest routes “normally takes six months” to migrate to Canada via investments.
There are no minimum investment criteria set by the Canadian government. However, the companies must be financially strong (access to liquid funds worth CAD 250,000 or more) and have the required capital to support their operations in Canada (i.e, hiring and paying wages to local talent, rental, business promotions etc.).
There is no requirement of providing any proof of language skills for the business owners in general. However, if they wish to transfer key personnel to Canada under this program, such employees will be required to provide English or French language test results to prove their suitability for the position in Canada.
Investor may apply for the PR “Permanent Residence” after 12 months. However, we recommend renewing your ICT WP and continue residing in Canada as a temporary foreign worker until you built strong bases for you PR “Permanent Residence”.
Canada provides the right business environment, steady government, wealth of resources that act as a catalyst while you start new or expand an existing business.
Who Is Eligible?
Business owners, entrepreneurs, and shareholders of successful companies who are currently holding executive positions in that company and who intend to do similar work in Canada.
Senior managers and functional managers who are currently working in a foreign company and intend to occupy a similar position in Canada.
Key employees of a business who have advanced specialized knowledge that is unique or uncommon.
Business / parent company must have been fully operational and making marginal profits for at least 3 years and shows financial ability to support overseas activities in Canada, for a strong case.
Main applicant must have worked for or been actively involved with the Business / parent company for at least a year in the 3 years preceding the application.
Operations in Canada must contribute to the creation of jobs for Canadians and benefits the economy.
Things To Consider Before Applying For ICT “INTRA COMPANY TRANSFER”
IRCC “Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada” may reject your application if you fail to establish that the business / parent company in consideration not operational / not making profits / is less than two year old, or if the main applicant has not been actively involved with the business / parent company for at least a year in the 3 years preceding the application.
IRCC “Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada” may reject your application if you fail to establish your business in Canada is not capable to contribute to the creation of jobs for Canadians and benefits the economy.
ICT “Intra Company Transfer” is not an open work permit, so the applicant must work for the employer that is specified in their permit, you are not allowed to enter the Canadian labour market without obtaining a positive LMIA decision to work for another employer in Canada.
IRCC “Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada” requires your business to have a Canadian bank account, containing funds as proof that you have funds to set up and operate the business.
IRCC “Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada” may reject your application if they notice you have funded the bank account using your finances instead of the business / parent company’s account.
IRCC “Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada” may reject your application if they notices that your business is bringing in more employees from its foreign business / parent company than hiring Canadians in its first year of operations.
How Can We Help?
Vazir Investment is one of the trusted global entities, and a leading investment migration services provider, assisting the HNWI & UHNWI "High Net-worth & Ultra High Net-worth" Individuals, Business Owners, Entrepreneurs, Senior Managers / Directors looking to opt for RCBI “Residency & Citizenship by Investment” programs, and or expanding their business beyond the boundaries.
We are authorized to market and distribute promotional information about various RCBI “Residency & Citizenship by Investment” programs, with a team consisting of professional members from IMC (Investment Migration Council), CICC (College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants), RCIC (Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant), and professional Chartered Accountants with over 25 years of collective consulting background. Vazir Investment has been helping families relocate globally for over 10 years, dominating the Indian markets, and having a strong presence in United Arab Emirates, India, Canada, Portugal, Malta, and Slovenia with local experts in house who are there to assist you with best of their abilities throughout the application process.
About The Author
Head of RCBI / Business Migration
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