Investor immigration program is back

By Catherine Sas, 
Special to The Post

The past few years have been tough for business persons seeking to access Canada's Business Immigration program.  
On July 1, 2011, the entrepreneur category was suspended, and a year later, the investor program received the same fate. On February 11, 2014 the Government of Canada decided to formally terminate both programs, resulting in approximately 20,000 to 25,000 investor files being cancelled if they had not reached the initial stage of selection. People who had spent many years investing in the Investor immigration program were merely told, "Sorry - you're out!"  
The self-employed category has managed to survive, but it is by definition limited to those who generate their own employment in cultural or artistic endeavours, athletics or farming. The numbers tell the significance of this business immigration program - Canada accepted merely 89 self-employed applicants in 2012 and 94 applicants in 2013.
In April 2013, then Minister of Immigration Jason Kenney introduced the new Start-up visa category to recruit dynamic immigration entrepreneurs with innovative business ideas to launch companies in Canada. The goal was to create new jobs and spur economic growth. In introducing this new program, Minister Kenney admitted that the initial uptake of the program would likely be very low and it took over a year and a half for the first few immigrants to be accepted under the program.  
In order to become a permanent resident in this category, it is necessary for a prospective business applicant to secure financing from a Canadian venture capital fund or angel investor fund that has been designated by the Canadian government for immigration purposes. This essential step has been a roadblock for many prospective immigrants. Current Minister of Immigration Chris Alexander further expanded this program to include the Business Incubator stream. The new stream complements the existing venture capital or angel investor options, and is intended to link foreign entrepreneurs with business incubators who have expertise working with start-up companies in Canada. 
So what is an aspiring business immigrant to Canada to do? With the suspensions, limitations and terminations in Canada's federal business immigration program, many have turned to the provinces that have business categories in their Provincial Nominee Programs. Not all provinces have business programs, but for those that do business is booming. So much so that in many provinces considerable backlogs have developed. 
In British Columbia alone, there is a backlog of approximately 1,900. For keen business people with meaningful business ventures, the application processing times of several months, if not years, is just not viable. It is not the nature of business to wait for bureaucratic government approval.
With this in mind, it is welcome news to hear that the Canadian government is moving forward with a new Investor Immigrant pilot program. While there has been no formal announcement as yet, Canada's Minister of Immigration Chris Alexander has been letting the immigration community know that this is in the works and recent government announcements have sought tenders for independent financial reviewers to assess and confirm an applicant's financial history and capability.  
Early information indicates that the program will be increasing the required period of investment of five years and increasing investment levels to between $1 million and $2 million. The new investment levels are expected to be competitive with other countries with similar programs in place.  
The re-opening of a federal Investor immigration program is good news for everyone. Current information about the program suggests that the investment funds will provide real and meaningful economic benefit for Canadians. Canada will once again have a legitimate and vibrant business immigration program. 

Catherine Sas, Q.C. is a Partner in the Immigration group. With over 20 years of experience, she provides a full range of immigration services and is a leading immigration practitioner  (Lexpert, Who’s Who Legal, Best Lawyers in Canada).  Go to www.canadian-visa-lawyer.com or email [email protected].