Canada investor residency for Dh6.3m

A new investor’s programme has been announced by the Canadian government and will open for applications next month.

The programme has been named the ‘Immigrant Investor Venture Capital Pilot Program’, and is geared towards wealthy investors who wish to settle down in the Northern American country.

In February this year, Canada had announced to eliminate the Federal Immigrant Investment Programme (FIIP) and the Entrepreneur Programme, both of which had been closed for applications for a long time due to an increasing backlog.

By doing away with the current IIP and EN programs, the government said it would pave the way for new pilot programmes that would actually meet Canada’s labour market and economic needs, as the existing programmes had generated criticism over the years.

The new programme has been developed and the Canadian government will start accepting applications in late January, it revealed.

Although 500 applications will be accepted, only 50 successful candidates will be selected next year.

The successful candidate should adhere to the following requirements;

 -          Make a non-guaranteed CAD2 million (Dh6.3 million) investment for 15 years into the Immigrant Investor Venture Capital fund. These funds will be invested in innovative Canadian-based start-ups with high growth potential

-          Demonstrate a legally obtained net worth of at least CAD10 million (Dh31.7 million)   derived from lawful, profit-making business activities, which will be verified by a designated due diligence service provider. Only applicants selected for processing will be required to obtain a due diligence report from a designated service provider;

-          Prove language proficiency in either English or French

-          Submit education credentials, which could be a Canadian post-secondary degree, diploma or certificate, or proof of a completed foreign education credential and an equivalency assessment from a designated organisation.

The 500 applicants will be selected randomly within a limited, yet to be determined timeframe. The 500 cap is expected to be filled within weeks of not days, and the timeframe will probably not allow for much preparation time. Interested applicants are therefore advised to prepare their files before the programme open its doors.

Details have also been announced on the Quebec Investor’s Programme, which is to open for applications in January. Watch this space for more information.

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