Nava Elmi Enterpreneurs Articles | The Significant Benefit Work Permit

THE SIGNIFICANT BENEFIT WORK PERMIT

One of the best ways to immigrate to Canada as an Entrepreneur.

ADVANTAGES

Amongst the numerous Canadian business immigration programs for entrepreneurs, the Significant Benefit Work Permit remains very attractive as:

What brings significant benefits can be widely interpreted.
This is a federal program so there is no need to obtain the approval of a province hence saving lots of time.
There is no minimum investment requirement. The among of investment depends on the type and needs of the business.
You can open the business anywhere in Canada.
You can rent instead of buying.

WHO CAN QUALIFY?

You should consider this program if:

You want to own and manage a business in Canada.
You have the financial capacity to operate such business.
Have a unique service or product or process.
That can bring significant economic, social and/or cultural benefits to Canada.

WHAT CAN BE A SIGNIFICANT BENEFIT?

The law does not define precisely what significant benefit really is which leaves room for interpretation based on the facts of each case. Nonetheless, we can agree that some key benefits Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada will look at would be:

Job creation.
Knowledge transfer to Canadians.
Culturally inclined products.
Business geared towards exportation.
Business located in a more rural region which will boost that region’s economy and diversity.

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE IN THE INDUSTRY

Like any other business immigration program, any applicant to the Significant Benefit Work Permit program should be able to demonstrate prior experience and knowledge of the industry in which you want to do business in Canada. The more accomplished you are in the field, the stronger your immigration application will be.

Prior experience can be demonstrated in several ways, such as:

Portfolios.
Articles you wrote about you and your projects.
Employment contracts.
Business license and balance sheets if you owned a similar business in the past.

For detailed breakdown of the program, please refer to the table below:

PROGRAM	SIGNIFICANT BENEFIT WORK PERMIT
GOAL	OPEN A BUSINESS THAT WILL BRING SIGNIFICANT ECONOMIC, SOCIAL OR CULTURAL BENEFITS
WHERE	ANYWHERE IN CANADA
WHAT YOU GET	2 YEARs WORK PERMIT
ACTIVE OR PASSIVE INVESTMENT	ACTIVE
CONDITIONS	Have a service or product that will bring significant economic, social, or cultural benefits to Canada. The more unique your service or product is, the stronger your application will be. What is unique is widely interpreted. Being a leader in that field will make a stronger case. Create jobs for Canadians in year 1.
MINIMUM INVESTMENT	No minimum investment amount but we do not advise anything less than $150,000.
MINIMUM NET WORTH REQUIRED (can be husband + wife)	No minimum amount but we advise at least $300,000 to make a stronger case. You need to show that you have the financial capacity to pay the operating costs. Preferably corporate account, but some countries operate on personal accounts only.
MINIMUM OWNERSHIP	50%
RENT OR BUY	You can rent or buy.
FRANCHISE	YES.
PROCESS	You gather the documents. We find the location/business. We incorporate the business. We do the business plan tailored to immigration requirements. We put you in touch with our network to start finding clients, distributors, suppliers. We send a complete application package to the government. Come to Canada. Operate the business for at least 1 year. Then we apply for permanent residence. After becoming a permanent resident of Canada, you can obtain Canadian citizenship (passport) after 3 years of residency in Canada. These 3 years do not need to be continuous.
DOCUMENTS some may not apply to your case and some can be replaced/added	Passport. National ID. Military card/exemption. Marriage certificate. Education degrees. Resume. Awards, memberships, articles, any other publication showing your leadership in that field. List of all your travels. Proof of business ownership/activity back home (business licence, taxes, employment contracts, etc.) Canadian clients/suppliers/distributors or potential clients: contracts, invoices, negotiations... Bank statement showing available balance.
TIME (approximate)	4-6 months.
LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS	NOT NEEDED.
MEDICAL COVERAGE IN CANADA (after obtaining a visa)	Yes.
OPINION	If you have a business concept that can bring significant economic, social, or cultural benefits to Canada, and have previous success in this field, this is definitively a program to consider.

We help entrepreneurs set up their business and immigration strategy and execute on it.

We believe immigration is more than just a visa. We accompany our entrepreneurs during their entire immigration journey: from business set up to the first work permit, then permanent residency and finally, citizenship.

Find the business to buy or rent.
Find the location.
Incorporate the business.
Write a business plan tailored to immigration requirements.
We put you in touch with our network to start finding clients, distributors, suppliers.
Find schools for your children.
Your spouse and children under 22 years old can be included in your application.