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Are you an American national who wants to set up or buy a business inside Canada? Would you want to stay in the country temporarily or permanently with your family? It’s all possible, and the good news is that, as an American, you have many alternatives, you just need to know how to utilize all the available programs to achieve your ultimate goal. Canadians are not complicated people, but we do sometimes have complicated procedures and regulations.
Americans have many options to come to Canada, whether just to set up a business, buy a business, or combine any of these programs with immigration for temporary or permanent settlement.
One key point to clarify to everyone, no matter what your nationality is, you do not technically need any immigration status to buy a business, invest or register a company inside Canada. To actually work on your business and actively operate/manage it will require authorization to work, which is called a work permit as per the Canadian immigration regulations, but just owning or investing in any assets or operations in Canada or even registering one does not require this authorization.
If you’re interested in immigrating with your family through business, you’re at the right place. Get a FREE email assessment with us, and we will support you throughout the process. Fill out our form, click here.
Let’s get this out of the way first, to register a company inside Canada, there are 4 provinces that do not need a Canadian officer/director: Ontario, BC, Alberta, and Nova Scotia. So, this means that anyone from anywhere in the world can technically register a business remotely in Canada in any of these provinces without having any Canadian directors or officers, or ever having to step foot into the country. It barely costs $1000 US to register a provincial corporation in Canada, unless you work with a lawyer where fees can range anywhere from USD $2000 to $3000 which can also include shareholder agreements.
Opening a bank account is a bit trickier, but there are banks in Canada that allow American citizens to open a personal account remotely, however, operating the account is not possible until the person arrives in Canada (even with a visitor visa). Opening a corporate/business bank account remotely will require a Canadian signing officer. An interesting fact to know is that any nationality with a visitor visa inside Canada can open a bank account here, either personal or corporate, without a Canadian signing officer.
The above two points have nothing to do with immigration matters so far and are just to clarify to our overseas audience about registering a company or opening a bank account inside Canada. These can be utilized and combined with various investment and immigration programs to convert you to a temporary or permanent status in Canada as we outline below.
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American investors or businesspersons have the following options in terms of temporary or even permanent immigration to Canada.
1: CUSMA (ex-Nafta) Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement: This allows both business persons and investors, which we call treaty investors, to enter Canada to create significant benefits for the country in terms of economic, social, or cultural activity. This can include buying a business, starting a business, or some kind of joint venture inside Canada. It can provide a 1-year renewal work permit as an investor category.
2: Within the CUSMA, you can also apply under the Intra-Company Transfer as an American citizen. What this category allows you to do is to set up a branch or subsidiary of your head office in Canada, while you have an overseas headquarters which could be in the US or anywhere else. This also offers a 1-year, renewable work permit for applicants. There are specific criteria to meet for the ICT program, such as having an established business with good financials and staff on payroll, but as an American citizen, you are not obliged to hire Canadians in Canada as there are reciprocal opportunities for Canadians in the US under these agreements. Hence the significant benefit factor is not as important when you utilize the Intra-Company Transfer category under the Canadian-US treaty such as CUSMA.
The above two programs are specific to American and Mexican citizens, these nationalities are all part of CUSMA.
Besides these programs, as American nationals, you still have access to all other business immigration programs in Canada, such as the Entrepreneur Provincial programs which are work permits to Permanent Residency, the C10 LMIA exempt work permit for entrepreneurs, and even the Startup Visa program or Federal Self-Employed stream which is for occupations in art, culture, and sports. Being an American allows you access to all the investor and business immigration programs in Canada, in addition to the CUSMA programs for work permits as well. Watch our videos about the various business immigration programs in Canada open to all nationalities, click here.
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So, you may ask, how do I convert to PR after I enter Canada as an investor or business owner with a work permit under one of these programs? Technically, depending on the destination province, you may have opportunities to convert to Permanent Residency in Canada either through the Federal Express Entry program or even the Provincial Nominee Programs. To give you some ideas on how you could convert to Permanent Residency in Express Entry, have a look at these options:
1: Work one year on the payroll for your own company inside Canada and claim bonus points by issuing yourself a job offer. You can claim 50 or even 200 points. For 200 points you need to have a C-level position and have enough staff/department to justify it, otherwise, you will only be able to claim 50 points. Watch our video on YouTube explaining this program, click here.
2: Have your spouse/partner work on the payroll in your company inside Canada and gain Canadian work experience. If he/she is not a shareholder beyond 50% in the Canadian company, then their work experience inside Canada in your company would be eligible as ‘Canadian work experience’ and not as ‘self-employed’.
3: Here is an option for investors who have purchased an operational business inside Canada. The business can issue a Labour Market Impact Assessment for you (also called an LMIA with an investment portion, or owner/operator LMIA) and if the business is large enough you can claim the 200 bonus job offer points in Express Entry before you even step foot into the country. So this means, even somebody with 300 points in Express Entry could potentially be able to receive 500 points through such an arrangement. Keep in mind that a grocery store or convenience store may not be eligible for 200 points unless there are multiple locations within this business.
Keep in mind in all the options above, any applicant planning to convert to PR through Express Entry needs to meet the eligibility factors such as language score, education, and work experience to meet the minimum 67 out of 100 points to enter the Express Entry pool. Many applicants and immigration practitioners miss this point, so you must check all the boxes before you plan on Express Entry for your Canadian PR.
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Under the Provincial Nominee Program, there are two methods to convert to PR if you have purchased or started a business inside Canada as an American national. Keep in mind that these programs which we will be covering can be applied for by any nationality.
1: You purchase less than 10% equity in a business in either BC or Alberta and this Canadian company issues a job offer to you to enter the country as a management or executive to Canada. The job offer would be going through the Provincial Nominee Program, which is a PR and work permit-based program. If you opt for the non-Express Entry option, it is slower, but if you go with the Express Entry option, assuming you meet all the Express Entry eligibility criteria, you can be fast-tracked for PR receiving your permanent residency confirmation at the same time or 1-2 months after your work permit is issued. Watch our YouTube video about this program, click here.
2: If you have set up a branch or new company inside Canada, you can also convert and transition to one of the Entrepreneurial Provincial Nominee Programs such as in Ontario or Manitoba to give you an example. These programs are work permits to PR streams, which can take anywhere from 12-24 months to PR depending on which province and program you select.
3: Another interesting program is in Alberta where you can use an LMIA-exempt work permit such as an Intra-Company Transfer or C10, to start a business inside the province, and apply for the Alberta Opportunity Stream program to issue yourself a job offer to be nominated for permanent residency. Keep in mind that you cannot be a direct shareholder of the entity inside Canada to be eligible for this very special Alberta Nominee program, and you will have to meet very specific criteria that we will explore in a future video.
There seem to be many options to enter Canada as an American business investor or entrepreneur either for temporary purposes or to convert to permanent residency. For American nationals, the approval rates are very high, so you don’t need to worry much! You just need to meet the basic program eligibility and the investment amounts. Entering Canada will be a breeze as US passport holders do not need a visa or even an electronic travel authorization (eTA) unlike other nationalities. So you can enter Canada by road or air, set up your company and/or bank account, and get started. As an American, you have the most options and flexibility in terms of Canadian business immigration programs.
Our team in Canada speaks over 8 languages, and we are licensed to help applicants like yourself and your families. We have 1-million-dollar liability insurance which protects you and us from mistakes or fraud as well as a dedicated client trust account in Canada. We help applicants from over 49 different countries if you require assistance in terms of Business Immigration, Study or Sponsorship in Canada. Get a FREE email assessment, click here.
If you’re thinking about immigrating whether permanently or temporarily - you’re at the right place! We can guarantee only 1 main point; you will know what to expect, the entire process is clearly laid out for you, and all the risks identified including costs.
Our team speaks over +9 languages, and we help applicants from over 49 different countries during their immigration process. And this list is growing everyday! Get a FREE email assessment, click here.
