Start-up Visas, Intra-Company Transferees, Entrepreneurs & Investors
Canada provides dynamic pathways for international entrepreneurs, innovative startup founders, corporate executives, and business investors seeking to establish Canadian operations or secure permanent residence. Through federal initiatives and provincial business streams, Canada welcomes foreign business leaders whose ventures contribute to economic growth, foster innovation, and create employment for Canadians.
Key federal options include the Start-up Visa (SUV) Program, which links innovative immigrant entrepreneurs with designated Canadian venture capital funds, angel investor groups, or business incubators to launch cutting-edge enterprises with direct pathways to permanent residency. For established foreign businesses expanding into Canada, the Intra-Company Transferee (ICT) stream under LMIA exemption code C12 allows executives, senior managers, and specialized knowledge employees to obtain work permits to establish a qualifying parent, branch, or subsidiary operation.
Knesta Global Immigration Solution Inc. provides sophisticated guidance for corporate mobility and investor immigration. We evaluate commercial feasibility, coordinate business plan alignment, and navigate corporate immigration regulations to ensure compliant cross-border executive transfers and entrepreneur applications.
Start-up Visa (SUV) Representation
Intra-Company Transferee (C12)
Provincial Entrepreneur Streams
Strategic Corporate Immigration Counsel
Business immigration requires reconciling complex corporate law concepts with Canadian immigration statutes:
Frequently Asked Questions About Business Immigration
Insights into Canadian investment pathways, startup visas, and corporate transfers.
To qualify for the SUV program, you must have a qualifying business, secure a Letter of Support from a designated Canadian angel investor group (min. $75,000 investment), venture capital fund (min. $200,000 investment), or business incubator, meet CLB 5 language requirements, and possess sufficient settlement funds.
An ICT permit allows an international enterprise to transfer an executive, senior manager, or specialized knowledge employee to an existing or new Canadian qualifying affiliate (parent, subsidiary, or branch) under an LMIA-exempt work permit code (C12).
Acquiring a Canadian business can serve as the foundation for work authorization (e.g., through significant benefit pathways or provincial entrepreneur programs) and can lead to permanent residency if the applicant actively manages the business and meets provincial or federal economic criteria.
No. All business immigration applications are evaluated by IRCC or provincial authorities based on genuine commercial viability, job creation for Canadians, language proficiency, and regulatory compliance.