Canada Investment visa 

Canada occupies most of the northern part of North America. The country is bounded by the North Atlantic Ocean on the east, the North Pacific Ocean on the west, and the Arctic Ocean on the north.    

It borders Alaska (USA) in the west, and twelve US states of the continental part of the United States in the south. Its border with its southern neighbour runs mainly along the 45th parallel (north). It is the world's longest international border between two countries (8,891 km (5,525 mi)).                       

Canada shares maritime borders with Greenland (an autonomous territory of Denmark) and Saint Pierre and Miquelon, a small island territory that belongs to France.

Economically and technologically, Canada has developed in parallel with the US. The country faces the political challenges of meeting public demands for quality improvements in health care, education, social services, and economic competitiveness and responding to the particular concerns of predominantly francophone Quebec. Canada also aims to develop its diverse energy resources while maintaining its commitment to the environment.  

Everything you need to know about Investment Visa

What is an Investment Visa?

Created by FindLaw's team of legal writers and editors | Last updated June 20, 2016

Under U.S. immigration law, 10,000 immigrant visas per year are available to qualified individuals seeking permanent resident status on the basis of their engagement in a new commercial enterprise. These individuals are often called "alien investors." Also referred to as an investment visa, this type of immigration authorization is intended to spur employment through the start-up of new businesses.

Of the 10,000 investor visas (i.e., EB-5 visas) available annually, 5,000 are set aside for those who apply under a pilot program involving a "Regional Center" designated by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

See FindLaw's Visas section for additional articles and resources pertaining to immigration authorization. 

What is a "Regional Center?"

According to the USCIS, a "Regional Center" is a private or public entity involved in economic growth and job creation. For example, it could be a mixed-use real estate project focused on dense housing, retail shops, and office units. The USCIS defines it as follows:  

• Is an entity, organization or agency that has been approved as such by USCIS;

• Focuses on a specific geographic area within the United States; and ,

• Seeks to promote economic growth through increased export sales, improved regional productivity, creation of new jobs, and increased domestic capital investment.

Investment Visa: Eligibility  

Foreign nationals who would like to apply for permanent residency as investors must meet the following eligibility qualifications:          

• Demonstrate that a "qualified investment" is being made in a new commercial enterprise located within an approved Regional Center; and,      

• Show, using reasonable methodologies, that 10 or more jobs are actually created either directly or indirectly by the new commercial enterprise through revenues generated from increased exports, improved regional productivity, job creation, or increased domestic capital investment resulting from the pilot program.

Canada Investment visa

Invest about $750,000 ($800,000 Canadian) with the government of the province of Quebec for five years, interest-free. In around 24 to 36 months, you obtain permanent residence that entitles you and your immediate family to enter Canada. The full amount is repaid to you from the government of Quebec at the end of the five years.

For French language speakers, this program is always open. For English speakers or anyone who does not speak French, the program is closed until September, 2014.

This is a passive investment in which your money is used by Quebec for economic development. The catch here is that you must agree to live in the province of Quebec, for example in Montreal or Quebec City. That said, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees mobility rights and therefore makes it possible for investors to subsequently move elsewhere in Canada. 

If the $750,000 sounds steep, you can obtain a loan from a financial intermediary. In this way, investors can divest themselves of the burden of investing the $750,000 for five years. The cost of the loan is just under $205,000 ($220,000 Canadian).

There is no age or education requirement for this program, but the investor and family members must be in reasonably good health. Apart from the French-speaking caveat above, there is effectively no language qualification requirement.     

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