Times Union:
Canada’s business immigration program includes Immigrant Investor and Entrepreneur streams. The entrepreneur program was suspended in July, 2011 in advance of introduction of a revamped program.
The new Entrepreneur program, though not final yet, is being conceived for “folks with the brilliant ideas that are going to generate sustainable jobs for a long time to comeâ€, according to the Minister. He wants the program to attract “the next Bill Gates or the next Steve Jobs”. He added, “We want to create a policy which is more likely to attract entrepreneurs in areas like technology, energy and environmental innovations” as he believes that these areas have more potential.
Though program details like eligibility criteria, documentation and conditions, if any were not discussed, the Minister did indicate that these applicants may be approved for ‘expedited residency’, thus raising a hope that the processing timelines may be shorter. The government would also promote the program in a broad range of countries, as according to the ministry, the majority of immigrants under the former entrepreneur class came from just four places: China (and Hong Kong), Egypt, India and Korea.
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