
Ask HN: Has anyone had success with Canada's startup visa? - arash_milani
I wanted to know if anyone here has success with &quot;Canada Start-up visa&quot; program:
http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.cic.gc.ca&#x2F;english&#x2F;immigrate&#x2F;business&#x2F;start-up&#x2F;index.asp<p>And if so can you share your experience here? they time it took or any info that you think it is useful for others interested in this program?<p>Thanks
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a3camero
Very, very few people have been awarded visas under this program. This article
from two months ago says that in the 21 months the program had been running
only five people were accepted: [http://www.techvibes.com/blog/canadas-
startup-visa-program-2...](http://www.techvibes.com/blog/canadas-startup-visa-
program-2015-01-08).

Here's another article from the summer in which the government trumpeted their
acceptance of a total of two people in the first sixteen months of the
program: [http://metronews.ca/news/canada/1098581/immigration-
minister...](http://metronews.ca/news/canada/1098581/immigration-minister-
promotes-entrepreneur-visa/).

~~~
gordjw
If they're promoting such small numbers, I wonder if it's lack of interest
rather than process issues.

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nojvek
The visa just got started recently but last I heard they are still working out
the details.

I applied for CEC (Canada Experience Class), paid >$4k for lawyer fees but
application got rejected saying quota is fulfilled even though the website
notes that its less than half filled.

Trying now on express entry but I doubt I'll get anywhere. I feel its a broken
system which caters to very expensive lawyers as they know the hacks.

~~~
raquo
Canadian immigration rules are changing multiple times a year nowadays, and
they're doing so without much regard for anyone currently in the process.
While the rules themselves are on par with Australia / NZ (= much easier than
US), the transition is not well thought out. CIC's CEC quota screwup of late
2014 is just one of many examples. Students, PNP nominees, TFWs have all been
screwed in different ways in 2014. While CIC touts shorter processing times
for select categories, they're often using MagicMath. For many categories of
applicants processing times doubled to quadrupled last year.

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hackerboos
I don't see why the startup capital should be limited to Canadian investors.

I thought about it, but noticed that I had enough points to qualify for the
Federal Skilled Worker program, so went for that prior to the revamp.

The stability offered by Canadian PR visas are much better than almost any
other visa I have read about.

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bstar77
Can anyone say if there's a benefit to moving my startup to BC? I'm currently
registered in Delaware, but I plan to move to BC within a year (my wife is
Canadian and sponsoring me).

The tax situation looks better, but I'm wondering if someone with actual
experience running a business in both countries could give me some insight.

~~~
throwaway88640
I'm a dual-citizen who has done software startups in both countries.

The advantages of Canada are:

\- free health care, especially important for self-employed

\- retirement plan easier to contribute for self-employed

\- easier tax preparation (no AMT, no IRS 20 rules, etc.) resulting in lower
overall taxes for self-employed with deductions

\- cheaper to hire educated people

\- no federal deficit, so no looming financial crisis

\- virtually no police shootings, SWATing, executions

\- French/English divide is not an issue outside of Quebec

\- good to excellent public schools, few discipline problems

\- no global income reporting.

\- no Selective Service for you or your kids

\- Toronto is an interesting combination of finance/software/mfg, great place
for robotics, makers, etc.

\- Canadian Tire money can really add up!

\- if you're middle class, it's good to be the king!

Advantages of USA are:

\- much easier/possible to get venture investment

\- Silicon Valley

\- often the dollar is higher, though I'm not sure why

\- if you like guns or are far rightwing, welcome home

\- good place to practise trauma medicine/prosthetics

\- if you're the 1%, it's good to be the king.

Same in both countries:

\- 401k and RRSP are very similar

\- same ACH network

\- same timezones.

\- same urban housing prices

\- same culture, but the USA has guns and Canada has politeness.

~~~
hnnewguy
_no federal deficit, so no looming financial crisis_

Huh? Canada's debt-to-GDP is as bad as the US.

~~~
latch
It isn't uncommon for Canada to quote a debt-to-GDP ratio based solely on
federal debt. It isn't how most countries calculate their debt. Depending on
exactly what you do include, Canada's debt-to-GDP is anywhere from 80% to a
little over 100%.

Also, Canada has much higher household debt. It's well past 150% now.

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AlexBlom
Feel free to shoot me an email (on profile) and I can share details / connect
you with some involved.

I'm an Australian who has been in Canada since 2009. The current iteration of
the startup visa has some odd restrictions on Canadian capital imo.

You are generally better doing WHP to FSW

Disclaimer: ianal

~~~
robertely
> Disclaimer: ianal

May be one of those times not to use an acronym...

~~~
pimlottc
Despite its unfortunate acronym, "IANAL" is an extremely common and well-
understood term going back many years.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IANAL](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IANAL)

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xbeta
My question is why not go to SV if you are going to leave your home country
for startup anyway.

~~~
dataker
Generally, he would have to either:

1)Invest 1M+ of his own money

2)Be a superstar with hundreds of publications and experience

3)Come as a tourist and pray everything works fine in 3 months

4)Fall in love and get married(...in the Valley?)

~~~
Finbarr
5) work for a company until you get a green card.

~~~
rahulvarshneya
Which could take anywhere from 7-10 years! Easier said than done!

~~~
largote
It doesn't take that long unless you're from India or China.

[http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/law-and-
policy...](http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/law-and-
policy/bulletin/2015/visa-bulletin-for-march-2015.html)

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MichaelCrawford
If you'd like to immigrate to Canada for any reason whatsoever, I cannot
possibly recommend my own immigration attorney M. Lee Cohen highly enough:

[http://www.mleecohen.com/](http://www.mleecohen.com/)

His main focus is human rights work (political asylum and refugees) however he
finances that by charging completely reasonable fees for regular immigration
applicants such as myself.

Real nice guy and he knows his stuff.

~~~
sraquo
Thanks! I myself could use a recommendation for Vancouver area.

~~~
miraj
Kyle Hyndman at [http://www.mccrealaw.ca/](http://www.mccrealaw.ca/) \- they
do NOT recommend the 'Startup Visa' program to clients; but would be happy to
discuss other options.

and another Vancouver are firm: [http://sulemanco.com/](http://sulemanco.com/)

