The Immigration Investor Program is also a subset of Business
Immigration. It was setup to give a boost to economic development
in Canada by attracting immigrants with substantial net worth.
The required investment is CAD $400,000 for five years. At the
expiration of this period, the original investment is returned
to the investor, without interest. You might ask, how come there
is no interest on this substantial investment? The thinking is
that the investment is a requirement for immigration. Therefore,
the immigration visas for the investor and his immediate family
are in fact the return on investment. With prevalent interest
rates at banks currently near all time low levels, the loss to
the investor is not necessarily great.
Loan Option:
For those investors who would prefer to make other use of their money,
we offer a second option. The investor would invest approximately $125,000
while the balance of $275,000 is arranged through a bank loan. Of course,
interest would have to be paid on this loan amount for the full five years.
Based on current interest borrowing rates, the compounded interest cost
over 5 years for the loan amount of $275,000 comes out to be around
$125,000. in other words, the original investment of the $125,000 is
used to pay off the interest on the loan. Therefore, the investor gets
no money back after the 5 years but all immigration requirements are met.
Many applicants prefer this option as they get to use the $275,000 they
did not originally need to invest in their businesses or elsewhere,
especially those who feel that they can generate a better return on
this money than the $125,000 cost of this option rather than leaving
it with no rate of return for 5 years.
Requirements:
The investor has to have a minimum net worth of CAD $800,000, legally obtained.
Per the Immigration department, the investor also has to have had
"Business experience", which means:
-
the management of a qualifying business and the control of a percentage
of equity of the qualifying business for at least two years in the
period beginning five years before the date of application for a
permanent resident visa and ending on the day a determination is
made in respect of the application, or
-
the management of at least five full-time job equivalents per year
in a business for at least two years in the period beginning five
years before the date of application for a permanent resident visa
and ending on the day a determination is made in respect of
the application.
Transam's Edge:
Our expertise in accounting and taxation issues means that we ensure
that the minimum net worth and the previous business experience
information is presented in the required manner so that the
immigration regulatory requirements are properly met. We are also
able to advise our clients which of the two options (the full
investment or the loan option) would be most suitable in their
specific case. We also counsel our clients on all taxation issues
that have to be dealt with prior to and after arrival in Canada.
