Canada Places Restriction on Permanent Residence Applications For Startups, Self-Employed Persons
- The Canadian authorities have placed a limit on the number of visa applications for self-employed persons
- The scheme also restricted visa processing to 10 applicants per organisation to hasten processing
- The Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said the new scheme began April 30, 2024
Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.
Canada’s Startup Visa Programme (SUV) has implemented a cap on the annual processing of permanent residence applications, restricting it to a maximum of 10 startups per organisation.
According to Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the change began on April 30, 2024.
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The scheme aims to clear the backlog of applications
The purpose of the new scheme is to reduce backlogs and hasten processing, but it also introduces harsh restrictions that could stall the aspirations of prospective applicants.
Since the scheme began in 2013, it has assisted almost 900 entrepreneurs in becoming permanent residents and starting over 300 new businesses.
The programme now limits the number of applications processed annually under this category to 10 startups per organisation.
Revised regulations grant priority processing to startups backed by Canadian capital or affiliated with a member of Canada’s Tech Network to promote indigenous entrepreneurship.
According to reports, experts caution that the changes could reduce opportunities, with projections suggesting fewer than 1,000 applications via the SUV in 2024, showing a substantial decline in programme capacity.
Canada halts visa processing for self-employed persons
The IRCC also announced that beginning April 30, 2024, new applications will not be accepted for the Self-Employed Persons Programme.
This initiative caters to persons with special cultural skills who can contribute to the country’s cultural scene.
The temporary halt addresses a significant backlog, characterised by processing durations exceeding four years.
The adjustments show Canada’s changing approach to admitting immigrant entrepreneurs.
Canada moves to punish employers hiring immigrants
Recently, the country moved to sanction employers handing out temporary jobs to immigrants with temporary work visas.
The country’s minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages, Randy Boissonnault, announced discontinuing some time-limited measures under the Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW) Programme Workforce Solutions Road Map.
Beginning May 1, 2024, the Labour Impact Assessment (LMIA) validity period will be reduced to six months, reducing the timeframe for foreigners to apply for work permits.
Also, the country has cut the cap for low-wage temporary foreign workers in some sectors from 30% to 20%.
UK begins detention of Nigerians, other asylum seekers
Legit.ng earlier reported that the United Kingdom has commenced the detaining of illegal migrants in preparation for deportation to Rwanda in line with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s new immigration policy.
Reports say the UK parliament in April approved a law allowing the sending of asylum seekers without permission in the UK to Rwanda.
Sunak is expected to call an election later this year, with illegal migration expected to be the focal point. The Prime Minister wants the first asylum seekers to be sent to Rwanda by July 2024.
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