Canada is a country situated in North America and is one of the world’s largest countries in the world with a total surface area of 9.98 million square kilometres. Canada consists of 10 provinces and 3 territories and the official languages are French and English. The capital is Ottawa and Canada has an estimated population of 35,159,000 inhabitants. Canada’s political system is a federal parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy.
Successful applicants (investor, spouse and each of the dependents) under the Canadian Immigrant Investor Programme receive an unconditional Canadian permanent resident visa. This visa is a proof of permanent resident status in Canada is valid from the date of issuance until the first anniversary date of the medical examination.
The permanent resident visa allows the permanent resident to travel freely to and from Canada. The permanent resident visa entitles the investor and his family to live, study and work anywhere in Canada. In order to maintain the permanent resident status, the permanent resident is required to be physically present in Canada for at least 2 years in every 5-year period.
Permanent residents can apply for Canadian citizenship (Canadian passport) if they were physically present in Canada for at least 3 years out of the 4 years immediately preceding the application for citizenship. Once the applicant obtained citizenship, a Canadian passport will be issued after one month processing time.
Under Canadian law, dual citizenship is allowed. In other words, Canada does not bother if you hold a passport of another country at the same time. However, one should carefully analyse the consequences on a case by case basis. Some countries revoke citizenship and passport once one of their citizens also became Canadian citizen.
Canada has two Immigrant Investor Programmes in place: the Federal and the Quebec Programme.
Applicants who want to qualify for the Federal Immigrant Investor Programme need to satisfy the following conditions:
Applicants who want to qualify for the Quebec Immigrant Investor Programme need to satisfy the following conditions:
Due to extraordinarily high demand, both the Federal an Quebec government decided to suspend their Immigrant Investor Programmes. Both governments are currently reviewing their Immigrant Investor Programs and no new applications are accepted. There’s one exception: if you are able to demonstrate your ability to speak, read and write French then you can still be accepted in the Quebec Immigrant Investor Program.
Chances are high that the Quebec Government will reopen its programme in April 2014. The Quebec Government will probably limit the number of applications to be accepted and will probably adjust the eligibility requirements (an increase of the investment amount and the minimum net worth requirement).
If you would like to get more information about Canadian residence and citizenship, do not hesitate to contact us. We are able to give a full overview of the application procedure and all the costs involved (no hidden costs).
Based on your personal situation and preferences we can determine the best Canadian solution for your family and yourself.