Immigration Through Business, the Lesser Known and Most Open Immigration Pathway

Many clients who wish to migrate to the US or Canada are often well versed in employment or education based options, such as Express Entry, study, or employer sponsorship programs. However, for those who are entrepreneurs at heart, there is a much wider category of “business immigration,” which can be available to anyone who possesses a basic level of capital and entrepreneurial spirit.

Both Canada and the United States look at business investment in a positive light. In fact, most developed countries look at foreign direct investment as healthy for economic growth. Therefore, business people have some flexibility when it comes to immigration.

For example, Canada, as a signatory to the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) allows business people with a visa to enter Canada and lawfully transact business. Foreign companies can also register with provincial authorities to do business on Canadian soil. Those business people who have to stay longer than 6 months can also apply for temporary work permits. In the long run, the work permits and business ownership may open pathways to permanent residency and citizenship, through various transition programs (i.e. Canadian experience class, investment categories or pilot programs).

So what are the requirements for a “business person” in this category? Well under GATS there aren’t any specific requirements! As long as your business interest seems reasonable enough, almost anyone who wants to trade in Canada can potentially apply for a visa. Therefore, it is an open pathway for those who have the stomach for business risk and investment. There are other pathways which lead to permanent residency directly, such as the immigrant investor category. However, these require a heavier investment of around CAD $100,000-$600,000 in some cases. There are some other categories which require no investment as well. Instead the business person must obtain funding from an investment group. Generally speaking though, there are no particular restrictions on entering Canada to simply do business.

The United States has a similar approach to business people. In fact, doing business is probably one of the easier ways to take up US residency and permanent residency in the long run. There are a number of investment programs, for rural or developing areas in the US. There are also specialty treaty programs, whereby citizens of countries who maintain a “trade treaty” with the US can get a visa to work and live in the US, while operating their business. This is an extremely broad category, as over 150 countries maintain such treaties with the United States, including Pakistan, Australia, and most of Europe! The main requirement for this category is that the applicant is legitimately engaged in a business activity. The applicant can also sponsor his/her family members to come to the United States as well.

Therefore, the next time you consider migration, think about if you could qualify as a business person! You may come as a business person, and later transition to an employed position as well (this is not restricted, though we wouldn’t recommend mentioning this to a visa officer).

The business category of immigration really can be one of the broadest routes for migration, and it is often one category that is overlooked and underutilized by most applicants..