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What you must know about the owner-operator work permit?

Since June 2014, the Federal government has discontinued a few programs. These programs are nothing but the Entrepreneurs (EN) program and the Immigrant Investors (IIP).

While this was a major setback, you would not be able to invest the capital. Moreover, when you dream about staying in Canada, you wouldn’t be able to apply for permanent residence.

So, let’s go through everything with regards to the owner-operator work permit. If you wish to run a business in the country, then you could be the owner. Once you establish the business, you can later be eligible to apply to Federal or Provincial streams.

As you are keen in managing the business, you could pace ahead with a start-up in Canada. You could also take over an existing business with the ownership as 50 per cent.

However, if you are from a country other than Canada, then you need to go through the LMIA process. This would surely help you hire a temporary foreign worker for the company. Besides, an approval would help you to submit an application for the work permit successfully.

While you recruit people, you should be involved in advertising for the openings. You should also be able to submit a report which states the number of applicants.

In case you have rejected profiles, then you should be able to state the reasons to the officials.

Owner operator Work Permit1
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How to prove your ownership for a company?

  • To qualify for getting the work permit, you should be the sole shareholder. In that case, you need to present a share certificate to the officials.
  • As you express your interest to enter Canada, you should be capable of retaining jobs. You should come up with opportunities for permanent residents or Canadian citizens.
  • Way ahead, you need to hold the highest position in the company you’re working for. You shouldn’t be reporting to a superior who is already working with the company for many years.
  • You should be able to present the share sale-purchase agreement as well as the article of corporation.
  • Once you plan to apply for the work permit, you should be ready with the proof of funds. This would imply that you have sufficient funds to pay for the control of shares.

Other LMIA requirements you need to consider

  • Once you have a mission to develop a business, you need to have a business plan in mind. This would represent your ability to fund a particular business and strive ahead. As you come up with the details related to the plan, you should be able to convince the officer of Employment and Social Development Canada. You should be clear about what you plan to do in the country.
  • While you plan to be active in running the business, you should show that you are making a passive investment. In fact, you should be interested in developing the business you wish to deal in.

You should be a person to manage everything that’s related to the project.

  • When you present the business plan, you should state your intent to hire professionals. These professionals should either be staying Canada permanently or are the citizens of Canada.

Ideally, you should be interested in hiring people during the first year of the business.

How much money do you need to invest?

Guidelines have not been set for investment capital. However, the market price would help the seller to determine the amount.

In case you go for the Owner-Operator program, then you should be able to invest a minimum of CAD 500,000. But, you can apply for the work permit only when you have established the business. At this point in time, you should also meet the licensing requirements.

What lies ahead after the LMIA has been approved?

Once you receive an approval, you can approach the IRCC for the owner-operator work permit. Such a kind of permit would only be valid for 1 or 2 years.

You, as an applicant, should be involved with the day to day operations. You should also meet other requirements and be willing to hire Canadian citizens or permanent residents.

Once you get a work permit, you can apply for permanent residence.  Initially, you need to create a profile in the Express Entry system. You may have to earn a CRS score based on many factors.

In case you have a valid job offer, then there are greater chances of earning additional points.

When the draw is held in a province, your profile would be accepted based on the CRS score. The officials would check whether the score is higher than the cut-off score.

Under the Arranged employment offer factor, you would qualify to get 50 points. This would increase the odds of the profile being accepted in the pool.

With the LMIA/ Owner-operator Work Permit, you can apply to the different streams. The officials would accept the profile for streams under the Federal Skilled Worker Program.

Generally, the Owner / Operator come under the groups, NOC 0, A and B. So, when you to immigrate to Canada with your family, the members can study or work in Canada.

At this instance, a person would be allowed to study only when the IRCC approves his or her profile.

If you are not sure whether the IRCC would accept the profile, then please get in touch with TIC.

To help us probe into your case, you need to fill up a questionnaire.

Initially, you need to enter your full name along with the contact details. Later, you need to type personal details and your age.

To give a brief idea about the value of assets you own, you need to provide some more details. Please also confirm if you have managed a business during the past five years. Ownership Percentage, Net Worth of Company and Annual Net Profit after Tax are some of the other details you need to state here

Finally, you need to provide TIC with the nature of the business in detail. In case you have any doubts in your mind, please do not hesitate to contact us.