Owner operated LMIA group

[sahilarora2003]

Congratulations, Did you get it through owner LMIA or any other scheme?

$ 200,000, you mean net worth or investment into Canadian business.

Thank you.

You don’t need to generate LMIA. It falls under LMIA exempt category.

Secondly the amount mentioned above needs to be in liquid form along with other fixed assets. The total should be more than half a million You are willing to invest into the startup.

 

[Ghurala]

I have been advised that there is no need to buy a business but rather submit a business plan apply for work permit, after approval register a fresh entity with 100% ownership. This would in-turn bump up the crs score by 200 points as i would be the managing director in the company.

Also, required liquid funds would be in tune of $120K-150K

Thoughts please?

You need to own atleast 50% or more of the controlling share of he business, this is one of the vital requirement.
I applied three LMIA last month. I think I am very sure about this. lol

 

[Ghurala]

Prior work experience preferably in the same industry is must for service Canada to approve your designation as owner operated.

Yes, this is one of the important requirement

 

[Mikeba]

I was able to get this visa approved third time. Funds requirement is minimum $2,00,000 and for 200 points you need to establish your new business successfully, file the tax returns, staff your office, complete one year minimum etc. It’s not easy if you don’t have enough money or doesn’t want to invest in.

Thanksf the information, can you please explain;

why did you have to apply the 3rd time? Was it not approved in the first attempt or was this your 3rd renewal?

Could you not apply for Express Entry immediately after your business had been setup and the work permit issued? I have been advised that as soon as the business is up and running and I have a work permit an express entry application can be made with 200 additional points and if things go well then even before the business is one year old the PR through express entry can be obtained, hence a full year of operation and other requirements can be discounted as I will already have the PR. Just in case if the Express entry is delayed for some reason only then will the other requirements will have to be fulfilled as per business plan. i.e the business will employ someone else in the 9th month as until then the business development and setup /marketing etc. will be ongoing.

Please share your experiences and thoughts.

Many thanks

 

[Mikeba]

@sahilarora2003 coul you please comment on my query above, thanks.

 

[Davidleo]

As an independent owner operator, you should focus on leveraging productivity and maximizing profitability on a daily basis. This owner operator guide article will help you implement key strategies to improve your compensation and ROI of your investment as a professional independent owner operator.

 

[sahilarora2003]

Thanksf the information, can you please explain;

why did you have to apply the 3rd time? Was it not approved in the first attempt or was this your 3rd renewal?

Could you not apply for Express Entry immediately after your business had been setup and the work permit issued? I have been advised that as soon as the business is up and running and I have a work permit an express entry application can be made with 200 additional points and if things go well then even before the business is one year old the PR through express entry can be obtained, hence a full year of operation and other requirements can be discounted as I will already have the PR. Just in case if the Express entry is delayed for some reason only then will the other requirements will have to be fulfilled as per business plan. i.e the business will employ someone else in the 9th month as until then the business development and setup /marketing etc. will be ongoing.

Please share your experiences and thoughts.

Many thanks

Replied in messages.

Hope it helps.

 

[Harvinder73]

@sahilarora2003 Could you post your reply to @Mikeba 's questions here again.
Thanks.

 

[Harvinder73]

Hi @VIJAYMAGHNANI
Did your work permit under LMIA come through? What is the status?

 

[anawhite1120]

I have been advised that there is no need to buy a business but rather submit a business plan apply for work permit, after approval register a fresh entity with 100% ownership. This would in-turn bump up the crs score by 200 points as i would be the managing director in the company.

Also, required liquid funds would be in tune of $120K-150K

Thoughts please?

can you please explain it further

 

[theguv]

LMIA Owner Operator: To get this you need to EITHER - buy out the majority share (50.1% or more) in an existing business in Canada OR set one up from scratch/expand/transplant your existing business into Canada. There is no capital investment requirement and no specific amount of cash you have to show you have access to but if you're going to buy a business it's quite likely that you have a pool of cash you can tap into.

If you're a sole proprietor/freelancer then you may not need any substantial capital investments up front for your business (for instance, I am a freelance sound engineer. I need my ears and the things I know about sound to run my business and that's it). Therefore, your business plan is going to have to be a work of art to get an LMIA.

You submit a detailed business plan, your LMIA Application paperwork and the LMIA application fee (currently $1000) and then an officer from ESDC assesses your application. They will likely invite you in for an interview to discuss your business proposal and you really had better know your business and business plan inside and out, upside down and back to front.

You will have to demonstrate that you will be providing value (financially, culturally and in terms of the wider Jobs Market) to Canada and Canadian life. There is a stipulation that you need to hire at least 1 Canadian or Permanent Resident. You are exempt from the advertising requirements of most LMIA applications as you are seeking to hire yourself to do a job that only you can do.

If you are granted the LMIA you then apply for a Temporary Work Permit as per any foreign worker as you are effectively hiring yourself as your first employee.

That's all there is to it. That doesn't mean that it's an easy way in. The benchmarks for "Canadian Benefit" are pretty high and rigorously enforced.

A lot of people on this thread seem to be confusing LMIA-OO with other Entrepreneur streams. This is NOT a direct route to PR; this is a route to a work permit which will give you Canadian Work Experience that you can transfer to EE under the Canadian Experience Class.

There is another similar route that is likely even more difficult to get: LMIA Exempt TWP. In order to get this one you have to demonstrate that your working in Canada is of great value to Canada, more so even than under the LMIA-OO route. Refer to International Mobility Program Section 205 Exemption Code C11 for more details.

Just a quick note: I am not a legal consultant, I am not legally authorised to offer legal advice so don't ask, also, I will not be handing out my phone number so we can WhatsApp offline with anyone so again, don't ask.

 

[anawhite1120]

LMIA Owner Operator: To get this you need to EITHER - buy out the majority share (50.1% or more) in an existing business in Canada OR set one up from scratch/expand/transplant your existing business into Canada. There is no capital investment requirement and no specific amount of cash you have to show you have access to but if you're going to buy a business it's quite likely that you have a pool of cash you can tap into.

If you're a sole proprietor/freelancer then you may not need any substantial capital investments up front for your business (for instance, I am a freelance sound engineer. I need my ears and the things I know about sound to run my business and that's it). Therefore, your business plan is going to have to be a work of art to get an LMIA.

You submit a detailed business plan, your LMIA Application paperwork and the LMIA application fee (currently $1000) and then an officer from ESDC assesses your application. They will likely invite you in for an interview to discuss your business proposal and you really had better know your business and business plan inside and out, upside down and back to front.

You will have to demonstrate that you will be providing value (financially, culturally and in terms of the wider Jobs Market) to Canada and Canadian life. There is a stipulation that you need to hire at least 1 Canadian or Permanent Resident. You are exempt from the advertising requirements of most LMIA applications as you are seeking to hire yourself to do a job that only you can do.

If you are granted the LMIA you then apply for a Temporary Work Permit as per any foreign worker as you are effectively hiring yourself as your first employee.

That's all there is to it. That doesn't mean that it's an easy way in. The benchmarks for "Canadian Benefit" are pretty high and rigorously enforced.

A lot of people on this thread seem to be confusing LMIA-OO with other Entrepreneur streams. This is NOT a direct route to PR; this is a route to a work permit which will give you Canadian Work Experience that you can transfer to EE under the Canadian Experience Class.

There is another similar route that is likely even more difficult to get: LMIA Exempt TWP. In order to get this one you have to demonstrate that your working in Canada is of great value to Canada, more so even than under the LMIA-OO route. Refer to International Mobility Program Section 205 Exemption Code C11 for more details.

Just a quick note: I am not a legal consultant, I am not legally authorised to offer legal advice so don't ask, also, I will not be handing out my phone number so we can WhatsApp offline with anyone so again, don't ask.

Awesome details, you have nailed it almost ,however, I do have few questions, I understand you are not a consultant or a lawyer, but for the sake of information sharing, please answer the following questions

1) I am a freelancer here in my own country and do freelance software and web development for off shore client in USA, Australia, UK and Canada mostly. I want to setup a company there in Canada, and I can hire few people later on from marketing field to market my business, this COVID situation has already boosted up the eCommerce business and I can create jobs in Canada in eCommerce field. Does that sound good to you?

2) I heard that you have to have at least some amount to show equivalent to the 12 months salary for an executive so that you can pay yourself a salary, please elaborate.

 

[theguv]

1) that sounds ideal: you'll be creating jobs for Canadians and PR's so that's a major plus in your favour.
2) in all the research that I've done into it there's never been any mention of needing to have x amount of cash beforehand. It would be good if you're were going to invest money to have a surplus for sure but there's no minimum requirement for this route to a Work Permit as far as I can ascertain.

My understanding would be that you could set yourself up as a sole proprietor or a Limited Company and then if you get the LMIA, hire yourself and then later take on some locals. As a web guy (my side hustle) I know that you only need a laptop and an internet connection so unless you're looking to set up offices somewhere your upfront investment costs are practically 0 like mine. That might be a strike against the application: they could be greedy and only want to grant to people who are going to throw cash around.

I've got my self employed visa application in play at the moment so I was investigating this as a possible way to get boots on the ground and start building my client base but not sure how it would play out having the visa app in progress and applying for a work permit...

Hope that helps.

 

[anawhite1120]

1) that sounds ideal: you'll be creating jobs for Canadians and PR's so that's a major plus in your favour.
2) in all the research that I've done into it there's never been any mention of needing to have x amount of cash beforehand. It would be good if you're were going to invest money to have a surplus for sure but there's no minimum requirement for this route to a Work Permit as far as I can ascertain.

My understanding would be that you could set yourself up as a sole proprietor or a Limited Company and then if you get the LMIA, hire yourself and then later take on some locals. As a web guy (my side hustle) I know that you only need a laptop and an internet connection so unless you're looking to set up offices somewhere your upfront investment costs are practically 0 like mine. That might be a strike against the application: they could be greedy and only want to grant to people who are going to throw cash around.

I've got my self employed visa application in play at the moment so I was investigating this as a possible way to get boots on the ground and start building my client base but not sure how it would play out having the visa app in progress and applying for a work permit...

Hope that helps.

In my business plan I would like to mention that am not going to create jobs on immediate effect, however, the plan is to work alone for a year and then hire few people to market my business once I create a Canadian portfolio.

Are you in Canada right now?

 

[theguv]

Nope, stuck in the UK I put my visa application in back in September, still waiting but it's one of the longest processes out of all the routes to PR.

It's worth thoroughly investigating whether there's a time frame you need to hire them in or not. it might be a year after starting if I remember correctly...