How to prove business activity for immigration to Canada

Almost all immigration programs require you to have work experience. But what if you were self-employed or an entrepreneur?

I'll name a few ways to prove your self-employment experience for immigration programs suitable for skilled workers. If you want to relocate under business immigration programs, the requirements will be different.

Self-employment in Canada

In Canada, being self-employed is beneficial because self-employed pay fewer taxes and can get tax incentives. Some companies don't hire people but make an independent contractor agreement with them, so they work as self-employed.

According to official statistics, small businesses are mostly active in Canada. 98% of companies have 1 to 99 employees and 55% are micro-businesses with up to 4 employees. So, if you are self-employed, there are great opportunities for you in Canada.

The problem is that if you don't live in Canada right now and want to move, there aren't many options for self-employed immigration. Why? It's just that most people get Canadian permanent residency through provincial programs, which mostly accept people in employment.

Of course, there’re exceptions. For example, it is possible to immigrate to Canada through the federal Self-employed Persons Program. The formal requirements are very low but the list of eligible occupations is limited.

There is also the Start-up Visa Program, a great option for people with their own business or a decent amount of money. By the way, if there are such candidates among you, contact us for immigration assistance, we have successful cases in this program. There are also several provincial programs that accept applications from self-employed people.

Proof of entrepreneurial activity

I can talk about the programs for a long time, let’s move on to the proof of entrepreneurial activity. The ways are suitable for those who have their own company, sole proprietorship, or just self-employment.

Canada's official website says that to prove your business activity in your home country, you are required to have incorporation documents or other proof of business ownership, proof of self-employment income and documents from third parties indicating services along with payment details.

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You can provide one type of document, but the more documents you collect as proof, the better, it will reduce the risk of visa refusal.

Documents

So, the first is the incorporation documents or other evidence of entrepreneurial activity. This can be, for example, a certificate of a company or sole proprietorship registration, a license if it is required for your work. If possible, you can also take photos of your workplace, so that the immigration officer has an idea of what you do.

The second is proof of income from entrepreneurial activity. There may be many options here, and again, the more evidence you have, the better. For example, contracts with clients or suppliers, certificates of completed work, certificates of pension contributions, certificates from the tax office, tax returns, bank statements.

During the immigration consultations, my wife Ivanna often finds out that many of our clients work illegally to avoid paying taxes. On the one hand, you save money, but on the other hand, you worsen your chances of moving to Canada. It is better to legalize your business and try to make a contract with each client. For example, if you work as a photographer, then for photo shoots; if you are a programmer — for software development; if you own an online store or provide shipping services, then also draw up more documents.

Then you can easily collect proofs of tax payments and so on. Get used to this in your home country, because it is unlikely that you will be able to work in Canada illegally. If you do not have an official income, you can forget about taking out loans for real estate, cars, etc.

Back to the documents. The next point is documents from third parties, that is, from your clients and product suppliers. You need letters of reference from them that list the services you have provided and include payment information. Try to simply take feedback from clients.

Note that the person who gave the recommendation must include their contact information, so that the immigration officer, if necessary, could contact them and verify the authenticity of the feedback. You cannot write letters of reference yourself, even if you describe there all the services and how much the client paid.

Of course, all documents have to be translated into English. Once again, the more documents you have, the better. In general, you should gather such a package of papers so that the immigration officer has a complete picture of what you do and there is no doubt that you are an entrepreneur and this is your main activity.