Law Times

Law Times • march 7, 2011 An online resource 1.800.263.3269 Focus On IMMIGRATION LAW Program for investors relaunched But processing times can be barrier for business applicants BY DARYL-LYNN CARLSON For Law Times C anada has reopened its doors to immigrant investors after it suspended a program to accept them last summer. Although the government re- launched the program on Dec. 1 last year, the criteria for investors has increased signifi cantly. Under the re- vamped program, applicants must have a personal net worth of $1.6 mil- lion. Th at's double the requirement of $800,000 when the government sus- pended the program last June. As well, applicants will have to in- vest $800,000. Th at also doubles the previous investment requirement of $400,000. Federal Immigration Minister Ja- son Kenney announced the changes last November due to the fact that Canada had very low requirements relative to other countries with similar programs. Th ere was evidently a back- log of applications as a result. Th e program grants successful ap- plicants a permanent residence visa. But the process to apply and get acceptance under the program can be time-con- suming and complex. Guidy Mamann, senior partner at im- migration law fi rm Mamann Frankel San- daluk LLP in Toronto, says it can take up- wards of three to four years to process an application for an immigrant investor due to the paperwork people have to provide the government. "Th ey are required to provide a lot of documentation, includ- ing fi nancial records, bank statements, and audits, and often these all have to be translated," he says. "So the process can be very frustrating and very complex." But he notes that due to the unrest in the Middle East, there could be many pro- spective immigrant investors who quali- fy under the program. "Many wealthy people in those countries that are having problems have probably started to look at western countries that are amenable to investor immigrants," he says. "Th ese are not people who want to move away from immigrate to Canada. Some of the ap- plicants are very successful and have a net worth that can qualify under the investment program. As Mamann points out, the provinces process nom- inee applications much more quickly than the federal government. Quebec, for example, has been The immigrant investor program was initially very popular, says Gerry Weiner. their country but are people who need to leave their country for safety reasons and to protect their wealth." He notes he had many Venezuelans who contacted him about the immigrant investor program last year when the gov- ernment there launched a bid to take over private businesses that prompted many among the country's wealthy elite to fl ee. "I had calls and inquiries from many wealthy people there who wanted to come to Canada but when I told them how long it took to process their application, they chose to go elsewhere. Of course, the other countries that can process their ap- plications faster certainly benefi ted." Mamann says Canada admitted just 1,390 investor applicants in 2000. By 2010, that number had risen to 3,223. Still, he acknowledges that's not a huge number and that it's likely a number of applicants didn't follow through due to the time in- volved to process their application. Under Canada's business immigration program for investors, entrepreneurs, and the self-employed, there are 23,000 applications in the queue, he notes. Over the past several years, only about 7,000 investor immigrants have been successful and gone on to call Canada their home. In Mamann's view, the federal gov- ernment should revisit its application processing timeline to facilitate more immigrant investors in order to fuel the economy. Many of the candidates are older and retired from their respective businesses, which means they may need to use Canada's health-care system. As a result, their $800,000 would serve a use- ful purpose. "In Canada, immigrant in- vestors are basically low priority, and this is a signifi cant problem over which the government needs to pay attention and make sure they can process the applica- tions in a reasonable time," Mamann says. "An investor is your cream-of- the-crop immigrant as they can sustain themselves and they should clearly be given preferential treatment." Th ere are provincial immigration pro- grams through which applicants with skills and work experience can apply to Get more online lawtimesnews.com canadianlawyermag.com Fresh Canadian legal news and analysis every day Canadian Lawyer | Law Times | 4Students | InHouse | Legal Feeds www.lawtimesnews.com Visit Us Online 1-4-5X.indd 1 2/28/11 2:37:10 PM particularly proactive in promoting its investment program by undertak- ing concerted marketing eff orts over the past few years. In fact, Mamann notes that he and other immigration lawyers from across the country have assisted many clients under Quebec's investor immigration program be- cause that province is particularly ef- fi cient in processing applications. However, he adds that Quebec has introduced new rules prohibiting lawyers from other jurisdictions from practising there if they don't have a licence for that province. Th ey take eff ect April 1 and could aff ect the client base for immigration lawyers across Canada who have applicants under the investment program seek- ing to immigrate to Quebec. Gerry Weiner, a former minister of immigration under the Brian Mulroney government who helped create the immi- grant investor program in 1988 and now works as an adviser to Pace Law Firm as well as serving as the director of investor relations for Pace Global Advantage, says the federal program was very popular dur- ing his time in political offi ce. "We had so many applications from all over the world, and the program was very good because it didn't discriminate based on the country the applicant was from," he says. In fact, he notes the program was so successful that the current federal gov- ernment had to boost the requirements due to a backlog of applications. At the time he was in offi ce, investors had to make a $400,000 investment, and the net-worth requirement to immigrate under the program was just $800,000. Th e government hopes the new require- ments will ensure immigrant investors will make a positive contribution to the economy. PAGE 9

• Cover
• Crown Uproar
• Dollars and Cents
• Focus On Immigration Law