Canada Immigrant Investor Venture Capital Class – Making a Final Decision

Colin R. Singer
November 16, 2016

This section contains details on policy, procedures and guidance that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) staff typically use. The authorities have posted this on the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) website as a courtesy to stakeholders.

The Process for Determining Admissibility

The processing office is responsible for determining whether an applicant is a member of the class or not. Once it has ascertained that the applicant is a member of the class, the principal applicant and the principal applicant’s family members would need to clear the prescribed medical, security and criminal checks. This is applicable regardless of whether the family members are accompanying the principal applicant or not.

Officers might need to obtain detailed information about determining admissibility. For this, they would need to refer to ENF 2 / OP 18 – Evaluating Inadmissibility.

The Process for Approving the Application

Situations could arise where certain approved applicants live outside of Canada. In this scenario, the officers would need to send the Confirmation of Permanent Residence (CoPR) and the permanent resident visa (if applicable) to the applicant’s address outside of Canada.

The authorities require visa officers to avoid issuing a permanent resident visa counterfoil to applicants who have passports issued by:

The United States of America or,
A country specified in R190 (1) (a) or (b), 190 (2) (b) to 190 (2) (f) or R190 (2.1) (refer to the section titled ‘The Visa Exemption Guidelines’ that follows subsequently in this document)

However, the officers could request the applicant to provide the applicant’s original passport in these situations for further review.

In some cases, an officer might approve an application from a temporary resident in Canada, who is a member of a class referred to in R70 (2) (a) or R70 (2) (b) – refer to the section titled ‘The Guidelines for Issuing Permanent Resident Visas to Foreign Nationals’ that follows subsequently in this document. In this scenario, the officers would need to:

Send the Confirmation of Permanent Residence (CoPR) and permanent resident visa counterfoil (if applicable) to the applicant’s address in Canada and,
Inform the applicant that, in order to become a permanent resident, the applicants would need to either:
- Present the Confirmation of Permanent Residence (CoPR) and permanent resident visa counterfoil (if applicable) to an officer at a Canadian port of entry or,
- Contact the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) Call Centre for requesting for an appointment at a local Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) office, with the applicant’s family members if applicable
  - This is in accordance with the provisions specified in R71.1 (2) – refer to the section titled ‘The Guidelines for Foreign Nationals in and Outside Canada’ that follows subsequently in this document.

Thereafter, the processing offices would need to send an e-mail to the Operational Management and Coordination (OMC) mailbox. This is necessary for advising that the officers have approved an Immigrant Investor Venture Capital (IIVC) application.

The Process for Refusing the Application

The officers would need to provide all refused applicants in the class with a formal refusal letter. The refusal letter would need to:

Inform the applicant of the immigration class in which the authorities considered the applicant’s application
Explain in detail to the applicant why the authorities have refused the application in that class and,
Inform the applicants who have paid the Right of Permanent Residence Fee (RPRF) that they:
- Are entitled to receive a refund of this fee and,
- Could expect to receive this refund within an approximate timeframe

Thereafter, the processing offices would need to send an e-mail to the Operational Management and Coordination (OMC) mailbox. This is necessary for advising that the officers have refused an Immigrant Investor Venture Capital (IIVC) application.

The Process for Returning and Refunding the Waitlist Applications

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) will issue permanent resident visas to all eligible applicants who have obtained the approval of the authorities. Thereafter, the officers of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) would need to return all the applications on the waitlist to the applicants. In addition, they would need to provide a full refund to these applicants.