Canada Creating Faster Startup-Friendly Work Visas
Government proposes two-week visa turnaround time for “high-growth” and “global” companies.

The Canadian government is developing a new fast-track startup-friendly visa that could be processed in up to 14 days. The intention is to try to solve Canada’s recurring issues with attracting and keeping top-quality talent.

The visa, being developed under the Global Skills Strategy, will be aimed at “low-risk” individuals who have specialized, in-demand skills, or can train Canadian workers in them.

Two kinds of companies—high-growth, and global—will be able to apply for a certain number of visas to recruit overseas. On the government’s side, a dedicated team will process the paperwork.

According to BetaKit, the previous Startup Visa program only accepted 100 people between April 2013 and February 2016. Waiting times for foreign nationals to be granted work visas remain up to six months.

No proposed date for the new, faster, visa system has been set.