It is therefore logical that a relative should be chosen to fill a position of trust in the family business.
The assisted relative category has been designed with this is mind so that a Canadian Citizen or permanent resident with a business in Canada can sponsor relatives he/she intends to employ permanently.
For example, it sidesteps the usual requirement of satisfying a Canada Employment Centre (CEC) that the hiring of the relative will not adversely affect employment opportunities for Canadian citizens or permanent residents in Canada.
However, applicants will still be interviewed at a visa office abroad to determine their suitability for the post.
Approval of the job offer by a CEC enables the applicant to receive the maximum 10 points under the arranged employment category for independent applicants.
Under this programme the applicant need only receive 65 points-not 70- as he/she is being sponsored by a relative.
And applicants need not even be pursuing a job on the occupations list, which outlines jobs in demand in Canada , as they automatically receive their 10 points for occupational factor.
Furthermore, applicants need not have actual experience in the business but only the necessary work experience and aptitudes to indicate that they would be able to successfully fill the position.
A typical beneficiary might be a university graduate with some work experience who clearly has the capacity to, say, manage a grocery store even though he/she may never have worked in this field in his/her home country.
The usual requirement of English or French may note be needed, depending on the job. These are considerable concessions from those which must normally be met by applicants for migration under the independent category.
However, the family must be able to show that a permanent, bona fide job is being offered and that wages and working conditions are normal for the occupation and the area in which the family business is located.
The business must also have been in a viable operating position for a minimum of one year, unless it is expanding and the original division meets the one-year conditions.
There also must be an aspect to the job which clearly makes a relative a logical choice for the position.
The owner may want a relative to take over, become a partner or eventually inherit the business to ensure that it is continued by a family member who is committed to its success.
Similarly, there may be a situation where the employer is expanding the business and is considering opening a second outlet, to be managed by a relative.
In order to qualify as a family business, the family interest must be significant, though not necessarily controlling.
A partnership with a non-family member does not bar the business from being considered a family business, but non-family partners or shareholders must provide a written statement that they have no objection to a job being offered to a family member.
The owner's assisted relative or the relative's spouse can benefit from this category and the same applies to relatives of the owner's spouse.
Along with the formal job offer the family business must submit financial statements to a CEC, which will in turn advise the visa office abroad where the immigration applicant intends to apply that the job offer has been approved.
There are no restrictions regarding the type or size of business but job offer applications are usually submitted by small service orientated business - typically a restaurant, retail outlet, dry cleaner or import/export business.
The owner of the family business must submit financial statements along with his formal job offer.
The applicant may then be required to attend an interview at the visa office abroad and must meet the immigration selection criteria.
He/she and his/her dependents will be required to pass the medical and criminal security checks before visas are issued to the entire family.
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