Item
Canada incorporation
Indicative "from" (USD)
from$750
+ government fees
What moves the price
- Federal vs provincial
- share structure
- resident vs non-resident
- minute book
Incorporate in Canada: for Residents, Newcomers and Non-Residents
Yes, you can incorporate in Canada without living there. Federal incorporation is open to non-residents, and several provinces have no director-residency requirement. Professional fees start from $750 plus government fees.
Here is what the DIY sites do not tell you: the filing is the cheapest step of the whole journey. The decisions around it are where money is made or lost.
Federal or provincial. Which share structure. Whether to incorporate before or after you land as a PR. And what your home country does with a Canadian company. This page covers the process, the price, and those decisions.
Who this is for, and who it is not
This fits you if:
You are a non-resident who wants a Canadian company: for the market, for credibility, or as part of an immigration plan
You are a newcomer or PR deciding between sole proprietorship and incorporation
You already run a business abroad and are adding a Canadian entity to the structure
Probably not, if:
You want a $200 DIY filing with no advice. Corporations Canada’s website will do that.
Your real question is immigration only. That is the RCIC’s work. I plan the business side alongside it.
What you get
- Recommendation
- A federal or provincial recommendation, with written reasoning
- Articles and shares
- Articles of incorporation and a share structure designed for your situation, not the default one-class template
- Corporate records
- Minute book, registers, and corporate records done properly
- CRA accounts
- CRA program accounts registered: corporate tax, GST/HST, payroll
- Non-residents
- For non-residents: structure options that work without a Canadian director where needed
- Immigration
- Business immigration planned alongside the company. Immigration advice is delivered by a licensed RCIC I work with.
How it works
Strategy conversation
residency now and planned, activity, ownership, cross-border pieces
Structure design
jurisdiction, share classes, holding company or not
Incorporation and registrations
filed, minute book built, CRA accounts opened
Handover or ongoing
books and compliance set up if you want them run. See /services/bookkeeping.
Cost to incorporate in Canada
Item
Business immigration with company setup, planned together
Indicative "from" (USD)
from$25,000
What moves the price
- Program and pathway
- family size
- business plan requirements
- government and RCIC fees
Immigration advice by a licensed RCIC I work with.
Federal or provincial? Decide before you file
Federal
Federal gives name protection across Canada and is often the default for non-residents.
Provincial
Provincial can be simpler and cheaper if you will operate in one province.
The right answer depends on where you will actually do business, not on which form came up first on Google.
Incorporate before or after you move?
If immigration is part of your plan, sequence matters. The company, your residency date and your home-country exit all interact.
Get the order wrong and you can create tax in two countries.
This is Structuring Review territory.
Haseeb’s guidance was practical and honest. He did not push one option. He explained the best structure based on our goals, market, and future expansion plans.
FAQ
Yes. Ownership is open. Director-residency rules vary by jurisdiction, and there are well-established ways to structure around them. The real work for non-residents is banking and tax registration.
Incorporation brings limited liability and tax-planning room, but adds filing costs. The answer depends on your income level, liability risk, and whether you will reinvest profits. A 30-minute call settles it.
Not by itself. Business-route immigration has its own criteria. That advice comes from the licensed RCIC I work with, planned together with the company.
The filing is easy. The structure is the decision.
Tell me where you live, what the business does, and whether Canada is a market or a destination. You get the structure and the real cost.