Cash-for-Visa Allegations Complicate Canada’s Race for Global Talent

A woman from Vietnam said she wanted to come to Canada to develop and sell wearable sensors for weightlifters. Her chosen path: apply for a special visa reserved for startup founders.

But upon reviewing her application, an immigration officer found the sensor was actually being developed by a professor at a Canadian university with support from a local startup incubator. The official was unable to determine the Vietnamese founder’s contribution to getting the startup off the ground.