Canada Startup Visa Program
What is the Canada Startup Visa Program?
The Startup visa Canada program (also called SUV) is Canada’s flagship immigration pathway for entrepreneurs seeking permanent residency. Unlike most business immigration routes, the Canada startup visa allows you to apply for PR immediately – you don’t need to operate your business for years first.
The Start-up Visa Program is intended for foreign nationals who wish to establish an innovative business in Canada that creates jobs for Canada. Foreign nationals may establish the business alone or with a group of partners. The group can have no more than 5 foreign national partners.
The objective of the SUV program is to enhance Canada’s competitiveness in global marketplaces.
How the Canada Startup Visa Program Works
Thinking about applying for a startup visa Canada offers to innovative entrepreneurs? You’re looking at one of the most direct paths to Canadian permanent residency for business founders.
Unlike traditional business immigration programs that require years of operation before you can apply for PR, the startup visa lets you apply for permanent residency from day one, before you even launch your business. That’s the real advantage here.
The program connects foreign entrepreneurs with government-approved investor groups, venture capital funds, and business incubators across Canada. Once you secure their support (and their investment), you’re eligible to submit your permanent residency application immediately.
But here’s what catches most applicants off guard: getting that letter of support from a designated organization is the hard part. These organizations review hundreds of business proposals and only accept a small fraction. Your business idea needs to be genuinely innovative, scalable, and capable of creating jobs for Canadians. Generic business concepts don’t cut it.
If you’re seriously considering the Canada startup visa route, understanding which designated organizations align with your industry and how to present your business plan effectively makes the difference between acceptance and rejection.
Startup Visa Program Requirements
Persons who are interested in immigrating to Canada as entrepreneurs through the Start-up Visa Program begin by receiving the support from an organization designated by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to support their start-up business in Canada. Designated organizations include:
- Business incubators and accelerators;
- Angel Investor Groups; and
- Venture Capital Funds (VCs).
The list of designated organizations changes from time to time.
These organizations are approved to invest in or support the development of an entrepreneur or a group of entrepreneurs wishing to start-up a business in Canada.
You must then meet several immigration requirements in order to qualify for the SUV program.
How do I obtain the support of a designated organization?
Designated organizations are able to exercise their discretion in determining which start-up businesses they wish to support. The specific criteria vary organization to organization. However, support must include the following:
- If the organization is a business incubator or accelerator, the foreign entrepreneur must usually complete a program or course run by the organization. Timelines, requirements and even costs vary;
- If the organization is an Angel Investor Group, the group must commit to investing at least $75,000 CAD in the start-up business; or
- If the organization is a Venture Capital Fund (VC), the VC must commit to investing at least $200,000 CAD in the start-up business.
The investment of the Angel Investor Group or VC must be for the purposes of owning shares or otherwise acquiring equity in your business.
Mandelbaum Immigration Lawyers can introduce you to designated organizations or refer you to partner businesses that can help you with developing your business plans and presentation materials to obtain the support of one of the designated organizations.
How do I qualify for the Startup Visa Program?
In order to qualify for the start-up visa program, you must:
- Have a qualifying start-up business;
- Obtain a letter from a designated organization confirming it supports your start-up business in Canada and,
- In the case of a business incubator, been accepted into its business incubator program, or
- In the case of an Angel Investor Group or VC, received the minimum investment amount;
- Pass an official English language test or French language test;
- Have a certain minimum amount of settlement funds available for you to support your move to Canada and not otherwise be inadmissible to Canada.
If your qualifying business has other foreign national partners, they must also meet all of the above criteria.
If even one of your foreign partners fail to meet any of the requirements of the SUV program, your application may also be refused.
The Canada startup visa requirements are designed to identify entrepreneurs with high-growth potential businesses.
Immigration officers assessing your Startup Visa application will verify you’ve met each requirement precisely.
Missing even one element, such as insufficient language test scores or inadequate settlement funds, results in refusal, regardless of how strong your business concept is.
What is a qualifying start-up business?
For your start-up business to qualify for the Start-up Visa Program, you must:
- Incorporate your business in Canada;
- Carry on business in Canada;
- Own at least 10% of the voting shares of your business;
- Have no more than 4 other foreign national partners owning shares in your business (for a total of no more than 5 foreign nationals owning shares in the business);
- If you have foreign national partners, each of your foreign national partners must own at least 10% of the voting shares of your business; and
- You, your foreign national partners if you have any and your designated organization must together control more than 50% of the voting rights attached to your shares in the business.
Where do I apply for the Canada Startup Visa Program?
Applications for the Start-up Visa Program must be made to the Government of Canada. They must be completed by paper and mailed or couriered to a Centralized Intake Office of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada located inside of Canada.
How long does it take for a Startup Visa Program application to be approved?
Processing time for Start-up Visa Program applications vary depending on the demand for the program and the number of immigration officers assigned by the immigration department to assess the applications.
However, these applications typically take about 1 year to process, plus or minus 6 months. Up to date estimated processing times are provided on-line by the Government of Canada.
These estimated processing times represent how long it has taken the Government of Canada 80% of Canada Startup Visa Program applications submitted to date. It is important to note that estimated processing times do not necessarily tell you how long it will take for your Start-up Visa Program application to be processed. Your application can take shorter or longer than the posted estimated processing time.
Currently, the Government of Canada does not offer the option for applicants to purchase priority, urgent or express processing.
Can I obtain a Work Permit before I come to Canada?
Persons who have applied for the Startup Visa Program may also be eligible to apply for a Work Permit while they wait for their application for permanent residency to be approved.
In order to qualify, you must demonstrate that:
- You have received a Commitment Certificate and the support from a designated organization;
- Your letter of support from the designated organization describes you as essential to the business;
- Your letter of support also explains the urgent business reasons for your requested entry;
- Your admission to Canada is to work for your start-up business in Canada;
- You a certain minimum amount of settlement funds available for you to support your move to Canada; and
- You are not otherwise inadmissible to Canada.
When can I apply to the Startup Visa Program?
Persons who wish to apply for the Start-Up Visa Program can generally apply any time of year.
There are currently no program quotas or program caps for the SUV program.
You should only apply for the Startup Visa Program after you have collected all of the required documentation.
How much does it cost to apply for the Startup Visa Program?
The cost of an application for the Startup Visa Program is presently $1,575 CAD per applicant. When the immigration department is ready to approve your application, an additional fee of $500 CAD will be due.
Fees for accompanying family members vary.
There may also be government application fees for certain incidental Startup Visa Program application services, such as biometrics, temporary work permits or employer compliance.
Further, some applicants may be expected to pay fees for required documentation or examinations, such as the costs of starting your business in Canada (i.e., investing start-up capital), immigration medical examinations, police criminal records reports, or other records or reports.
I was refused a Startup Visa Program application for Canada. Can I appeal the decision or apply again?
It is recommended that you consult with an immigration lawyer if you have been refused or denied a Canada Startup Visa Program application to Canada.
Appealing a refusal:
An application for the Startup Visa Program can be appealed or contested in at least two ways: by submitting a request for reconsideration to the visa office, or by initiating an Application for Leave and for Judicial Review (JR) in the Federal Court of Canada (FCC).
Re-applying for the Startup Visa Program:
Persons who have been refused a Startup Visa Program application can also typically apply again with new or additional documentation or information at any time. There is typically no waiting period required by law.
However, there are some exceptions. Persons who have been found to have misrepresented are barred from applying for a visa for 5 years. Persons who have been found to have committed certain violations of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) may be required to apply for and obtain Authorization to Return to Canada (ARC) before they may be permitted to apply for a visa to Canada.
Persons who have been found criminally inadmissible to Canada may have to apply for and obtain Criminal Rehabilitation before they may be permitted to apply for a visa to Canada. Further, persons who have engaged in unauthorized work or study in Canada may be ineligible from applying for a Startup Visa Program Work Permit until a period of 6 months has passed since they have ceased their unauthorized work or study in Canada.
Reconsideration request:
A request for reconsideration must usually be made directly to the Centralized Intake Office or visa post which refused the application or to Case Management Branch and must be made shortly after you receive the refusal decision.
Delays in submitting a request for reconsideration may result in the request being ignored or the documentation upon which the decision was based being archived or destroyed.
Furthermore, requests for reconsideration made after a long passage of time may result in the presumption of a change in circumstances and the information or documentation which was submitted may no longer be considered reliable or indicative of a person’s eligibility for the Start-up Visa Program.
Application for Leave and for Judicial Review:
If the refusal decision was made outside of Canada, an Application for JR must usually be made within 60 days of receipt of the decision.
If the refusal decision was made inside of Canada, an Application for JR must usually be made within 15 days of receipt of the decision.
Startup Visa in Canada vs Other Immigration Programs
A lot of entrepreneurs ask me whether the startup visa actually makes sense for them, or if they should look at other immigration programs instead. Honest answer? It depends on your situation.
If you’re comparing it to provincial entrepreneur programs:
The big difference is timing. With the startup visa, you can apply for permanent residency right away. You don’t need to operate your business for a year or two first. Provincial programs make you wait. You come in on a work permit, run your business for 12 to 24 months, prove it’s doing what you said it would do, and only then can you apply for PR.
But provincial programs are often more straightforward. You invest a certain amount (usually somewhere between $100,000 and $500,000 depending on the province), you create some jobs, you meet the requirements, you get nominated. There’s less ambiguity than trying to convince a venture capital fund that your startup is worth backing.
The other thing is net worth requirements. Most provincial entrepreneur programs want you to have $300,000 to $600,000 in assets. The startup visa doesn’t care about your personal wealth at all. So if you’re a younger entrepreneur who hasn’t accumulated that kind of money yet, the startup visa might be your only realistic option.
What about self-employed immigration?
Totally different program. Self-employed immigration is really only for people in very specific fields: artists, athletes, and farm managers basically. If you’re a graphic designer who freelances, you don’t qualify. If you’re a musician or a professional soccer player, you might.
The advantage is you don’t need outside investors or incubators to validate your work. You just need to prove you’ve been self-employed in your field and you can keep doing that in Canada. The disadvantage is processing times are usually brutal. We’re talking years, not months.
If you’re a tech entrepreneur or you’re building any kind of scalable business, self-employed immigration probably isn’t even an option for you.
What if I already have a company in another country?
Then you might be looking at an intra-company transfer instead. That’s when your foreign company sends you to manage or open a Canadian branch. It’s actually a pretty common path for business owners.
The catch is it’s temporary. You get a work permit for up to five or seven years depending on your role, but there’s no direct path to permanent residency built into the program. You’d need to qualify for PR through Express Entry or some other route while you’re here.
The startup visa, on the other hand, is specifically designed to get you permanent residency. So if that’s your end goal and you don’t already have an established business abroad, the startup visa makes more sense.
So when does the startup visa actually make sense?
It’s best for entrepreneurs who have innovative business ideas that need outside validation anyway. If you were planning to raise money from Canadian investors or join a business accelerator regardless of immigration, then adding the application on top of that is pretty logical.
It’s also good for people who want permanent residency quickly and don’t want to spend years proving their business is successful before they can apply. The fact that you can submit your PR application on day one is genuinely valuable for a lot of people.
But if your business is more traditional, if you already have the capital to invest, or if you don’t really need investor backing, then a provincial entrepreneur program might actually be simpler. Less prestigious maybe, but simpler.
There’s no universal right answer here. It really comes down to what kind of business you’re building, how much capital you have, and what timeline you’re working with.
Can you conduct a Startup Visa Program assessment for me?
The Startup Visa Canada pathway offers something unique in the world of business immigration: immediate permanent residency eligibility without requiring you to prove your business is already successful. That’s a major advantage over provincial nominee entrepreneur programs where you typically need 1-2 years of operation before qualifying for PR.
However, the Canada startup visa program isn’t easier- it’s just different. The challenge shifts from proving business success to convincing sophisticated investors and incubators that your idea has genuine potential.
Most applications that fail do so at the designated organization stage, not the immigration stage. Organizations like MaRS Discovery District, Communitech, or DMZ carefully vet every business proposal because their reputation depends on backing winners.
If you’re preparing an application, your business plan needs to demonstrate market research, competitive analysis, realistic financial projections, and a clear path to hiring Canadians.
Don’t underestimate how competitive this process is. We’ve worked with Startup Visa clients in tech, biotech, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing who successfully secured letters of support from designated organizations.
The difference between applications that succeed and those that get rejected often comes down to presentation and understanding what each organization prioritizes.
If you’re ready to pursue the Canada startup visa program, book a consultation with our immigration lawyers to assess your business concept, identify suitable designated organizations, and develop a proposal strategy that positions you for approval.
Your business idea might be excellent, but if you can’t communicate its value clearly to Canadian investors, your application won’t move forward.
Frequently Asked Questions About Startup Visa
How long does it actually take to get approved?
The government says 12 to 18 months once you submit your application. But that’s only part of the story. Before you can even apply, you need to get a designated organization to support you. That process? Anywhere from 3 months to a year, depending on which organization you’re dealing with and how ready your business plan is.
Some incubators have application windows that only open twice a year. Miss the deadline and you’re waiting another six months just to pitch. Angel investor groups move faster sometimes, but they’re also more selective. I’ve had clients get their letter of support in 8 weeks. I’ve had others wait 10 months. There’s no standard timeline here.
Can I work in Canada while waiting for my permanent residency?
Yes, but you need to apply for a work permit separately. You can’t just show up and start working because you submitted a startup visa application.
To get the work permit, you need your commitment certificate from the designated organization, and their letter has to specifically say you’re essential to the business. Most organizations will write that letter if you ask, but not all of them. Some incubator programs don’t consider their participants “essential” until they’ve completed certain milestones.
The work permit lets you come to Canada and actually build your business while your PR application is being processed. Most people do this. It makes way more sense than sitting in another country trying to run a Canadian startup remotely.
What if my business fails after I get permanent residency?
Your PR status doesn’t get revoked just because your business didn’t work out. Once you’re a permanent resident, you’re a permanent resident. The program requirements focus on getting designated organization support and meeting the immigration criteria. They don’t require your business to succeed long-term.
That said, Immigration does check that your business is legitimate when you apply. If they think you’re faking a business just to get PR, that’s a different story. But genuine business failures? Those happen. The government knows that. They’re not going to penalize you for taking a real shot at building something that didn’t pan out.
How much money do I actually need for this program?
The government application fees are $1,575 plus another $500 when they’re ready to approve you. That’s the official number.
The real number? Way higher. If you’re going through an angel investor group, they need to invest at least $75,000 in your business. Venture capital funds need to put in $200,000 minimum. That’s their money, not yours, but they’re taking an equity stake in return.
Business incubators usually don’t require that kind of investment, but many charge program fees. I’ve seen incubator programs that cost $5,000 to $25,000 to participate in. Then you’ve got legal fees for the immigration application, accounting fees for setting up your Canadian corporation, business plan development if you hire someone to help with that.
Realistically, budget $20,000 to $40,000 total if you’re going the incubator route. More if you’re raising money from investors, because then you’re probably hiring lawyers for the investment agreements too.
Plus you need settlement funds to show you can support yourself when you arrive. That amount varies depending on your family size. For a single person, it’s around $13,000. For a family of four, closer to $25,000.
Do I have to invest my own money in the business?
Not necessarily. If a venture capital fund or angel investor group provides the required investment ($200,000 or $75,000), you don’t technically need to put in your own money.
But here’s reality: most investors want to see that you have skin in the game. If you’re asking them to risk $200,000 on your idea while you’re risking nothing, that’s a tough sell. Most successful applicants end up investing something, even if it’s not required by the immigration rules.
Incubator programs are different. They usually don’t involve investment at all, just acceptance into their program. So if you go that route, you might genuinely not need to invest your own capital beyond what it costs to incorporate and get your business started.
What happens if I get rejected?
Yes. Your spouse or common-law partner and your dependent children can all be included in your application. They get permanent residency too if your application is approved.
Your spouse can also get an open work permit while you’re waiting for the PR decision, assuming you got a work permit for yourself. That means they can work for any employer in Canada, which helps with finances while you’re getting your business off the ground.
Dependent children under 22 can come with you. If they’re under 18, they can go to public school. If they’re older and want to go to university in Canada, they’ll pay domestic tuition rates instead of international rates, which is a massive saving.
Can my family come with me?
Rejected by a designated organization, or rejected by immigration? Those are two different things.
If a designated organization turns you down, you can apply to other ones. There’s no limit. Some people get rejected by three or four organizations before finding one that says yes. It’s frustrating, but it happens. Each organization has its own criteria and preferences.
If immigration rejects your actual PR application, that’s more serious. You can request reconsideration or file for judicial review in Federal Court, but you need to do it quickly. Judicial review applications have strict deadlines, usually 60 days if you applied from outside Canada, 15 days if you applied from inside Canada.
You can also just reapply with better documentation, assuming you still have support from a designated organization and nothing major changed with your eligibility. But if you got rejected once, figure out why before you try again. Submitting the same application twice and expecting a different result doesn’t work.
Is the startup visa program better than provincial entrepreneur programs?
Depends what you’re optimizing for. The startup visa lets you apply for permanent residency immediately. Provincial entrepreneur programs usually make you operate your business for 12 to 24 months before you’re eligible for PR.
But provincial programs often have lower barriers to entry. You don’t need to convince a sophisticated investor that your business is innovative. You just need to meet their investment requirements and create jobs. For some people, that’s actually easier.
Provincial programs also often require you to have a certain net worth, usually $300,000 to $600,000. The startup visa has no net worth requirement. So if you’re a young entrepreneur without a lot of personal wealth, startup visa might be your only realistic option.
There’s no universal “better” answer. It depends on your situation, your business type, and what you’re willing to deal with.