CA
Canada · Programme de visa pour démarrage d'entreprise · Startup · apply online · processing 3650+ days
Permanent residence for entrepreneurs whose qualifying business outside Quebec is backed by a designated Canadian venture capital fund, angel investor group, or business incubator. Intake is paused. IRCC stopped taking commitment certificates after 31 December 2025, required holders of a valid 2025 commitment certificate to apply by 30 June 2026, and is still processing applications accepted before that date.
Paused, not closed. IRCC's program page, dated as still current on 9 October 2026, says the Start-Up Visa was paused on 30 June 2026 and that applications accepted before then continue. A replacement entrepreneur pilot was promised for 2026 and had not been published on the IRCC notice of 19 December 2025. The applicant does not pay a set investment. A designated venture capital fund must invest at least CAD 200,000, or a designated angel group at least CAD 75,000. A designated incubator accepts the entrepreneur into a program and does not have to invest. Each applicant needs at least 10% of the voting rights, and the applicants plus the designated organization together need more than 50%. The business must be incorporated and actively managed in Canada, outside Quebec. From 1 April 2024, IRCC considers only 10 complete group applications per designated organization each year. Language for the program is Canadian Language Benchmark 5 in all four abilities, from a test under two years old. Citizenship language is separate: CLB 4 or NCLC 4 in speaking and listening for applicants aged 18 to 54. Citizenship also needs 1,095 days of physical presence in the five years before applying, including at least 730 days as a permanent resident. Settlement funds for one person are CAD 15,263, updated by IRCC on 29 July 2025 (CAD 19,001 for two, then up to CAD 40,392 for seven, plus CAD 4,112 for each extra person). The money cannot be borrowed. Federal business-class fees from 30 April 2026, per the IRCC fee list and the Canada Gazette notice: processing CAD 1,895 plus the right of permanent residence fee CAD 600, so CAD 2,495 for the principal applicant. An accompanying spouse or partner is CAD 1,590 including that right-of-residence fee (CAD 990 without it). Each dependent child is CAD 270 and does not pay the right-of-residence fee. Biometrics are CAD 85 for one person, or CAD 170 for a family applying together. USD figures use the Bank of Canada daily rate of 8 October 2026, 1 USD = 1.4240 CAD (1 CAD = 0.702247 USD): CAD 2,495 ≈ USD 1,752; CAD 1,590 ≈ USD 1,117; CAD 15,263 ≈ USD 10,718. Child and biometrics fees have no USD figure here. IRCC's processing-time file of 3 September 2026 says "More than 10 years" for the Start-up visa, with about 47,500 people waiting, a floor of at least 3,650 days. There is no published ceiling. The 19 December 2025 notice stopped new optional Start-up Visa work permits, except extensions for people in Canada who already hold one. The program hub still says extensions are closed to new applicants. The eligibility page still says an eligible person can apply for an open work permit while the permanent residence application is processed. Permanent residence itself includes the right to work. No minimum age is stated on the eligibility page; the minimum age shown is 18 because the principal applicant cannot be a dependent child.
Last verified Oct 9, 2026 Last changed Oct 10, 2026 Source
processing floor set to more than 10 years (3,650 days) from the IRCC service-standard file of 3 September 2026; endorsement type corrected to any designated organization (canada.ca).
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