Why apply for a Start-up visa in Canada?

The Canada start-up visa, also famously known as the SUV program, is a dedicated immigration pathway for qualified and skilled entrepreneurs. The SUV program was enacted in April 2013, allowing foreign entrepreneurs to acquire Canadian permanent residence. The SUV program's approval rate is anywhere from 72-77%, with 500 immigrant entrepreneurs receiving PR in January 2024. Reports suggest that 1,460 foreigners became permanent residents in 2023 through the program. Around 17,000 new PR visas will be granted to qualifying SUV applicants by the end of 2026. Ontario and British Columbia are two of Canada's most favored places for SUV applicants. The Start-up visa program is one of the best options for entrepreneurs looking to settle in Canada and establish their start-up in the country. 

 

What is Canada SUV?

The Canada Start-up visa program is exclusively for foreign entrepreneurs skilled with the potential to create innovative and scalable businesses in Canada. The program is a direct permanent residence pathway that lets entrepreneurs with a Canadian Letter of Support, to apply for PR and settle in the country. The start-up visa is flexible and permits up to 5 people to invest or co-found a start-up business in Canada. The visa has no minimum age limitations or investment restrictions and allows the spouses and dependent children to accompany the applicant. The Canada SUV applications are processed within 38 months with a processing fee of CAD 2,385. If you have a scalable start-up business idea that can contribute to the economy by creating job opportunities in Canada, the Start-up visa is the right choice to fulfill your entrepreneurial dreams abroad.

 

Benefits of Canada Start-up visa

Some of the reasons why you should consider applying for the Canada Start-up visa program are as follows:

• Provides a pathway for permanent residence in Canada
• There are no restrictions on the business activities that will be carried out in Canada 
• There is no requirement for a net worth or verification
• Facilitates partnership of a minimum of 5 individuals for a start-up
• All nationalities can apply for the SUV program
• Access to a global network of businesses
• Boosts your career and the growth of your company in an international market

 

Canada Start-up visa eligibility requirements

You can apply for the Canada SUV program as an individual foreign entrepreneur or as a partner of a group of five.

To qualify for the program, you must fulfill the eligibility criteria listed below:

• Have an eligible business
• Letter of support from a registered DBO
• Proof of language proficiency
• Sufficient proof of funds
• Admissibility to Canada

 

Canada Start-up visa requirements

To qualify for the Canada start-up visa, one must submit the following documents:

Have an eligible business:

To fulfill this requirement, the following criteria must be met:

• The applicant must have at least 10% or more of the voting rights in the business
• The applicant and the DBO combined must have voting rights of over 50%

If the application is successful, you need to:

• Integrate your business in Canada
• Actively manage your business from within the country
• Ensure some of the integral business operations are taking place in Canada

Have a Letter of Support:

You must have a Letter of support from a designated business organization (DBO) in Canada. DBOs are legal business groups authorized to make investments or support start-ups in the country.

To get a Letter of support, you must:

• Get in touch with a DBO and research on ways to get their support
• Convince the DBO of the potential of your business

Note: The DBO will send a commitment certificate to the IRCC, which is an immigration document that is used for application evaluation.

Language requirements:

You must score a minimum of CLB 5 in all four test sections.

Proof of funds:

You must submit proof of sufficient funds to support yourself and any dependents accompanying you. The minimum money required depends on the size of the family.

Number of Family Members	Funds you need
	(in Canadian dollars)
1	$14,690
2	$18,288
3	$22,483
4	$27,297
5	$30,690
6	$34,917
7	$38,875
If more than 7 people, for each additional family member, add	$3,958

 

List of Designated Organizations

Given below is the list of designated organizations for three types of investment groups:

Business Incubators:

To qualify for the Business incubator, you must receive acceptance from any of the following programs:

Business Incubators
Alacrity Foundation	Launch Academy - Vancouver
Alberta Agriculture and Forestry
Agrivalue Processing Business Incubator	Millworks Centre for Entrepreneurship
Food Processing Development Centre	NEXT Canada
Alberta IoT Association	Niagara Business & Innovation Fund
Altitude Accelerator	North Forge Technology Exchange Priority processing
Bhive	Pacific Technology Ventures
Biomedical Commercialization Canada Inc. (operating as Manitoba Technology Accelerator)	Platform Calgary Priority processing
Brilliant Catalyst	Pycap
DMZ Ventures	Red Leaf Capital Corp
Empowered Startups Ltd.	Roseview Global Incubator
Extreme Innovations	Spark Commercialization and Innovation Centre
Foresight Cleantech Accelerator Centre	Spring Activator
Genesis Priority processing	The DMZ Priority processing
Global Startups Accelerator	Think8 Global Institute
Highline BETA Inc.	TiE Toronto
Innovate Calgary	Toronto Business Development Centre (TBDC)
Innovate Eastman	Treefrog
Innovation Cluster - Peterborough and the Kawarthas	TSRV Canada Inc. (operating as Techstars Canada)
Innovation Factory Priority processing	University of Toronto Entrepreneurship Hatchery
Interactive Niagara Media Cluster o/a Innovate Niagara Priority processing	VentureLAB Innovation Centre Priority processing
Intrinsic Innovations	VIATEC Priority processing
Invest Nova Scotia Priority processing	Waterloo Accelerator Centre Priority processing
ISM Arts & Culture Ltd	York Entrepreneurship Development Institute
Knowledge Park o/a Planet Hatch	YSpace (York University)

 

Venture Capital Funds:

You must be able to get an investment of CAD 200,000 from any one of the groups listed below:

Venture capital funds
7 Gate Ventures	Invest Nova Scotia
Alt Ventures	PRIVEQ Capital Funds
Amplitude Ventures Inc.	Real Ventures
Apex Innovative Investments Ventures	Red Leaf Capital Corp
Arete Pacific Tech Ventures (VCC) Corp	Relay Ventures
BCF Ventures	Tangentia Ventures
BDC Venture Capital	Top Renergy Inc.
Extreme Venture Partners LLP	Vanedge Capital Limited Partnership
Golden Venture Partners Fund, LP	Version One Ventures
INP Capital	WhiteHaven Venture
iNovia Capital Inc.	Westcap Management Ltd.
Intrinsic Venture Capital	Yaletown Venture Partners Inc.
Lumira Ventures	York Entrepreneurship Development Institute (YEDI) VC Fund

 

Angel Investor Groups:

You must be able to get one or more investors who have connections with any of the groups listed below to invest CAD 75,000:

Angel investor funds

Canadian International Angel Investors

Ekagrata Inc.

Golden Triangle Angel Network

Keiretsu Forum Canada

VANTEC Angel Network Inc.

York Angel Investors Inc.

 

Minimum Investment required to qualify for a start-up visa

The table below has the minimum investments required for immigrant entrepreneurs to qualify for a Canada start-up visa.

Type of Investment group	Minimum investment required
Designated venture capital fund	$200,000
Designated angel investor group	$75,000
Designated business incubator	Enroll the entrepreneur into one of the incubator programs

 

Canada Start-up Visa vs. Other Business Immigration programs

The table below has differences between Canada start-up visa, self-employed category and, PNP:

Criteria	Start-Up Visa	Self-Employed Category	PNPs
Applicants	Business owners with experience or skilled entrepreneurs	Professionals who are self-employed with distinct skills in fields related to arts and culture, or sports.	Individuals looking to establish their own a business, work or invest in any of the Canadian provinces
Type of Business	• The business must be innovative, viable, can create job opportunities for Canadians, with the potential to compete on a global level. • Must have an investment or be backed by Canadian designated organizations.	Businesses that are self-employed and can significantly contribute to the Canadian sports and culture.	The business can be an existing business or a new one that aligns with the economic development and priorities of the local provincial economy.
Partnership Limitations	A maximum of 5 partners can be the owners of a business	NA	The requirements differ based on the province, but each business partner must fulfill the provincial eligibility requirements investment
Capital Required	Designated Organization’s admin fees: $10,000-$50,000	Applicants should have a minimum of $50,000	The requirement may vary depending on the province
	Business operational costs: $200,000
Language Skills	CLB 5	No requirement, but CLB 5 is preferred	CLB 4
Processing Time: Work Permit	Depends on the country, with an average of 2-6 months	Depends on the country, with an average of 2-6 months	Depends on the program, with an average of 2-4 months
Processing Time: Permanent Residence	2.5 to 3+ years	2.5 to 3+ years	18 months -3 years
Approval Rate	72-77%	NA	NA

 

Canada Start-up visa application process

The Canada Start-up visa process takes place in three phases:

Phase 1: Ensure the business idea is viable and that you are capable as an entrepreneur

Phase 2: Submission of the Immigration application

Phase 3: Building your start-up business in Canada while the PR is being processed

You can apply for the Canada Start-up visa upon meeting the SUV eligibility criteria, including documentation, language proficiency, and proof of funds.

You can follow the steps given below to apply for Canada SUV:

Step 1: Develop a business concept

Build a strong and workable business concept and create a business proposal. Make sure that your business idea is scalable and capable of competing with other businesses. 

Step 2: Choose a Designated organization

You must select a designated organization that aligns with your start-up business idea. Over 84 designated organizations include venture capital funds, investor groups, and Business incubators. Each has its criteria and requirements, so picking the organization that best fits your start-up business is advised.

Step 3: Acquire a Letter of Support

You must apply for the SUV program and pitch your business to the designated organizations.  If the organization is convinced of your start-up plan, you will receive a letter of support.

Step 4: Arrange the list of documents

As the next step, you are required to gather the SUV documents, some of which include:

• Letter of Support
• Language proficiency score
• Proof of funds
• Blueprint of the Business plan
• business logo
• Documents related to the property
• Capitalization table
• Proof that your business is legal 

Step 5: Submit your application

Complete the SUV application form and submit it along with the documents. You are also eligible to submit your PR application along with the SUV application. You are advised to review the form before submission to avoid any delays in processing.

Step 6: Set up your business in Canada

You can now focus on setting up and growing your business by following the business plan and commitments made to the DBO.

Step 7: Keep the IRCC updated about your Business proceedings

You must update the IRCC at least once in every six months about the status of your start-up business while the PR application is being processed. This will showcase your dedication to the business and prevent any delays or rejections of your application.

Step 8: Wait for a decision

IRCC will notify you after thoroughly examining your application. If the application is successful and approved by the officials, you will receive Canada PR.

 

Start-up visa optional work permit

The Start-up visa optional work permit is for individuals who have applied for permanent residence in Canada through the Start-up visa program. The optional work permit authorizes the individual to work and conduct business activities in Canada while the work visa application is processed. This optional work permit is only for the SUV program and comes with a validity of 12 months with permission to work as an entrepreneur towards the development of your business. 

Who can apply?

You are eligible to apply for the Start-up visa optional work permit if you:

• Have already sent a PR application for the SUV program
• Have the intention to reside and settle in a Canadian territory or province (Excluding Quebec)
• Prove that your business will contribute towards the growth of the Canadian economy
• Have sufficient financial funds to settle in the country

 

Steps to apply for the Start-up visa optional work permit

As you are both the employer and employee of your start-up business, you must apply for a work permit. The start-up visa optional work permit is a 2-step application process:

Step 1: Create and submit a job offer for yourself

• Fill out the required forms via the Employer portal or email the IRCC.

•  Pay the required fee.

Step 2: Apply for a Canada work permit

• Arrange the required checklist of documents
• Apply for a work permit via the online account
• Complete the online fee payment

 

Canada Start-up visa cost

The Canada SUV processing fee costs around CAD 2,385 with the PR application fee. The table below has complete information on the Canada Start-up visa fees:

Fees	$CAN
Your application
Processing fee ($1810) and right of permanent residence fee ($575)	2,385.00
Your application (without right of permanent residence fee)	1,810.00
Include your spouse or partner
Processing fee ($950) and right of permanent residence fee ($575)	1,525.00
Include your spouse or partner (without right of permanent residence fee)	950
Dependent child	260.00 (per child)

 

Start-up visa Canada processing time

The processing time for Canada SUV is around 38 months. However, the processing time may vary depending on the number of applications received and when the application was submitted.