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Canada · Entrepreneur permanent residence

Start-up Visa Program

Canada's Start-up Business Class remains in the immigration regulations, but new application intake has been paused since 30 June 2026 while accepted files continue to be processed.

Published by World Investment Migration Association in policy release WIMA-POL-2026-10-02.

WIMA is not a government authority and does not issue visas, residence permits or citizenship. Confirm current requirements with the responsible authorities before acting.

Accountable publisher and responsible body
World Investment Migration Association
Recorded pre-publication checks
Required fields, source links and claim citations checked for this release; no external peer-review claim is made.
Separate substantive reviewer
None appointed or claimed for this release
Published
2 October 2026
Last verified
2 October 2026

Status at the release cut-off

Three separate status dimensions

Legal status, intake status and operational status answer different questions and should not be combined into a single label.

legal

In force

The Start-up Business Class remains in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations. [4]

intake

Suspended

IRCC states that new applications have been paused since 30 June 2026. [1] , [3]

operational

Operating for accepted files

IRCC continues to process accepted applications. [1]

Eligibility

  • An applicant needs a qualifying business, a commitment from a designated organisation, language results at Canadian Language Benchmark 5, and sufficient settlement funds. [2] , [4]
  • Each applicant must hold at least 10% of voting rights, and the applicants together with the designated organisation must hold more than 50% of voting rights. [2]

Investment or income mechanism

  • A designated venture-capital fund commitment is normally at least CAD 200,000, a designated angel-investor-group commitment at least CAD 75,000, or the applicant must be accepted into a designated business incubator. [2]
  • Settlement funds are required under a formula tied to family size; the amount is updated periodically. [2] , [4]

Residence and family conditions

Family
A spouse or partner and dependent children may be included in the permanent-residence application subject to general admissibility rules. [2]
Work
Not established [1] , [3]
Presence
Not stated [2] , [4]
Duration
Permanent residence if the application is approved. [4]
Renewal
Not applicable to the immigration class; permanent-resident status and card renewal are governed separately. [4]
Later outcome
Not established [2] , [4]

Limitations and cautions

  • The route is not open to new applications at this cut-off.
  • Work-permit measures for applicants awaiting permanent residence have changed and must be checked directly with IRCC.
  • This record distinguishes the continuing legal class from the paused intake and continuing processing of accepted files.

This record is descriptive, not legal, tax or investment advice. Confirm the current position with the responsible authorities.

Official sources

  1. Start-up Visa Program: about the process Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada Accessed 2 October 2026 Evidence tier B1
  2. Start-up Visa Program: who can apply Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada Accessed 2 October 2026 Evidence tier B1
  3. New immigration measures for entrepreneurs Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada Accessed 2 October 2026 Evidence tier B2
  4. Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, section 98.01 Justice Laws Website Accessed 2 October 2026 Evidence tier A1 SOR/2002-227, s. 98.01