Start-up Business Class
The Start-Up Visa was designed to attract innovative foreign entrepreneurs who would contribute to the new and innovation needs of the Canadian economy and facilitate entry of innovative entrepreneurs who would actively pursue business ventures in Canada.
Investment?
If the applicant is accepted into a Canadian business incubator program, no investment is required. Otherwise, applicants must secure the following:
- a minimum investment of $200,000, if the investment comes from one or more designated Canadian venture capital funds; or
- a minimum investment of $75,000, if the investment comes from two or more designated Canadian angel investor groups.
Eligibility?
- The applicant must provide a letter of support stating that the business venture or idea is supported by a designated organization (for example, designated venture capital funds, designated angel investor groups, or designated business incubators). The designated organization must also send a commitment certificate directly to IRCC. Both the letter of support and the commitment certificate is used to assess the
- The minimum language requirements are CLB 5 in either English or French for each of the four language skill areas.
- The applicant must have sufficient settlement funds, assessed using 50 percent of Statistics Canada’s current LICO for urban areas with populations of 500,000 or more.
FAQs
What is the minimum investment that I need to apply through the Start-up Visa Program?
If the investment comes from a designated Canadian venture capital fund, you must secure a minimum investment of $200,000.
If the investment comes from a designated Canadian angel investor group, you must secure a minimum investment of $75,000.
You don’t need to secure financial investment from a business incubator. You must be accepted into a Canadian business incubator program.
How can I qualify for the Start-up Visa Program?
To qualify for the Start-up Visa Program, you must meet all 4 eligibility requirements, as well as the admissibility requirements to enter Canada.
Eligibility requirements for the Start-up Visa Program
You must:
• have a qualifying business
• have a letter of support from a designated organization
• meet the language requirements, and
• have enough money to settle and live in Canada before you make money from your business
How can I get support from a designated organization?
• You need to contact the designated organization to find out how to get its support.
• You need to convince the organization that you have a business idea that is worth supporting.
• The process to pitch your idea is different for each organization. Each organization has its own requirements. For example, you may be asked to present your business concept in person or submit a detailed business plan.
• If you reach an agreement with a designated organization, it will send you a letter of support. You need to include this letter when you submit your application to us. This is the proof you need to show that the venture capital fund, angel investor group, or business incubator is supporting your business idea.
• The organization will also send a commitment certificate directly to us. We’ll use both your letter of support and the organization’s commitment certificate to assess your application.
Do I have to invest my own money if I want to apply through the Start-up Visa Program?
• No, you’re not required to invest any of your own money. The minimum investment required is an investment that comes from a designated Canadian venture capital fund or angel investor group.
If I immigrate through the Start-up Visa Program, what happens if my business fails?
• If your business fails, it doesn’t affect your permanent resident status. We recognize that not every business will succeed and this program is designed so that the risk is shared between the public and private sectors.
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What happens if I receive investment support from more than one designated organization?
• Receiving support from multiple designated venture capital funds or angel investor groups is known as syndication. If you have syndicated support, then all investment organizations involved in the syndication must be identified. Only one commitment certificate will be sent electronically to us, and one letter of support will be provided to you.
• If a designated venture capital fund invests in your business, the minimum total investment amount is $200,000, even if a designated angel group also invests in your business.
• If at least one designated angel group but no designated venture capital fund invests in your business, the minimum total investment amount is $75,000.
The highest number of approvals for Start-up Visa according to nationality (2015 – Q1, 2021):
17% – Vietnam
16% – India
15% – China
8% – Iran
Looking at the approval rates per year, we can see that the average approval rate has been close to 80%.
Canada Start-up Visa approval rate by year:
2015 approval rate: 85%
2016 approval rate: 99%
2017 approval rate: 78%
2018 approval rate: 63%
2019 approval rate: 80%
2020 (Jan – Mar) approval rate: 72%
What is a Venture Capital Fund?
There are almost two dozen venture capital funds in Canada that can provide applicants for permanent residence under the Start-Up Visa program with a needed minimum of $200,000 of investment.
A venture capital fund is created when a group of investors pools money to place it in start-ups and small and medium-sized companies which show promise of rapid growth. The investors are looking for equity in these companies and are willing to accept the higher risk associated with these business ventures in exchange for the promise of higher returns.
The following 21 venture capital funds are authorized to provide financing to immigrant entrepreneur applicants.
- 7 Gate Ventures
- Arete Pacific Tech Ventures (VCC) Corp
- BCF Ventures
- BDC Venture Capital
- Celtic House Venture Partners
- Extreme Venture Partners LLP
- Golden Venture Partners Fund, LP
- iNovia Capital Inc.
- Intrinsic Venture Capital
- Lumira Ventures
- Nova Scotia Innovation Corporation (o/a Innovacorp)
- PRIVEQ Capital Funds
- Real Ventures
- Relay Ventures
- ScaleUp Venture Partners, Inc.
- Top Renergy Inc.
- Vanedge Capital Limited Partnership
- Version One Ventures
- Westcap Management Ltd.
- Yaletown Venture Partners Inc.
- York Entrepreneurship Development Institute (YEDI) VC Fund
When a prospective immigrant to Canada decides to apply under the Start-up Visa Program, his or her business idea must get the support of either a venture capital fund, an angel investor group, or a business incubator.
These organizations choose which business proposals to review and each has its own intake process for proposals and criteria used to assess them.
If that organization gives the Start-Up Visa program applicant’s proposal agreement, it will provide a letter of support, allowing the prospective immigrant to continue with the process.
More detailed requirements
- Letter of Support and Commitment Certificate
Applicants must have received a letter of support from a designated investor organization. In order to receive a letter of support, the applicant must convince a designated venture capital fund or angel investor group to invest in his or her proposed business. The investor organization will also have to provide a Commitment Certificate directly to Citizenship and Immigration Canada, summarizing the details of the commitment made with the applicant. - Investment Requirement
Applicants must secure an investment of at least $200,000 CAD if the investment is from a designated venture capital fund or secure a minimum of $75,000 CAD if the investment is from a designated angel investor group. Applicants are not required to invest any of their own money in this Canadian immigration program. - Language Requirement
applicants must provide language test results from an approved agency, and must meet the minimum level of CLB 5 in either English or French. - Education Requirement
The applicant must have completed at least one year of study at a post-secondary institution. The applicant must also be able to provide proof that he or she was in good standing for at least one year while attending a post-secondary institution. Applicants can provide transcripts, a letter of good standing, certificates, diplomas or degrees as proof for this requirement.
Settlement Funds Required For The Start-Up Visa Program
| Number of Family Members | 2020 Funds Required | 2021 Funds Required |
| 1 | $12,960 | $13,213 |
| 2 | $16,135 | $16,449 |
| 3 | $19,836 | $20222 |
| 4 | $24,083 | $24,553 |
| 5 | $27,315 | $27,847 |
| 6 | $30,806 | $31,407 |
| 7 | $34,299 | $34,967 |
| Each additional family member | $3,492 | $3,560 |
The source below is from: https://indimed.ca/canadian-suv-program/
Canadian SUV program statistics between 2013-2020: based on the latest data from the government of Canada
According to the latest statistics published by IRCC on “Permanent Residence and Work Permit Application Processing under the Start-up Business Program” dated July 2021, between 2013 and Oct 2020 a total of 1858 start-ups applied to the program, out of which 1444 were approved, an overall success rate of 78% for the applications in this category.
Figure 1- Grand total of Canadian SUV applications by Oct 2020
The SUV program’s popularity among overseas immigrant entrepreneurs increased exponentially between 2013 and 2019. But the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic is clear on the number of applications in 2020. In 2016, all applications under SUV program category were accepted. However, in 2019, the year with the highest number of SUV applications, one fifth (20%) of the SUV program applications were rejected. The highest percentage of rejection belongs to 2018 with a rejection rate of 36%.
Figure 2- PR application approval rate of Canadian SUV program
We still need to wait for the latest statistics from the Canadian government to see the full impact of the pandemic on the number of SUV applications and their success rate.
Another interesting aspect of the data published by IRCC is where the applicant start ups came from. The majority of applications under SUV Program came from Asia(Australia included), Middle East and Europe. North America, South America and Africa comprise a total of 9% of applications.
Figure 3- Distribution of startups applying to Canadian SUV program by region
There are 5 countries who had the highest number of applicants to the Canadian SUV program between 2013 and 2020. China, as expected, is on top of the list with the highest number of startups applying for Canadian SUV.
Figure 4- Countries with the highest number of applicants to Canadian SUV program between 2013 and 2020
These five countries account for almost two-thirds (61%) of Canadian SUV program applications between 2013 and 2020.
The final destination of the startups applying to the Canadian SUV program is also worth mentioning because it reveals which parts of Canada have benefitted most from this program. Since the start of the pilot program, Ontario and British Colombia (BC) have been the most popular destinations, which is not a surprising finding. But, some Atlantic provinces have also attracted business and entrepreneurs through their innovative programs and incentives for startups relocating there.
Figure 5- Destination of startups applying to Canadian SUV program by province, 2013-2020
The last three years of the SUV program
Now let us have a deeper look at the numbers from the period between 2018 to Oct 2020 (7 months after the start of the pandemic).
First of all, over these years there are some differences in the country of origin distribution of startups compared to the whole period. The most notable is an increase in the number of startups from Africa. This means while Africa counts for only 3% of applications over the period, it has increased its share to 10% in the last three years. With African entrepreneurs and businesses discovering the potential of Canada for startups, we will most likely see an even higher share of African businesses applying to bring their startups to Canada.
Figure 6- Startups applying to Canadian SUV program between 2018 and 2020 by origin
One very interesting aspect of the data is the destination province of startups that are relocating to Canada. As you can expect, the most popular provinces are Ontario and British Colombia.
But startups from some countries have a higher tendency to choose specific provinces. One interesting case is Vietnam’s. Out of 311 startups applying for Canadian permanent residence, 239 (77%) chose British Colombia as their destination. Chinese startups also had a preference for Ontario and BC.
Figure 7- Canadian SUV program applicants moving to Ontario, between 2018 and 2020 by origin
Figure 8- Canadian SUV program applicants moving to BC, between 2018 and 2020 by origin
Interestingly, Indian and Iranian startups were more attracted to Ontario, Alberta and Atlantic provinces rather than British Colombia.
Figure 9- Canadian SUV program applicants moving to Alberta, between 2018 and 2020 by origin
Figure 10- Canadian SUV program applicants moving to New Brunswick, between 2018 and 2020 by origin
Figure 11- Canadian SUV program applicants moving to Nova Scotia, between 2018 and 2020 by origin
Figure 12- Canadian SUV program applicants moving to Prince Edward Island, between 2018 and 2020 by origin
Figure 13- Canadian SUV program applicants moving to Manitoba, between 2018 and 2020 by origin
- SUV= Start-up Visa
- IRCC= Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
- BC= British Colombia