Startup Visa Program

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Start-Up Visa Program

Canada Start-Up Visa program grants Canadian permanent residence to qualified immigrant entrepreneurs. The program aims to recruit innovative entrepreneurs to Canada and link them with Canadian private sector businesses, (angel investor groups, venture capital funds or business incubators) and facilitate the establishment of their start-up business in Canada.

Successful candidates will receive a letter of support from a government-designated entity (angel investor group, venture capital fund or business incubator).
The government-designated entity is primarily responsible to determine the viability of the applicant’s intended business and present an approved project along with a Commitment Certificate to immigration authorities. Applications are assessed on a pass-fail basis. See the list of designated entities.

Applicants to Canada’s Start-Up Visa program must meet four basic eligibility requirements

  • Have a qualifying business
  •  Obtain a commitment from a designated entity in the form of a Commitment Certificate and Letter of Support
  • Have sufficient unencumbered, available and transferable settlement funds, updated each year (the requirements identical to those for skilled workers)
  • Demonstrate sufficient proficiency in English or French through standardized testing (Canadian Language Benchmark level 5) 
The required commitment from a designated entity must meet the following criteria:
  • A designated angel investor group must confirm that it is investing at least $75,000 into the qualifying business, or two or more commitments from designated angel investor groups totalling $75,000; OR
  • A designated venture capital fund must confirm that it is investing at least $200,000 into the qualifying business or two or more commitments from designated venture capital funds totalling $200,000; OR
  • A designated business incubator must confirm that it is accepting the applicant into its business incubator Program.

In order to qualify, the intended business must be incorporated and carrying on business in Canada at the time the commitment is made and:

  • The applicant owns a least 10 percent of the voting rights in the corporation; AND
  • No other person holds 50 percent or more of the total amount of voting rights in the corporation.
Up to five applicants may have their application for permanent residence supported by the same business investment. However, certain applicants may be designated as essential to the intended business. If any of the essential applicants withdraw their application or are refused for other reasons, all other applicants under the same business investment will see their applications terminated.

Applicants who have secured a Commitment Certificate from a designated entity, and who wish to begin working in the business during the processing of their permanent residence application may be able to apply for a short-term work permit

To receive a work permit, an applicant must provide:

  • A letter of support from the designated entity; and
  • Proof they have sufficient funds to meet the low-income cut-off (LICO) for their family size, for one year
To receive permanent residence, the following criteria must be met:
  • Applicants must be actively involved in the management of the business within Canada
  • The operations of the business, or an essential part, must take place in Canada; and
  • The business must be incorporated in Canada.
Canada’s Start-Up Visa program does not apply to applicants who intend to reside in the province of Quebec.

Designated entities that may support an application under the Start-Up Visa program are
Designated venture capital funds:

• 7 Gate Ventures
• BCF Ventures
• BDC Venture Capital
• Celtic House Venture Partners
• Extreme Venture Partners LLP
• Golden Venture Partners Fund, LP
• Impression Ventures
• Innovation Platform Capital International LP
• iNovia Capital Inc.
• Lumira Capital
• Nova Scotia Innovation Corporation (o/a Innovacorp)
• OMERS Ventures Management Inc.
• Pangaea Ventures Ltd.
• 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

Designated angel investor groups:

• Canadian International Angel Investors
• Ekagrata Inc.
• Golden Triangle Angel Network
• Keiretsu Forum Canada
• Oak Mason Investments Inc.
• Southeastern Ontario Angel Network
• TenX Angel Investors Inc.
• VANTEC Angel Network Inc.
• York Angel Investors Inc.
Designated business incubators:
• Alacrity Foundation
• Alberta Agriculture and Forestry
• Agrivalue Processing Business Incubator
• Food Processing Development Centre
• Biomedical Commercialization Canada Inc. (operating as Manitoba Technology Accelerator)
• Creative Destruction Lab
• Empowered Startups Ltd.
• Extreme Innovations
• Genesis Centre
• Highline BETA Inc.
• Innovacorp
• Interactive Niagara Media Cluster o/a Innovate Niagara
• Invest Ottawa
• Knowledge Park o/a Planet Hatch
• LatAm Startups
• Launch Academy – Vancouver
• LaunchPad PEI Inc.
• Millworks Centre for Entrepreneurship
• NEXT Canada
• North Forge Technology Exchange
• Platform Calgary
• Real Investment Fund III L.P. o/a FounderFuel
• Ryerson Futures Inc.
• Spark Commercialization and Innovation Centre
• Spring Activator
• The DMZ at Ryerson University
• Toronto Business Development Centre (TBDC)
• TSRV Canada Inc. (operating as Techstars Canada)
• VIATEC
• Waterloo Accelerator Centre
• York Entrepreneurship Development Institute