Startup Visa
Permanent residence for innovative founders
Overview
The Startup Visa is one of the few programs in the world that offers permanent residence to entrepreneurs and their families from day one. It is designed for founders with a creative, innovative business idea that can compete internationally and create jobs for Canadians.
The path runs through Canada’s designated organizations — venture capital funds, angel investor groups, and business incubators or accelerators. Once one of them issues a Letter of Support for your idea, that letter anchors your permanent residence application.
Up to 5 business partners can jointly participate in a single Startup Visa application, provided each holds at least 10% of voting equity and the applicants plus the designated organization together hold more than 50%. Recommended settlement funds are roughly CAD $70,000 per family.
Recent program changes (effective April 30, 2024) cap each designated organization at 10 referrals per year through the end of 2026, and give priority processing to applications backed by Canadian funding or accelerators in Canada’s Tech Network.
Key requirements
- A genuinely creative, internationally competitive business idea
- A Letter of Support from a designated organization (VC fund, angel group, or incubator)
- Language ability of CLB 5 or higher in English or French
- Each partner holds ≥10% voting equity (max 5 partners per application)
- Sufficient settlement funds (≈ CAD $70,000 per family recommended)
- Active, ongoing management of the business from within Canada
How it works
- 1
Develop and refine a creative, internationally scalable business idea
- 2
Present the idea as a business plan to a designated organization
- 3
Secure the Letter of Support
- 4
Prove CLB 5+ language ability
- 5
Apply for permanent residence with the letter attached
- 6
Register and actively operate the business in Canada