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🇨🇦 IRCC Start-Up Visa Status: Paused as of June 30, 2026

Canada Start-Up Visa (SUV) Guide 2026

The Start-Up Visa Program is currently paused. Learn who can still qualify under the 2025 commitment-certificate transition rules, the investment and ownership requirements, language rules, work-permit options and the current PR process.

1. Current Start-Up Visa status in 2026

The federal Start-Up Visa Program is paused. IRCC states that it stopped accepting new commitment certificates from designated organizations after December 31, 2025. Applicants who had a valid 2025 commitment certificate had to submit their Start-Up Visa permanent-residence application by June 30, 2026. IRCC continues to process applications it accepted before that date.

Key Takeaways

  • The Start-Up Visa is not currently an open-to-new-applicants pathway.
  • The relevant transition deadline for applicants with valid 2025 commitment certificates was June 30, 2026.
  • The designated-organization designation process is also paused and IRCC is not currently designating new organizations.
  • The designated-organization list remains relevant to applications that were properly established under the earlier rules and to IRCC's processing information.

2. Who can qualify under the remaining SUV rules?

For applications that were eligible to proceed under the 2025 commitment-certificate transition, the principal applicant could apply individually or as part of a group of up to 5 owners. The applicant must have a qualifying business, a valid Letter of Support from a designated organization, the required language test result and enough settlement funds.

Eligibility Checklist

  • Have a qualifying business.
  • Hold a valid Letter of Support from a designated organization.
  • Meet the language requirement of at least CLB 5 in all 4 language abilities.
  • Have the required settlement funds for yourself and your dependants.
  • For a qualifying business, each applicant must hold at least 10% of the total voting rights.
  • The applicants and the designated organization together must hold more than 50% of the total voting rights.
  • If the PR application is successful, the applicant must incorporate the business in Canada.
  • The business must be actively and continually managed from inside Canada.
  • An essential part of the business operations must take place in Canada.

3. Designated organizations and the financial-support thresholds

The three designated-organization categories are venture capital funds, angel investor groups and business incubators. The financial threshold depends on the type of designated organization supporting the applicant. A business incubator does not require a minimum financial investment; instead, the applicant must be accepted into an eligible incubation or acceleration program.

Designated organizationMinimum support requirementWhat the applicant must demonstrate
Designated venture capital fund$200,000 CAD minimum investmentThe investment must be from a designated Canadian venture capital fund.
Designated angel investor group$75,000 CAD minimum investmentOne or more investors connected to a designated angel investor group must agree to invest at least $75,000.
Designated business incubatorNo minimum financial investmentThe applicant must be accepted into the designated incubator's qualifying incubation or acceleration program.
Important NoteThe $200,000 and $75,000 figures are minimum designated-organization support thresholds for the SUV program; they are not minimum personal settlement funds and should not be described as an applicant's required personal investment in every case.

4. Letter of Support versus Commitment Certificate

These are related but different immigration documents. The designated organization sends IRCC a Commitment Certificate and provides the entrepreneur with a Letter of Support. The entrepreneur includes the Letter of Support with the permanent-residence application.

Validity

  • A Commitment Certificate is valid for 6 months after the date it is issued.
  • Applicants must submit the Start-Up Visa permanent-residence application before the Commitment Certificate expires.
  • Under the 2026 transition, only valid 2025 commitment certificates could support applications through the June 30, 2026 deadline.

Process

  • Find a designated organization and follow its own pitch, screening and support process.
  • If the organization agrees to support the venture, it sends IRCC the Commitment Certificate.
  • The organization provides the entrepreneur with the Letter of Support.
  • The applicant submits the PR application with the Letter of Support before the relevant deadline and before the Commitment Certificate expires.

5. Designated-organization application cap

IRCC's designated-organization rules provide a numerical cap on complete group applications considered per designated organization. The current IRCC page states that, until December 31, 2026, it will consider only 10 complete group applications per designated organization in each calendar year, on a first-come, first-served basis.

Cap Rules

  • The cap applies to complete group applications considered by IRCC, not simply to informal pitches or startup ideas submitted to a designated organization.
  • The current stated limit is 10 complete group applications per designated organization per calendar year through December 31, 2026.
  • If a group applies after the annual cap has been reached, IRCC's earlier guidance states that the application can be returned and the processing fees reimbursed.
  • Because the SUV program is currently paused, this cap should not be interpreted as permission for a new applicant to enter the program in 2026.

6. Language requirement: CLB 5 in every ability

Applicants must prove language proficiency in English or French by taking an IRCC-approved language test. The minimum is CLB 5 in all four abilities: reading, writing, listening and speaking. Test results must be less than 2 years old when the applicant applies.

7. Settlement funds are separate from the designated investment

SUV applicants must show that they have enough money to support themselves and their dependants after arriving in Canada. IRCC states that this money cannot be borrowed from another person. The required amount depends on family size and is updated periodically.

DistinctionSettlement funds are personal funds required to support the applicant and dependants. They are separate from money invested in the start-up or other funds that may be required to establish and operate the business.

8. Work-permit options in the 2026 transition

The original SUV optional open-work-permit route should not be presented as available to new applicants. IRCC closed new applications for the optional Start-Up Visa open work permit on December 19, 2025. Existing holders may be able to extend while their PR applications are being processed if they continue to meet the extension conditions.

Extension Conditions

  • For an extension of the SUV work permit, the applicant must continue to meet the applicable IRCC criteria.
  • Where the commitment certificate covers an entrepreneurial team, the team members' PR applications must continue to satisfy the applicable pending-application requirements described by IRCC.
  • Evidence such as the PR submission, Letter of Support, settlement funds, medical examination and other required documentation may be needed.

9. Permanent-residence application process for eligible 2025 certificate holders

For applicants who met the transition rules, IRCC requires the Start-Up Visa permanent-residence application to be submitted online through the Permanent Residence Portal. The program is now paused and new applications are not being accepted.

Application Steps

  • Create or sign in to the IRCC Permanent Residence Portal.
  • Select the Start-Up Business Class application.
  • Prepare the Letter of Support and supporting documentation.
  • Provide the required forms and evidence for the applicant, family members and qualifying business.
  • Pay the applicable processing and permanent-residence fees.
  • Submit biometrics when required. IRCC states that applicants aged 14 to 79 generally must provide fingerprints and a photo for each PR application, even if earlier biometrics remain valid.
  • Complete medical, police-certificate and other admissibility requirements as instructed by IRCC.
  • If applying as an entrepreneurial team, each partner submits a separate application and IRCC does not process the applications until it receives all of the partners' PR applications.
Team RuleFor an entrepreneurial team, all business partners who are applying for PR must submit their own applications. If a team member will no longer submit a PR application, IRCC instructs the business partners to notify IRCC through the web form as soon as possible.

10. Current 2026 Start-Up Visa government fees

IRCC increased permanent-residence fees effective April 30, 2026. The current business-immigration fee table applies to Start-Up Visa applications.

Additional Costs

  • Biometrics fees may apply.
  • Medical-examination costs may apply.
  • Police-certificate fees may apply.
  • Language-testing costs are paid to the testing organization.
  • Designated organizations can have their own pitch, incubation, review or commercial arrangements; those private-sector costs are separate from IRCC government fees.

11. Does the SUV require the business to succeed?

IRCC expressly states that if the business fails, the failure itself does not affect the entrepreneur's permanent-resident status. The program is designed so that business risk is shared between the public and private sectors.

Important QualificationThis protection should not be overstated as meaning that permanent residence can never be lost. Business failure by itself does not affect status, but normal immigration-law grounds for loss or revocation of permanent residence, including issues unrelated to ordinary business failure, continue to apply.

Business Obligations

  • The qualifying business must satisfy the ownership and voting-right requirements.
  • Successful applicants must incorporate the business in Canada.
  • The applicant must actively and continually manage the business from inside Canada.
  • An essential part of the business operations must take place in Canada.

12. What designated organizations do and what they do not guarantee

A designated organization assesses the proposed start-up under its own process and decides whether to support it. IRCC states that each designated organization can develop its own process for receiving proposals and its own criteria for assessing potential start-ups.

Organization Types

type: Venture capital fund
role: Can support a qualifying start-up by making the required minimum investment.
type: Angel investor group
role: Can support a qualifying start-up through the required minimum angel investment.
type: Business incubator
role: Can support the applicant through acceptance into a qualifying incubation or acceleration program.

Important Limits

  • IRCC designation does not mean every start-up that contacts an organization will be accepted.
  • The organization decides whether to support a proposal using its own screening process and criteria.
  • A designated organization does not itself grant permanent residence; IRCC assesses the immigration application.
  • The program's current pause means that new entrepreneurs cannot use the normal pitch-to-designated-organization pathway to create a new 2026 SUV application.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

No. IRCC currently shows the Start-Up Visa Program as paused. New commitment certificates stopped after December 31, 2025, and applicants with valid 2025 commitment certificates had to submit their permanent-residence applications by June 30, 2026. The program is not currently accepting new applicants.

The minimum support is $200,000 from a designated Canadian venture-capital fund or $75,000 from a designated angel investor group. A designated business incubator does not require a minimum financial investment; you must instead be accepted into its qualifying incubation or acceleration program.

Each applicant must generally hold at least 10% of the total voting rights. The applicants and the designated organization together must hold more than 50% of the total voting rights. The program allows an individual or a group of up to 5 owners.

You need at least CLB 5 in all four abilities: reading, writing, listening and speaking. For IELTS General Training, CLB 5 corresponds to Reading 4.0, Writing 5.0, Listening 5.0 and Speaking 5.0. For CELPIP-General, it is level 5 in each ability. Approved tests also include PTE Core, TEF Canada and TCF Canada, and the results must be less than 2 years old when you apply.

No. IRCC closed new applications for the optional Start-Up Visa open work permit on December 19, 2025. Existing SUV work-permit holders may be able to extend while their PR application is being processed if they meet the extension rules. IRCC also describes a separate short-term work-permit route under the International Mobility Program for an eligible entrepreneur identified as an essential applicant on a qualifying commitment certificate.

IRCC states that business failure itself does not affect permanent-resident status because the program recognizes that not every business will succeed. This does not eliminate other immigration-law grounds that could affect permanent-resident status, such as matters unrelated to ordinary business failure.

Official Government Sources & Authorities

SUV 2026 Status & Key Rules

Current Program StatusPaused; no new SUV PR applications accepted
Final PR Filing Date for 2025 CertificatesJune 30, 2026
VC Minimum Support$200,000 CAD
Angel Minimum Support$75,000 CAD
Language MinimumCLB 5 in all 4 abilities
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