Canada Start-Up Visa 2026: Current Status & Commitment Certificate Guide

Understand the current Start-Up Visa pause, who can still have an application processed, how the commitment certificate and Letter of Support work, and the ownership, language, settlement-funds and designated-organization rules that apply to eligible applications.

What the Start-Up Visa Is — and Its 2026 Status

Canada's Start-Up Visa (SUV) is an economic immigration program for immigrant entrepreneurs whose qualifying businesses have the support of an IRCC-designated organization. The program is intended for innovative businesses that can create jobs for Canadians and compete on a global scale. However, the most important fact for a 2026 reader is that the program is currently paused. IRCC stopped accepting new commitment certificates after December 31, 2025 and paused the program on June 30, 2026. Applicants who had a valid 2025 commitment certificate had to submit their permanent-residence application by June 30, 2026. IRCC continues processing applications accepted before the pause.

Commitment Certificate, Letter of Support & Designated Organizations

The designated-organization process has two important documents with different roles. The designated organization gives the entrepreneur a Letter of Support, which the applicant includes with the permanent-residence application. The organization also sends a Commitment Certificate directly to IRCC. The Commitment Certificate contains information about the organization, entrepreneurial team and proposed start-up and is valid for six months. For applications that remain eligible under the current transitional situation, the PR application must be submitted before the certificate expires and within the applicable intake deadline.

Designated organization	Minimum support requirement	What the entrepreneur must obtain
Designated venture capital fund	$200,000 minimum investment	Letter of Support plus Commitment Certificate sent to IRCC
Designated angel investor group	$75,000 minimum investment	Letter of Support plus Commitment Certificate sent to IRCC
Designated business incubator	No mandatory minimum financial investment; acceptance into the incubator's designated program	Letter of Support plus Commitment Certificate sent to IRCC

Ownership, Founder Count & Essential Applicant Rules

For a qualifying start-up, each applicant must hold at least 10% of the total voting rights, while the applicants together with the designated organization must hold more than 50% of the total voting rights. No more than five applicants can be considered members of the Start-Up Business Class for the same business. After a successful application, the founders must incorporate the business in Canada, provide active and ongoing management from inside Canada, and ensure that an essential part of the business operations occurs in Canada.

Requirement	Rule
Applicants per business	Maximum 5 applicants
Individual applicant voting rights	At least 10% of total voting rights
Applicants + designated organization	More than 50% of total voting rights together
Business after approval	Canadian incorporation and active, ongoing management from inside Canada
Business activity	An essential part of the business operations must occur in Canada

The 10% rule concerns voting rights, not simply an applicant's percentage of economic ownership or share value. The corporate share structure therefore needs to be checked carefully.

Language, Settlement Funds & Other Core Eligibility

Eligible SUV applicants must demonstrate at least Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 5 in all four abilities — listening, reading, writing and speaking — in English or French using an IRCC-approved language test. For IELTS General Training at CLB 5, the minimum scores are 4.0 in reading and 5.0 in writing, listening and speaking. Test results must be less than two years old when the application is made.

Requirement	Current rule
Language	CLB 5 in listening, reading, writing and speaking
IELTS General Training at CLB 5	Reading 4.0; Writing 5.0; Listening 5.0; Speaking 5.0
Language-result validity	Results must be less than 2 years old when applying
Settlement funds	Applicant must show sufficient unborrowed funds to support themselves and eligible family members

Application Process for Eligible Existing Applicants

For applicants whose cases fall within the program's existing intake, the process generally runs from designated-organization support through the Letter of Support and Commitment Certificate to the permanent-residence application. The applicant must satisfy the ownership, language, settlement-funds and qualifying-business requirements and submit the application through the required IRCC process. A Commitment Certificate is valid for six months, so timing matters. IRCC also applies a cap of 10 complete group applications per designated organization per calendar year under the current published rules; each member of a group must submit their own permanent-residence application before the group can be processed, and an incomplete application can still count against the designated organization's annual cap.

Work Permits Under the SUV: What Changed

The previous version of this page incorrectly presented a current short-term SUV work permit as though new applicants could freely use it in 2026. IRCC closed new applications for the optional Start-Up Visa open work permit on December 19, 2025. That permit was designed for eligible entrepreneurs to come to Canada and develop their business while their permanent-residence application was processed. Existing SUV work-permit holders may have options to extend their permits while their PR applications remain in process, subject to IRCC's current eligibility requirements. Therefore, a new applicant should not assume that a fresh SUV work permit is currently available merely because they have a business idea or wish to pursue the paused SUV program.

What Happens if One Founder Is an Essential Applicant?

The essential-applicant rule is particularly important for multi-founder teams. Under the immigration regulations, if more than one applicant is applying for the same business and a person identified in the commitment as essential to the business is refused a permanent-residence visa or withdraws their application, the other applicants must also be considered not to have met the Start-Up Business Class requirements and their permanent-residence visas must also be refused. Teams should therefore understand the immigration consequences of designating an essential applicant rather than treating every founder as interchangeable.

An essential-applicant refusal can affect the other applicants in the same entrepreneurial team. This is materially different from a normal independent applicant refusal.

Official Government & Institutional References

Frequently Asked Questions (6 Verified Answers)

No. IRCC paused the Start-Up Visa Program on June 30, 2026. It stopped accepting new commitment certificates after December 31, 2025. Applicants with valid 2025 commitment certificates had to submit their permanent-residence applications by June 30, 2026, and IRCC continues processing applications accepted before the pause.

The designated organization gives the entrepreneur a Letter of Support, which the entrepreneur includes with the permanent-residence application. The organization separately sends a Commitment Certificate directly to IRCC. The Commitment Certificate contains information about the organization, entrepreneurial team and proposed business and is valid for six months.

For eligible applications, a designated venture capital fund must make at least a $200,000 investment, while a designated angel investor group must make at least a $75,000 investment. A designated business incubator does not require a minimum financial investment, but the entrepreneur must be accepted into its designated incubation or acceleration program.

No more than five applicants can be considered members of the Start-Up Business Class for the same business. Each applicant must hold at least 10% of the total voting rights, and the applicants together with the designated organization must hold more than 50% of the total voting rights.

The minimum is CLB 5 in all four abilities: listening, reading, writing and speaking. For IELTS General Training, CLB 5 corresponds to at least 4.0 in reading and 5.0 in writing, listening and speaking. IRCC also accepts other approved English and French tests.

No new applications for the optional Start-Up Visa open work permit have been accepted since December 19, 2025. Existing SUV work-permit holders may be able to extend their permits while their permanent-residence applications are being processed if they continue to meet IRCC's requirements.

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