Canada Start-Up Visa (SUV)
Category: Work · Processing time: Varies significantly based on inventory (Review official tracking regularly)
Recently verified
Apply through official authority
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
Always submit applications through the official source. Last verified 2026-06-19.
Visa type
Work
Processing time
Varies significantly based on inventory (Review official tracking regularly)
Fees
PrincipalApplicantTotalFee: CAD 2,495
Validity
Permanent residency status granted.
Stay duration
Indefinite
Entry type
Multiple entry privileges tied to Permanent Resident status
Insurance
Confirm if required
Bookmark
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Overview
Business immigration pathway granting direct permanent residency to innovative entrepreneurs backed by a designated Canadian investment organization. Path to PR: Yes. Path to citizenship: Yes
- Leads to permanent residency: Yes
- Requires job offer: No
- Language required: Yes
- Minimum education: Not specified
- Financial requirement: Mandatory. Applicants must prove they hold sufficient, unencumbered liquid settlement savings scaled by family size to support their household upon landing.
- Accommodation proof: No
- Return ticket: No
Estimated Costs
- - PrincipalApplicantTotalFee: CAD 2,495
- - BusinessCategoryProcessingFee: CAD 1,895
- - RightOfPermanentResidenceFee: CAD 600
- - SpouseOrPartnerTotalFee: CAD 1,590
- - DependentChildFee: CAD 270 (per child)
- - BiometricsFeeIndividual: CAD 85
Required Documents
- - Valid international passport or recognized travel credential document
- - Official Letter of Support issued by an authorized Canadian venture capital fund, angel network, or business incubator
- - Approved language proficiency exam score sheets showing a minimum of CLB 5 in all four abilities
- - Comprehensive bank certification logs demonstrating unencumbered, personal liquid settlement funds
- - Detailed business profile registry, incorporation drafts, and shared equity distribution structures
- - Clean police clearance documents from all global jurisdictions lived in for 6 or more months consecutively since turning 18
Application Steps
- Secure a formal Letter of Support and Commitment Certificate from an IRCC-designated venture capital fund, angel investor group, or business incubator.
- Verify that your application qualifies under the active temporary transition rules ahead of the June 30, 2026 filing deadline.
- Take an approved language exam and hit the mandatory Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 5 threshold.
- Compile explicit evidence of unencumbered personal settlement funds matching your family size parameters.
- Submit your complete application online via the PR Portal and clear the updated business category processing and RPRF fees.
- Register your physical biometric tracking scans and clear mandatory medical and federal background checks upon request.
Always confirm the latest steps and forms on the official portal: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) →
Travel Insurance Requirement
- Mandatory: Confirm with official source
- Minimum coverage: Confirm current coverage rules
- Valid regions: Confirm accepted regions
- Approved providers: Use providers accepted by the official authority
Embassy, Consulate & Appointments
- - Federal application processing, biometric scheduling, and security clearances are coordinated through the online IRCC PR portal.
- - Always check for specific program delivery modifications before attempting to complete electronic profile tracking fields.
Browse foreign embassies in Canada (MigrantIQ directory) →
Directory listings are for planning only — not legal advice. Confirm jurisdiction and appointment rules on the official portal.
Application checklist
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Benefits & What This Visa Allows
- - Grants direct Canadian permanent residency status, completely bypassing intermediate points pools or work permit requirements
- - Enables up to five core entrepreneurial business partners to immigrate together under a single innovative project umbrella
- - Provides immediate access to Canada's robust tech ecosystems, venture support networks, and universal health coverage plans
Trust & safety
Before you pay or submit documents
Use the official portal for applications and payments. Be careful with agents who guarantee approval, ask for personal-account transfers, or pressure you to send originals before a written contract.
Relevant laws
- Immigration Status and Overstay Rules
Immigration · Severity: Critical
Your right to stay in Canada depends on the exact visa, residence permit, entry stamp, or visa-free allowance you hold. Do not assume a pending application, job offer, or school admission aut
- Work Authorisation Rules
Employment · Severity: Critical
In Canada, a visa that allows entry does not always allow work. Paid employment, freelancing, remote work, internships, and trial shifts may each have different permission rules.
- Tax Residency and Income Reporting
Tax · Severity: High
Living in Canada for long enough, working locally, or registering as a resident may trigger tax-residency or income-reporting duties even if your income is paid from abroad.
- Employment Standards Act
Employment · Severity: Critical
You are entitled to minimum wage, 2 weeks paid vacation after 1 year, and up to 3 days paid sick leave. Your employer cannot take these rights away by contract — they are protected by law.
Active scam alerts
Some agents overcharge newcomers for translations, notarisation, apostilles, or courier services for Canada, and may produce documents that are not accepted by official authorities.
Scammers impersonate airport staff, immigration officers, or travel agents and claim you must pay a special fee to enter Canada, avoid questioning, release documents, or fast-track border che
Fraudsters offer admission, scholarships, or student visa packages for Canada through unofficial agents. Victims may receive fake acceptance letters that fail verification during visa process
Scammers advertise fake apartments in Canada, pressure newcomers to transfer a deposit before viewing, and disappear after sending a fake lease or copied property photos.
Quick Eligibility Check
Use this self-check for Start-Up Visa. It does not replace official legal assessment.
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consultation
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Common Rejection Reasons
- - Failing to submit the permanent residency application before the explicit June 30, 2026 transitional deadline for valid certificate holders
- - The designated support organization canceling or withdrawing the Commitment Certificate before IRCC finalizes processing
- - Failing a peer review evaluation if authorities determine the underlying business idea lacks true innovation or structural viability
- - Submitting insufficient, unverified, or freshly borrowed liquid savings that drop below the required family-size financial floor
Application Tips
- - Pay the Right of Permanent Residence Fee (RPRF) upfront alongside your initial processing fee to prevent processing bottlenecks near file finalization.
- - Ensure your business venture remains active and you provide ongoing tracking logs of your progression within the venture throughout the processing window.
- - Organize your personal bank files cleanly, avoiding abrupt, unexplainable cash injections that could compromise source-of-funds verifications.
- - Do not engage with placement firms that claim they can buy or sell designated organizational support slots, as this constitutes serious immigration fraud.
Sources & References
Use these references for verification. Official government and appointment portals override summary guidance on MigrantIQ.
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
Official source for forms, appointments, fees, and final requirements.
- MigrantIQ visa record
Summary record maintained for planning and source verification.
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