A federal route for entrepreneurs backed by a designated Canadian organisation. Currently paused to new commitments.
The Start-up Visa is built around endorsement rather than money. Instead of an investment threshold you meet personally, you need a commitment from a designated Canadian organisation — a business incubator, an angel investor group, or a venture capital fund on IRCC's published list — that has assessed your venture and agreed to back it.
That commitment takes the form of a letter of support, and obtaining one is the real work of this route. It comes first, not last: without a designated organisation behind you there is no application to make, and the organisations run their own selection processes on their own timelines.
The important current fact: this stream is paused to new commitments. That is not a small caveat — it means planning a move around it today is planning around something that is not presently accepting entrants. Whether and when it reopens is not a scheduled event you can build a timeline on, which is why current status is checked at the time rather than assumed from an article.
| Built around | A letter of support from a designated organisation |
|---|---|
| Designated organisations | Incubators, angel groups, venture capital funds on IRCC's list |
| Personal investment threshold | Not the basis of the program |
| Current status | Paused to new commitments |
| Order of operations | Designated organisation first — everything else follows |
What an application on this route usually involves. Not a checklist that guarantees anything — IRCC sets the requirements, and they change.
Whether it fits you is what a consultation is for. This page cannot answer that and does not try to.
Time and money spent preparing for a stream that is not accepting new commitments is the most expensive mistake available in this area.
The letter of support is the gate. Everything else is downstream of it.
Only organisations on IRCC's designated list can issue a qualifying letter of support.
Settlement funds and any capital behind the venture have to be traceable to a lawful origin, documented rather than asserted.
It is paused to new commitments. Current status should be checked at the time rather than taken from any article, including this one — that is exactly the kind of fact that changes.
This program is not built on a personal investment threshold. It is built on securing backing from a designated organisation, which assesses the venture on its own terms.
The program contemplates more than one applicant attached to a single qualifying business, subject to ownership and control conditions.
Existing investors do not substitute for a designated organisation unless they are on IRCC's published list. The list is what matters, not the quality of the investor.
That is the one question this page cannot answer. Start with the free assessment, then bring your situation to a consultation with the RCIC-IRB.
Start Your AssessmentBook a paid consultationThis page is general information. It is not an assessment of your eligibility, and nothing on it is immigration advice for consideration. Start-up Visa matters at ZIMMR are advised on directly by Irshad Osman, RCIC-IRB.
Verify on the CICC public register