Canada · Startup Visa
Canada Start-up Visa: Paused in 2026
Canada's federal Start-up Visa stopped taking applications on June 30, 2026, and its optional work permit closed months earlier. Founders now turn to Québec's innovative-business stream while Ottawa prepares a replacement pilot that has no published rules yet.
- Startup route
- Start-up Visa Program
- Minimum capital
- No fixed minimum; designated-organization commitment
- Permanent residence
- Direct PR route, now paused to new applicants
- Citizenship
- 1,095 days in Canada within 5 years
Québec Entrepreneur Program – Stream 1: Innovative business
Status: MIFI accepts applications at any time
Québec selects its own business immigrants, and Stream 1 of its Entrepreneur Program is aimed at people who want to start an innovative business or carry out an innovative project in the province. The file must include a service offer from an organization specialized in innovation, such as an incubator or accelerator, together with a business plan. A founder who starts a company must hold at least 10% of its value, and up to three people can apply as partners on one project. Spoken French at level 7 is a general condition. Successful applicants receive Québec's selection certificate and then apply to IRCC for permanent residence, so the stream ends in the same status the federal program offered.
- Selecting body
- MIFI (Québec), then IRCC for permanent residence
- Support needed
- Service offer from an organization specialized in innovation
- Ownership
- At least 10% of the business value (start-up profile)
- French
- Spoken French at level 7 or higher
- Partners
- Up to three applicants per project
- Government fee
- Varies; confirm with MIFI and IRCC
- Leads to
- Permanent residence after Québec selection
Requirements
- Receive a service offer from an organization specialized in innovation and include the form that organization completes.
- Submit a business plan describing the innovative business or project.
- Hold at least 10% of the value of the business you start, or of the project capital in the carrying-out profile.
- Show spoken French at level 7 or higher.
- Be at least 18 and commit to financial self-sufficiency for three months after obtaining permanent residence.
- Stay out of ineligible sectors, which include trading, leasing, brokerage and development in the property sector.
How to apply
- Secure a service offer from an organization specialized in innovation that supports projects in Québec.
- Prepare the business plan and French results, then file the permanent selection application with MIFI.
- Answer MIFI's review, which gives particular weight to the business plan and the organization's service offer.
- Receive the Certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ) if selected.
- Apply to IRCC for permanent residence as a Québec-selected business immigrant.
Start-up Visa Program
Status: Paused June 30, 2026; applications accepted before then are still processed
The Start-up Visa Program offered permanent residence to entrepreneurs backed by a designated venture capital fund, angel investor group or business incubator, for businesses based outside Québec. IRCC stopped accepting new program applications at the end of December 2025, except from founders holding a commitment made in 2025, who could file until June 30, 2026. The program was then paused, and IRCC continues to process files it accepted before that date. The optional work permit for applicants closed to newcomers on December 19, 2025. IRCC's 2026 transition binder names a High Impact Start-up Pilot as the replacement, but no criteria, thresholds or opening date have been published on canada.ca.
- Status
- Paused June 30, 2026
- Last eligible files
- Holders of commitments issued in 2025
- Ownership rule
- Each applicant held 10% or more of voting rights
- Language
- CLB 5 in English or French
- Pending files
- Applications accepted before the pause are processed
- Replacement
- High Impact Start-up Pilot announced; no rules yet
Requirements
- A letter of support and a commitment certificate from a designated organization.
- At least 10% of voting rights per applicant, with applicants and the organization jointly holding more than 50%.
- Canadian Language Benchmark 5 in listening, reading, writing and speaking, in English or French.
- Unborrowed settlement funds for the family, plus incorporation and management of the business from inside Canada.
How to apply
- No new applications are accepted while the program is paused.
- Applicants whose files were accepted before June 30, 2026 can follow them through their IRCC account.
- Watch IRCC notices for launch details of the High Impact Start-up Pilot.
What the pause means for founders
The shutdown came in stages. An IRCC notice dated December 19, 2025 ended intake for the optional start-up work permit, set 11:59 p.m. on December 31, 2025 as the cutoff for new program applications except those backed by a 2025 commitment, and extended the separate pause on the Self-employed Persons Program until further notice. IRCC also said it would prioritize permanent residence for people already in Canada on a start-up work permit, within the immigration levels plan, which sets a 2026 admissions target of 500 for all federal business programs combined.
For a founder starting from scratch in late 2026, the federal door stays shut until the new pilot opens. Québec runs its own business programs, so entrepreneurs who intend to settle there can apply under its Entrepreneur Program. In other provinces and territories, Provincial Nominee Programs nominate business people through streams that each set their own capital, residence and business conditions and are revised often. Reading the province's own immigration site, and any IRCC announcement about the High Impact Start-up Pilot, is the reliable way to plan.
Questions and answers
Is Canada's Start-up Visa still open in 2026?
No. IRCC paused the Start-up Visa Program on June 30, 2026 and is not accepting new applications. During the first half of 2026 the only founders who could still file were those holding a commitment certificate issued by a designated organization in 2025. Files accepted before the pause continue to be processed, and a replacement pilot has been announced without published criteria.
What is the High Impact Start-up Pilot?
It is the program IRCC intends to use in place of the Start-up Visa. The department's 2026 transition binder for the deputy minister names it, and the December 2025 notice promised details of a new, targeted entrepreneur pilot during 2026. As of October 2026, canada.ca shows no eligibility rules, investment thresholds or launch date for it.
Can I still get a Start-up Visa work permit?
Only as an extension. IRCC stopped accepting first-time applications for the optional work permit on December 19, 2025. People who already hold one, or can restore one, may extend it if their permanent residence application under the program is still pending and they keep meeting the conditions, including funds equal to the minimum income for their family size for 52 weeks.
Is the Self-employed Persons Program an alternative?
Not at present. IRCC paused intake for the Self-employed Persons Program on April 30, 2024 and, in December 2025, extended that pause until further notice. The program selected people with world-class experience in the arts or athletics rather than technology founders, so it was never a direct substitute for the Start-up Visa.
Official sources
- Start-up Visa Programwww.canada.ca
- Update on Immigration Measures for Entrepreneurswww.canada.ca
- IRCC Deputy Minister Transition Binder 2026 - Economic Immigrationwww.canada.ca
- Immigrate with a start-up visa: Who can applywww.canada.ca
- Entrepreneur Program - Stream 1: Innovative businesswww.quebec.ca
- Conditions for immigrating to Québec as an entrepreneur - Stream 1: Innovative businesswww.quebec.ca
Reviewed October 2026. Immigration rules change often. Confirm the current requirements with the official authority or a licensed adviser before applying.
Your path in Canada.
Startup visa
Start-up Visa paused June 30, 2026; Québec's Stream 1 still takes files
02Temporary residence
SUV work permit closed Dec 19, 2025; current holders may still extend
03Permanent residence
Keep PR by spending 730 days in Canada in every five-year period
04Citizenship
1,095 days present in 5 years; test and CLB 4 for ages 18–54