Canada Start-up Visa
- Processing time
- 24–40 months
- Physical presence
- Permanent residents must meet a residency obligation of at least 730 days in every five-year period. Citizenship becomes possible after three years of physical presence within five.
- Family
- The application covers a spouse or partner and dependent children. Up to five people can co-found under a single business, each filing their own PR application.
Investment routes
Business investment
From $55 000
- Capital
- Non-refundable
This is an entrepreneurial route, not a passive investment. You need a qualifying business backed by a designated organization: a business incubator (no capital required, only acceptance), a designated angel investor group committing at least CAD 75,000 (about 55,000 USD), or a venture capital fund committing at least CAD 200,000 (about 147,000 USD). That committed capital comes from the organization, not necessarily from you — but you must separately prove settlement funds and actively build the company.
Limits and drawbacks
- This is not a pay-for-residence scheme. It is an entrepreneurial route: you must build a genuine, innovative business that a designated organization backs, and vague or purely passive ventures are refused.
- Processing is currently slow — commonly two to three years — and IRCC has capped annual intake, so timelines are uncertain.
- Canada taxes residents on worldwide income, with combined federal-provincial rates reaching roughly 53% at the top, and permanent residence carries a 730-days-in-five-years obligation.
- If your business fails, you can still keep permanent residence provided you met the programme’s conditions in good faith — but the venture risk and effort are real.