Canada Start Up Business Visa, Canada Investment Program Dubai

Start Up Visa

What is Canada Start-Up Visa Program?

The Canada Start-Up Visa Program is a unique immigration pathway that caters to foreign entrepreneurs with innovative start-up business ideas that can create jobs for Canadians and can compete on a global scale.
Prospective Startup Visa applicants who are successful under this program can receive permanent resident status and continue operating their startup as intended.

This program could be a great choice for people who do not qualify for the Federal Skilled Worker program or the different Business immigration options under the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) or under the C11 Self Employed Entrepreneur Work Permit.

Canada Start-Up Visa Eligibility Requirements

Prospective foreign entrepreneurs who wish to apply for the Canada Start-Up Visa Program must meet the eligibility requirements in the following areas:

Have a Qualifying Business
Get a Valid Letter of Support from a Designated Organization
Meet the Language Requirements
Show specified Proof of Funds

A qualifying business means you created a business that meets the following conditions.

At the time you get a commitment from a designated organization:

each applicant holds 10% or more of the voting rights attached to all shares of the corporation outstanding at that time (up to 5 people can apply as owners)

AND

applicants and the designated organization jointly hold more than 50% of the total voting rights attached to all shares of the corporation outstanding at that time

At the time you receive your permanent residence:

you provide active and ongoing management of this business from within Canada
an essential part of the operations of the business happens in Canada
this business is incorporated in Canada.

There are three types of designated organizations with different minimum investment requirements that qualify under this program.

Venture capital funds
Angel investor groups
Business incubators

The minimum requirement investment required from each designated organization is shown below:

Venture capital funds: $200,000
Angel investor groups: $75,000
Business incubators: No requirement if the applicant is accepted into the Canadian business incubator’s program.

Find the list of designated organizations in the next section.
Venture capital funds
You must get at least one of these groups to agree to invest a minimum of $200,000:

7 Gate Ventures
Arete Pacific Tech Ventures (VCC) Corp
BCF Ventures
BDC Venture Capital
Celtic House Venture Partners
Extreme Venture Partners LLP
First Fund
Golden Venture Partners Fund, LP
iNovia Capital Inc.
Intrinsic Venture Capital
Lumira Ventures
Nova Scotia Innovation Corporation (o/a Innovacorp)
PRIVEQ Capital Funds
Real Ventures
Red Leaf Capital Corp
Relay Ventures
ScaleUp Venture Partners, Inc.
Tangentia Ventures
Top Renergy Inc.
Vanedge Capital Limited Partnership
Version One Ventures
WhiteHaven Venture
Westcap Management Ltd.
Yaletown Venture Partners Inc.
York Entrepreneurship Development Institute (YEDI) VC FundAngel Investors

Angel investor groups

You must get one or more investors connected to these groups to agree to invest a minimum of $75,000:

Canadian International Angel Investors
Ekagrata Inc.
Golden Triangle Angel Network
Keiretsu Forum Canada
Oak Mason Investments Inc.
TenX Angel Investors Inc.
VANTEC Angel Network Inc.
York Angel Investors Inc.

Business Incubators

The List of Business Incubators for Canada Start-Up Visa Program:
You must be accepted into one of these programs:

Alacrity Foundation
Alberta Agriculture and Forestry
Agrivalue Processing Business Incubator
Food Processing Development Centre
Alberta IoT Association
Biomedical Commercialization Canada Inc. (operating as Manitoba Technology Accelerator)
Brilliant Catalyst
Creative Destruction Lab
DMZ Ventures
Empowered Startups Ltd.
Extreme Innovations
Genesis Centre
Highline BETA Inc.
Innovacorp
Innovation Cluster – Peterborough and the Kawarthas
Innovation Factory
Interactive Niagara Media Cluster o/a Innovate Niagara
Invest Ottawa
Knowledge Park o/a Planet Hatch
L-SPARK
LatAm Startups
Launch Academy – Vancouver
LaunchPad PEI Inc.
Millworks Centre for Entrepreneurship
NEXT Canada
North Forge East Ltd.
North Forge Technology Exchange
Pacific Technology Ventures
Platform Calgary
Pycap Inc (o/a Pycap Venture Partners)
Real Investment Fund III L.P. o/a FounderFuel
Roseview Global Incubator
Spark Commercialization and Innovation Centre
Spring Activator
The DMZ at Ryerson University
Think8 Global Institute
Toronto Business Development Centre (TBDC)
Treefrog
TSRV Canada Inc. (operating as Techstars Canada)
University of Toronto Entrepreneurship Hatchery
VIATEC
Waterloo Accelerator Centre
York Entrepreneurship Development Institute

Applicants must demonstrate their proficiency in English or French by scoring a minimum of CLB 5 or NCLC 5 on an approved language exam. They can score more points on their Selection Factors if their score is higher

Language tests Canada accepts are:

CELPIP: Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program
IELTS: International English Language Testing System
PTE: Pearson Test of English
TEF Canada: Test d’évaluation de français
TCF Canada : Test de connaissance du français

Applicants must also demonstrate that they possess enough funds to settle in Canada. These funds should cover living expenses for them and any dependents that will be coming to Canada with them.

The minimum funds required for different family sizes is shown below.

Updated June 3, 2024

Total Family Members Coming to Canada	Funds Needed (CAD)
1	$14,690
2	$18,288
3	$22,483
4	$27,297
5	$30,690
6	$34,917
7	$38,875
Each additional member	$3,958

Until December 31, 2026

Each calendar year, IRCC considers only 10 complete group applications per designated organization. Applications are processed on a first-come, first-served basis.

If you apply after the annual cap is reached, your application will be returned, and the processing fees will be reimbursed.

To learn more about Start-up visa, Book a Free Consultation with a Licensed Canadian Immigration Practitioner today.

Start Up Visa

Immigration to Canada – an exciting journey!

Have a qualifying business

Qualifying applicants are required to hold a Letter of Support from a valid designated organization.

Meet the Minimum Language Requirements

Offer Proof of Funds

Designated organization caps

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