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We’re exposing the truth about how the Canadian Startup Visa PR applications are being processed by the IRCC. It’s not like any other PR program in Canada, and you’d be surprised to find out how they are processing them and your real chances of approval.
As you all know already, the Canadian Startup Visa is a direct PR program with an optional work permit. We’ve covered a lot about the work permits, but what about the PR application processing by IRCC?
We’re going to cover some facts and trends based on actual applications which have been processed and are under process, then we’ll come to the final conclusions on what you can expect and how to prepare yourself.
At INGWE we are EXPERTS in the Canada and UK Startup Visa. We will guide and support you throughout the endorsement letter or Letter of Support process and the entire immigration process including work visas and permanent residencies. Get a FREE email assessment with us, fill out our form, click here.
Here are the facts to consider as of today regarding the current IRCC Processing:
* As per recent IRCC announcements and part of the 2025 immigration plan, the IRCC has increased Startup Visa PR processing capacities and quotas each year. They have committed to processing more and more PR applications under this economic immigration program to reduce the backlog of over +6000 applications.
* While they have increased the processing capacity, the IRCC has started involving more of its visa processing centres. 100% of all Startup Visa cases were being processed by the IRCC officers in Sydney, Nova Scotia but now you will see processing letters from all over Canada, at least 6-10 other processing centres from different provinces and cities are involved – to assist with the caseload balancing process.
* The IRCC is finalizing all 2020 SUV PR applications now (i.e., rendering a final decision) and already started processing 2021 applications as well. There are a few 2022 SUV PR applications under process too, but significantly fewer as most of the effort by IRCC is to clean up the backlog from 2020 to 2021 stuck since they shut down everything during the pandemic.
* Not all the IRCC officers assigned to the Startup Visa PR applications are experienced in this program.
* IRCC wants to make the Canadian Startup Visa program a competitive and attractive program for all international Startups to clean up the mess since 2020 and the bad publicity surrounding these immigration processing delays.
If you’re interested in applying for the Canada Startup Visa, at INGWE we will guide and support you throughout the endorsement letter or Letter of Support process and the entire immigration process, including work visas and Canada PR. Get a FREE email assessment with one of our Business Immigration consultants. Fill out the form, click here.
These are the trends we are seeing with the actual IRCC officers processing the Startup Visa PR applications:
1: After receiving your permanent file number from IRCC, which starts with an ‘E’ and this can be 1.5 years after you submit your initial PR applications under the SUV program, within 2-5 months, an officer will send a request for updated information to each of the co-founders in the Startup group. We are hopeful that this timeline will improve in 2024, but so far this is what you can expect. The updated information request by IRCC at this stage typically includes the following (and remember that each co-founder will have their own customized questions or request letter – but 1 main co-founder, typically the COO or CEO will receive the business progress request and questions):
A: Updated medical, police clearance letter, military service, proof of settlement funds, employment documents, education, family information, residency and work history, travel history, marriage certificate, updated passport info if the previous one has expired, and updated Schedule B forms. They may ask more detailed questions on your proof of funds if you had large lump sums deposited without explanation in your bank account or it may seem like you are short for the settlement funds in any way based on the average balance in your bank account.
B: In this initial request IRCC also asks by ‘default’ regarding an updated Business Plan or ‘Business Activity Description’ that you will be involved in Canada, and your Canadian business registration. These are mainly by default, and they request this info for over 90% of all Startups in the first round after you receive the permanent file number, which means somebody is now processing and reviewing your Canadian immigration application.
2: This is where it gets interesting, from this point onwards. If you received a request letter without the location of the processing office mentioned at the bottom of the letter, this means it’s being processed by their specialized SUV team which may be in Sydney Nova Scotia, or Ottawa. Sometimes they even use these at the bottom of the letter “Start-up Visa Program Unit"or " Startup Visa Processing Team” – which also means it’s part of the core team out of Sydney Nova Scotia or Ottawa. These are the two locations where the most experienced IRCC officers review SUV PR applications and potentially start asking more detailed questions.
3: If you received a letter from the ‘other locations’ for SUV processing such as Vancouver, Newfoundland, Edmonton, Yellowknife, or any other locations outside Ottawa and Nova Scotia, then you have a 75% chance of not receiving any further correspondence from IRCC until the next stage that is receiving your IRCC pre-settlement letter which is an indication that your PR is under process.
4: If you received the first letter from any IRCC processing centre where the location is not identified or it states, “Start-up Visa Program Unit"or " Startup Visa Processing Team”, then you will be expecting further detailed business progress reports and questions. Here are the sample questions you may receive depending on your industry and your designated organization if you are assigned these experienced IRCC officers:
A: If any fees were paid to the Designated Entity, provide proof of Receipt of payment for the program.
B: Is the company incorporated or registered in [your home country]? If yes, please provide registration documents.
C: Please demonstrate how an essential part of the business's operations will be conducted in Canada.
D: Provide details regarding the amount of investment made and who is investing.
E: What sort of funding will you need to raise and what have you done to secure that funding?
F: Provide documents of your net worth (and your business partners’ net worth) highlighting the available funds for the establishment of your company in Canada (over and above the funds that you have to settle in Canada);
G: [If your startup includes manufacturing a part or hardware] Where will the products be manufactured? Who will be manufacturing the products?
H: Explain your production plan, mapping the steps you will take to deliver your product (from inception to production and marketing and delivery and sales).
I: [if your product must be manufactured or imported, or will be related to a restricted or regulated industry] Are there any approvals required to start your business in Canada? If so, please provide the list of requirements to manufacture, market, sell and/or distribute this type of product in Canada.
J: For software or online platform solutions you can expect to receive similar questions as follows but overlapping with the previous ones we just covered – so you should be ready for any of these:
5: A key question they may ask any specific Startup, if the processing team or officer is from Sydney Nova Scotia or Ottawa – which I think is a key component to proving that you are a genuine and real Startup, is:
Please provide an up-to-date description of the progress and growth level of the business (provide supporting documents such as design, signed contracts and/or agreements, proof of contacts being made, proof of pilot projects, etc.); Another version of this is the following: “Please provide documents describing business activities, progress AND Please show us what has been achieved and the work that you have accomplished personally thus far for your intended business in Canada.”
This is a key question to determine your role as a co-founder, because if you cannot prove that you had an active and essential role in the Startup then they could easily refuse you, which would lead to a refusal for the whole Startup group if you were indicated as an essential member on the commitment certificate and Letter of Support.
A: They will give you 30 days to respond to these questions with supporting documents and proof. Of course, an extension can be requested if you have a justifiable reason.
B: Here is a new trend that these experienced processing teams are using now. For certain nationalities, they may even call you overseas and grill you on these questions over a phone call that is not scheduled. This has happened to several of our clients. These are the questions they were asked: Hint, see if you can figure out what you think they are focusing on in this line of questioning.
* Where did you meet the other co-founders?
* How did you connect with or know the co-founders? (Very detailed questions about other co-founders connecting with each other)
* What was your exact role & activity in this startup group?
* How is your past work experience/occupation related to this startup field of activity?
* How did you connect with the designated organization?
* How much did you pay the designated organization?
* What services did the designated organization provide to you? And what activities did the designated organization complete or do with you? (Very detailed questions about the Designated Organization)
* Who wrote the business plan? Did the designated organization or your RCIC/lawyer create or help with the business plan?
* Do you have sales yet? If not, what are you doing now as a startup if there are no sales?
* When do you expect to get your activity or start inside Canada?
* Have you had any hiring activities yet?
* What is your salary/wage for the startup if you are getting paid now?
* How many hours a week do you work for the startup?
* What is the source of your income to cover expenses for the startup? If you don’t have revenue yet.
* Why did they involve you in the business in the first place?
* Are you a shareholder of this startup? What %?
* How and when did you invest in the startup and how much?
As you can imagine, in these situations if you receive a call like this out of the blue, you cannot prepare much in advance so you need to be ready with your co-founders on having the same answer for all the questions with no discrepancies – and also the same answers should have been included in your applications forms, Schedule 13, and commitment certificates. It’s all about the alignment of your responses.
At INGWE we are EXPERTS in the Canada and UK Startup Visa. We will guide and support you throughout the endorsement letter or Letter of Support process and the entire immigration process including work visas and permanent residencies. Get a FREE email assessment with us, fill out our form, click here.
Let’s now look at the conclusion of all these facts and how you can make sense of this all.
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The conclusion we will be drawing in this article will be controversial, and I don’t expect you all to accept it and other stakeholders in the industry to repeat this anywhere. Again, this is the raw truth based on our experience with the Startup Visa programs, this conclusion has taken some time to reach this level. There are 3 key factors that combined create a bias in IRCC towards deciding on your SUV PR approval or refusal. These 3 key factors are:
1: The IRCC officer assigned to review and decide on your PR application.
2: The designated organization who has issued your Letter of Support.
3: Your nationality.
If you are from one of these countries which is one of the highest volume source countries for Startup Visa, then you will receive more scrutiny if you have been assigned an experienced IRCC officer for your PR processing: Iran, Vietnam, China, Hong Kong, India, and Pakistan
As you can see, the Startup Visa program PR processing and the approval rate is heavily dependent on whether you receive an experienced processing centre or officer or not. This is completely random. You may get lucky and receive a processing centre or officer who has a basic checklist and will go through all key eligibility criteria and approve you. This has happened to some of our Startup groups. The flip side to this is you will receive the IRCC officer from hell who will grill you with detailed business progress and activity questions and consider you as a ‘fraudulent Startup’ unless you can prove otherwise. These officers have the highest refusal rate under the Startup Visa program. Now you may be asking yourself, if it’s completely random then why does it matter what I do with my Startup business and my efforts? We’re going to answer your question by outlining the following scenarios for you, and you can draw your own conclusion:
Scenario A) Your Startup didn’t do much with your business or make any progress after you received the Letter of Support. You are assigned to an easy officer from one of the new processing location centres, and you are approved for your PR.
Scenario B) Your Startup did not really do much with your business or make any progress after you received the Letter of Support. You are assigned to an experienced officer from Sydney Nova Scotia or Ottawa, and they grill you, you receive a Procedural Fairness Letter, and you will potentially be refused (with +90% certainty).
Scenario C) You are a Startup that has been very proactive, investing, making progress, collaborating, and developing your product and market share. You are assigned to an easy officer from one of the new processing location centres, and you are approved for your PR – no matter what you’ve really done beyond the minimum requirements or compared to the other Startup groups.
Scenario D) You are a Startup that has been very proactive, investing, making progress, collaborating, and developing your product and market share. You are assigned to an experienced officer from Sydney Nova Scotia or Ottawa, and they grill you. The officer tries to throw you some curveballs in terms of your business progress questions. They will attempt to refuse you. They will either give up after 1-2 rounds of questions if your Startup is solid or they may even issue a PFL (Procedural Fairness Letter). These officers are designed and trained to refuse if they sense the slightest hint of weakness or fraud in your Startup. The key difference here is that you can defend yourself to avoid an outright refusal. The meat of the entire defense is in the response you send to the PFL. But in this scenario you can defend yourself and overcome even a refusal if you must take it to Judicial Review. This option doesn’t exist if you didn’t do anything and have no justifiable evidence to support your claims of being an active and genuine Startup.
In conclusion of all this, you can now understand that if you are not a genuine or active Startup, you’re playing Russian Roulette with your Startup Visa PR process. You don’t have a chance of defending yourself if you are assigned the wrong officer. And if you are a legit and active Startup, you can defend yourself against these officers who are trained or programmed to refuse you and have a chance of overcoming their questions, their PFL, and even having IRCC re-process your applications in a Judicial Review. Therefore, the approval rate and processing of Startup Visa PR applicants are completely random – but the key question is: are you prepared to defend yourself if the time comes or will you be one of the lucky ones who passes through the cracks of the IRCC filter?
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At INGWE we are EXPERTS in the Canada and UK Startup Visa. We will guide and support you throughout the endorsement letter or Letter of Support process and the entire immigration process including work visas and permanent residencies. Get a FREE email assessment with us, fill out our form, click here.
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