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Are you eligible for Canada’s Startup Visa? Of course, you are! 99% of human beings with a beating heart are eligible. Will IRCC approve your Canadian Permanent Residency (PR) under the Startup Visa program because you are eligible and have a Letter of Support? That’s a whole other story – which is why we made this article for you.
We’re going to cover the key criteria of the Startup Visa program today and dive deep into IRCC’s double standards of eligibility vs credibility. Don’t expect anything less than the raw truth and nothing but the truth ...so help me the newly appointed minister of immigration!
Here are two facts:
Fact #1) Startup Visa has one of the easiest and most relaxed eligibility criteria across all Canadian immigration programs, besides family sponsorship and protected person programs.
Fact #2) Due to the massive popularity of this program, the huge volume of applicants, and due to fact #1 we just mentioned above, the IRCC has come up with secret internal eligibility criteria and double standards which they are using to challenge and refuse Startup Visa applicants.
Can these 2 facts co-exist in the Startup Visa universe? Unfortunately, they do.
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Here is what is stated on the Canadian government’s website to the question “How can I qualify for the Startup Visa Program?” of course we are paraphrasing into laymen’s terms and telling you what the answer means:
* Zero education. This means not even high school is mandatory in theory for the Startup Visa program.
* No work experience. This means that you could in theory be 18 years old and apply if you meet the rest of the eligibility criteria.
* No minimum or maximum age limitations. This means you could be 95 years old or 18 (and the reason you can’t be 14 years old and apply is because you would be considered a minor).
* You need to meet the minimum language exam scores in either English or French with the general IELTS, or CELPIP TEF or TCF.
* You will need a valid Letter of Support to apply for your Permanent Residency.
* Minimum settlement funds as per the IRCC according to your family size.
* In theory, no additional funds are required to be eligible and apply for the permanent residency program. It states “Have enough money to settle and live in Canada before you make money from your business”. This is interesting – maybe somebody should tell this to the IRCC officers, also known as the SUV Processing Unit.
Based on this information provided on the Canadian government website, anyone with these basic criteria can be eligible to apply for Permanent Residency in Canada from overseas. No visa or exploratory trip is required, and even if you were refused previously for other types of visas, as long as you are admissible, you can apply for your Canadian PR.
At a first glance, the eligibility criteria to apply for a study permit or a work permit to Canada is significantly more rigid than the Startup Visa program. As an example, can you obtain a Letter of Admission to a University with a CLB 5…. Probably not! Maybe college, but even then, if you are a mature student with not a lot of financials, or a large education gap you may still be refused. Can you apply for a work permit from outside Canada without prior work experience? Definitely not! But with a Startup visa… in theory, you can.
Now here is when everything comes together. Being eligible doesn’t mean you will be approved. IRCC officers in the SUV Processing Unit inside Canada have their own standards based on the following logic:
1: If you don’t have any education, how are you trained and educated to be able to manage, lead and grow a startup business? Unless you are a serial entrepreneur with a proven track record running and making successful startups, they will not believe you are really trying to move your startup to Canada to operate this business. They will refuse you on the grounds that your real intention is to ‘gain immigration status’…. i.e., obtain Canadian PR status.
2: If you don’t have any proven work experience, how will you ever be successful in starting a brand-new startup business? How can somebody with zero experience be the CEO, CIO, CFO, or COO of a startup business? Does this sound fishy? IRCC officers would believe so and will use the following excuse: it is unlikely given your experience and training to become economically established in Canada with this startup and therefore your true intention is to gain immigration status which is against the Immigration Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR).
3: If you or your startup co-founders don’t have investment funds, how will you support yourself in Canada if the business is not making money? Where is your source of income? Who will invest in this business to make it ‘scalable’ and grow it internationally and inside Canada if you have no money yourself besides the settlement funds or external investors? Of course, this is also a red flag for IRCC officers reviewing your application – unless you already have revenues or external investors or co-founders who are covering large amounts of investments for your startup business.
Don’t forget, you’re guilty until proven innocent as per the IRCC. So, it’s your responsibility to prove to the IRCC officer that you are not just eligible, but are also capable of investing, operating, managing, and scaling your startup business inside Canada.
Remember that we’re always posting about these key details for the Startup Visa Program and other investment immigration programs– and if that’s what you are interested in, you can subscribe to our YouTube channel for more deep-dive videos.
Have you checked the eligibility criteria for the Startup Visa work permit lately? Check it out…
Why is it so urgent for you to come inside Canada before your PR is decided on? You need to refer to the Immigration Regulations significant benefit R205(a). What will you contribute and offer the Canadian economy, culture, or society?
Do you have enough funds to cover the minimum income level for 52 weeks to live in Canada to support yourself financially? The Low income cut-offs (LICOs) for 52 weeks is significantly higher than the minimum IRCC settlement funds.
These funds must be separate from your investment funds. What does this mean? I thought we didn’t need any investment funds for Startup Visa. Why are they asking this for a work permit but no mention of this for the SUV PR eligibility? Is this a cruel joke? Or is this a mistake?
Here is the reality:
* The Startup Visa Program was launched in 2013. The eligibility criteria are still the same for the past 10 years.
* 6-10 years ago, any Startup Visa applicant could receive a Permanent Residency confirmation in 4 months by the IRCC based on a business plan and a Letter of Support.
* Today the IRCC officers will audit your business, and innovation and send you pages of questions after waiting in the queue for 2 years – and maybe you’ll be approved if they’re in a good mood or have met their ‘refusal’ targets.
* The Startup Visa work permit requirements were updated in 2023 – reflecting the true nature and internal expectations of the IRCC in terms of the Startup Visa applicants.
In conclusion, we now know that what is published on the IRCC’s website for the Startup Visa program PR eligibility is significantly different from the reality for final PR approval. Eligibility vs. Approval – which one do you think is more important? If you prefer just to meet the minimum eligibility criteria – then you don’t need me – but if you want to apply under the Canadian Startup Visa Program and be approved, then that’s another story.
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