Highlights: Canada issued 500 Permanent Residence visas to Start-up visa candidates!
- IRCC reports around 500 start-up visa entrepreneurs received Canada Permanent Residence in January 2024.
- Canada’s Start-up Visa (SUV) program expanded by 58.1% over the previous month.
- The immigration rate through SUVs in January 2024 was reportedly 880% higher than in January 2023.
- Ontario and British Columbia are the top choices for Start-up Visa immigrants.
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Canada‘s Start-Up Visa program on the rise
As per the IRCC reports, the Start-up Visa (SUV) immigration program of Canada saw a hike of 58.1% in January 2024. Around 500 immigrant entrepreneurs were issued Permanent Residence.
The SUV immigration level in January 2024 was 880 % higher than the 50 PRs granted in January 2023. Almost 5,880 new PRS is anticipated to be issued by the end of 2024 if the SUV immigration program continues at the same pace for the rest of the year as in January.
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SUV Immigration rates over the years
The SUV immigration program launched in 2015 witnessed only 55 immigrant entrepreneurs initially coming to Canada.
The table below lists the number of SUV immigrants from 2015 to 2024:
| Year | No. of Permanent Residents |
| 2015 | 55 |
| 2016 | 110 |
| 2018 | 240 |
| 2019 | 515 |
| 2020 | 260 |
| 2021 | 385 |
| 2022 | 575 |
| 2023 | 1460 |
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SUV entrepreneurs across Canadian Provinces
Data shows that SUV entrepreneurs prefer Ontario and British Columbia as their top choice when immigrating to Canada. Alberta and Manitoba are the following choice destinations for SUV immigrants.
The table below lists the number of PRs received through SUV by the top 5 Canadian provinces as of January 2024:
| Province | No. of PRs |
| Ontario | 275 |
| British Columbia | 170 |
| Manitoba | 35 |
| Alberta | 5 |
| Nova Scotia | 5 |
How does Canada’s SUV program work?
SUV applicants can come to Canada with a Canadian Work Permit, which the designated Canadian Investor must support before finalizing their application.
Receiving Canada PR from an SUV program takes around 37 months, as estimated by IRCC.
SUV considers the following three types of private-sector investors:
- Angel investors
- Venture Capital Funds
- Business Incubators
The table given below has the minimum investment criteria for candidates to qualify for SUV:
| Type of Investor | Minimum investment amount |
| Designated venture capital fund | $200,000 |
| Two or more commitments from designated venture capital fund | $200,000 |
| Designated angel investor group | $75,000 |
| Two or more investments from angel investor groups | $75,000 |
Eligibility Criteria for SUV applicants
The SUV applicant must be accepted into the business incubator program by a designated business incubator. The immigrant Investor must provide a viable business plan that will fulfill all the requirements of the government-approved designated entities.
Following are the eligibility criteria for SUV applicants as per the Canadian Government:
- The applicant must have a qualifying business
- The applicant must have available and transferable settlement funds
- The applicant should be proficient in English or French with a minimum CLB 5
- The applicant must possess a letter of support and a commitment certificate from a designated entity.
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Web Story: 500 Canada Permanent Residence issued to Start-up visa candidates in Jan