If you have been waiting for Canada to say what comes after the Start-up Visa, the honest summary is short: IRCC has said a replacement is coming, has given it a name, and has said almost nothing else. This piece lists what is on the record, who said it, and where the record stops. Everything below was checked on 5 November 2026.
The record, in three lines
- December 2025. IRCC's notice on measures for entrepreneurs said "a new, targeted pilot for immigrant entrepreneurs is expected to follow", with more information communicated in 2026. IRCC notice
- 2026. IRCC's transition binder for the Deputy Minister lists the "launch of a new High Impact Start-up Pilot to replace the Start-Up Visa Program". It gives no date, criteria or targets. IRCC transition binder
- Second-hand. The 2026-27 Departmental Plan, as quoted by immigration.ca, speaks of a "new high impact Start-Up Visa pilot" aimed at "elite entrepreneurs". immigration.ca
What the Start-up Visa status is now
IRCC's own page says the Start-up Visa Program was paused on 30 June 2026. Applications accepted before the pause are still being processed, and an eligible applicant can still apply for an open work permit while theirs is assessed. The last way in was a valid 2025 commitment certificate and a filing by that date. IRCC, Start-up Visa Program
What is not published
- An opening date
- Eligibility criteria and the application process
- Intake or a cap
- Processing time
- Whether a designated organization (a venture fund, angel group or incubator) is still required
- Whether an old commitment certificate counts for anything
The one official number nearby is not about the pilot at all: the 2026 admissions target for all federal business programs together is 500.
Canada’s low-wage Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) permits now last up to two years, but a moratorium restricts access in many major cities. Employers and workers must adapt their plans to these changes and check for sector exemptions.
What you will see that is not official
A cap of about 2,000 a year and a 12-month processing target circulate in trade press. Neither is on canada.ca. Plans that depend on them are plans built on a rumour.
Our reading, marked as ours
IRCC promised detail "in 2026" and none has come, so an opening this year looks unlikely. We expect 2027. That is our expectation, not an IRCC statement, and we will update it the day IRCC gives a date.
How to check this yourself
You do not need to take our word for any of it. Three pages hold the official record, and each takes a minute to read:
- The Start-up Visa Program page, for the programme's status and the date of the pause.
- The December 2025 notice on measures for entrepreneurs, for what closed and what was promised.
- The Canada Gazette index for 20 December 2025, which lists new Ministerial Instructions on the Start-up Business Class. The index shows the title only; the text of those instructions is not something we have read, and we do not describe it.
If a claim about the pilot is not on a page like these, it is reporting or opinion. That is not the same as being wrong, but it is not the same as being official either.
What to do with this today
Nothing needs filing and nothing needs paying. If someone offers you a place in the pilot, ask them for the IRCC page that says such a place exists. There is no such page.
We keep a field-by-field record of what is stated, what is only reported and what is blank on our High Impact Start-up Pilot page.