Canada Start-up Visa.The Canada Start-up Visa requirements in 2026, step by step
The official list is short; files fail on the details. This page takes each requirement with the layer underneath it, and separates the extra paperwork that applicants from sanctioned countries such as Iran have to prepare. The programme itself is paused.
By Farjad P.DUpdated Figures checked against IRCC on
The Canada Start-up Visa is paused. IRCC stopped accepting new applications on June 30, 2026. Applications filed before that date are still being processed, and if you are eligible you can still apply for an open work permit while yours is assessed. IRCC says a targeted entrepreneur pilot will replace the programme, but has not published its criteria, its cap or an opening date. IRCC, Start-up Visa Program.
Routes open todayThis page is a reference, not an application guide. It describes the Start-up Visa as it stood before the pause, for two readers: anyone with an application already in progress, and anyone comparing it with the entrepreneur pilot IRCC says will replace it. These rules belong to the paused programme and do not apply to that pilot.
What are the Canada Start-up Visa requirements?
Read the four factsA letter of support from a designated organization, at least 10% of the voting rights for each founder and more than 50% together with that organization, CLB 5 in all four skills, and settlement funds that are not borrowed, from $15,263 for one person. The programme has been paused since June 30, 2026, so these rules now serve files already in progress.
- Programme status
- Paused
- no new applications since June 30, 2026
- Language
- CLB 5
- reading, writing, listening, speaking
- Voting rights
- 10% / >50%
- each founder / founders plus the organization
- Settlement funds
- $15,263
- one person, IRCC table of 29 July 2025
The official list is the floor. IRCC checks language, money and ownership. Whether the business is innovative, can scale and can create jobs in Canada is judged by the designated organization in its interview, and that judgement decides more files than anything on IRCC’s list.
Would your team have met the Start-up Visa requirements?
Answer all fiveFive things had to be true when you filed: a designated organization backed the business, the voting rights were split correctly, every founder reached CLB 5, you held unborrowed settlement funds, and the business would be run from Canada outside Quebec. With the programme paused, use this to compare your team with whatever the replacement pilot asks.
A letter of support
A designated organization (an incubator, angel investor group or venture capital fund on IRCC’s list) backs the business, gives you a letter of support and sends a commitment certificate to IRCC directly.
The ownership split
Each applicant holds at least 10% of the total voting rights, and the applicants together with the designated organization hold more than 50%. No more than 5 founders apply on one business.
CLB 5 in every skill
Canadian Language Benchmark 5 in reading, writing, listening and speaking, in English or French, from an approved test less than two years old when you apply.
Settlement funds
Money to support yourself and your family in Canada, separate from the company’s capital and not borrowed: $15,263 for one person on IRCC’s current table.
A business run from Canada
The company is incorporated in Canada, actively managed from inside Canada, with an essential part of its operations there, outside Quebec. The designated organization also judges whether it is innovative, scalable and able to create jobs.
Your readiness
0 of 5 answered
Each "not yet" is a part of your file to fix before you apply.
The unwritten sixth test
The business has to be innovative, scalable and able to create jobs in Canada. IRCC does not score that; the designated organization does, in its interview.
How designated organizations judge youHow was a Start-up Visa application put together?
Walk to step 5In five steps: win a letter of support from a designated organization, incorporate in Canada with the right share split, pass an approved language test, assemble the documents and settlement funds, then file for permanent residence online. No new files have been accepted since June 30, 2026; files accepted before then are still processed.
Step 1 of 5 · Designated organization
Win a letter of support
Pitch the business to a designated organization and pass its assessment and interview. If it backs you, it gives you a letter of support for your application and sends a commitment certificate, with the agreed shares, capital and each founder’s role, straight to IRCC.
Most founders talk to the organization before the company is even registered. That is fine: the conditions must be met by the time you file.
- 1
- letter goes in the file
What language score does the Canada Start-up Visa require?
Find your testCLB 5 in reading, writing, listening and speaking, in English or French. IRCC accepts CELPIP-General, IELTS General Training and PTE Core in English, and TEF Canada or TCF Canada in French; IELTS Academic is not accepted. Results must be less than two years old when you apply.
| Test | Reading | Writing | Listening | Speaking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CELPIP-General | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| IELTS General Training | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| PTE Core | 42–50 | 51–59 | 39–49 | 51–58 |
TEF Canada and TCF Canada are the approved French tests; IRCC publishes their NCLC 5 scores on the same page. Source: IRCC, language testing.
CLB 5 is the legal minimum, not the target. It is IRCC’s requirement, not the designated organization’s. An incubator interview runs in fluent English, and no official minimum makes up for struggling in it.
Watch the two-year clock. If preparing the business and winning the letter of support takes a year, take the test earlier than you think — but not so early that it expires before you file.
How much money did a Start-up Visa applicant need to show?
Find your family size$15,263 for one person, $19,001 for two, $28,362 for a family of four, plus $4,112 for each person beyond seven. This is living money for you and your family, separate from anything you put into the company, and it cannot be borrowed. IRCC revises the table every year.
| Family members | Funds required |
|---|---|
| 1 person | $15,263 |
| 2 people | $19,001 |
| 3 people | $23,360 |
| 4 people | $28,362 |
| 5 people | $32,168 |
| 6 people | $36,280 |
| 7 people | $40,392 |
| Each person beyond 7 | +$4,112 |
The figure that applies is the one in force when you file. Source: IRCC, who can apply.
Living money, not company money. You prove you can support yourself and your family in Canada, separately from any capital you have put into the business. The Canadian government gives no financial support.
Four conditions on the money. It must be available to you, transferable to Canada, free of debt and not borrowed from anyone, and you must be able to prove where it came from. For many applicants, “prove where it came from” is the hardest part of the sentence.
Want the household total with IRCC’s fees? Work it out on the cost page.
What ownership rules did the Start-up Visa set?
Read the four rulesEach applicant needed at least 10% of the total voting rights, and all applicants together with the designated organization more than 50%. Up to 5 founders could apply on one business, which had to be incorporated in Canada with an essential part of its operations there. All of it had to be true at filing.
Rule 1
Incorporated and operating in Canada
The company is registered in Canada, managed actively from inside Canada, and an essential part of its operations happens there.
Rule 2
At least 10% each
Every applicant holds 10% or more of the total voting rights attached to the company’s outstanding shares.
Rule 3
More than 50% together
The applicants and the designated organization together hold more than 50% of the total voting rights.
Rule 4
Up to 5 founders, some essential
Up to five people can apply as owners of one business. The designated organization names any essential person on the commitment certificate and letter of support; if IRCC refuses an essential person, every related applicant is refused.
The unwritten condition: the business has to be innovative, scalable and able to create jobs in Canada. IRCC leaves that to the designated organization, which tests it in the interview — and that is where many files stop.
What is the difference between the letter of support and the commitment certificate?
Read bothThe designated organization gives you the letter of support, which you send with your application. It sends the commitment certificate to IRCC directly, with the terms of your deal: shares, capital and each founder’s role. If your application claims something the certificate does not, the officer will see it.
Letter of support
Handed to you; it goes into your permanent residence application as a supporting document. It has a time limit: IRCC said that for a commitment certificate received before January 1, 2026, you had 6 months to send your application, after which you would need a new one.
Commitment certificate
Sent by the organization straight to IRCC. It records the agreement: the shareholding, the capital and the role of each founder, and it is where essential people are named. Understand the agreement in full before you sign it, not afterwards.
The last intake rule: to apply before the pause you needed a valid 2025 commitment certificate and had to file by June 30, 2026.
Which documents did the Start-up Visa permanent residence application need?
Tick all tenTen groups for the principal applicant: passport, letter of support, language result, proof of settlement funds, Canadian company records, education and work history, police certificates, a panel-physician medical exam, IRCC photos and forms, and family documents. Your spouse and any children over 18 supply their personal documents separately.
Your document list
0 of 10
Tick each one you already have, or have checked. Whatever is left is your to-do list.
What extra paperwork do applicants from Iran and other sanctioned countries need?
Read the six documentsDocuments in Persian are not simply translated; they are rebuilt for Canadian immigration. Each needs a certified translation stamped and signed by an official translator, with a copy of the original. Expect company gazette notices, social-insurance records, degrees, bank statements, police clearance and sometimes military-service papers, and allow months to prove where your money came from.
Official Gazette notices and articles of association
To prove past entrepreneurship and ownership of companies in Iran. Translate every relevant notice, not only the founding one.
Social security insurance records
The most common proof of work history: the official printout, translated.
Education documents
Degree certificate and transcripts, translated, and where needed authenticated by the judiciary and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Some routes also need an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA).
Bank statements
At least six months, translated, with an explanation for every large deposit. A property sale, an inheritance or a transfer from a company needs a supporting document.
Police clearance
From the Iranian police, translated — and from any other country where you lived for more than six months.
Military service card or exemption
Sometimes needed to explain gaps in your history.
What else do founders ask about the Start-up Visa requirements?
Open three answersSix answers: which language tests count, where the settlement funds can sit, when the company must exist, what a certified translation is, whether your spouse needs a test, and what a change in shares does to your file.
Can I apply with IELTS Academic?
No. IRCC accepts only these tests for the Start-up Visa: CELPIP-General, IELTS General Training and PTE Core in English, and TEF Canada or TCF Canada in French. If you only hold IELTS Academic you need to sit an approved test.
Do the settlement funds have to be in a Canadian bank account?
No, but they must be transferable to Canada and provable, and IRCC does not accept borrowed money. For applicants from sanctioned countries, money held in a bank inside that country is not treated as transferable; an account in a third country with a clear transaction history is the most common solution.
Can I start without a company registered in Canada?
You can start the process, and most applicants talk to a designated organization before registering a company. But by the time you file with IRCC, the company must be incorporated in Canada and the voting-rights conditions must be met.
What counts as a certified translation?
A translation stamped and signed by an officially certified translator, submitted together with a copy of the original document. Informal translation offices and translations you make yourself are not accepted. Some documents also need authentication by the issuing country’s justice ministry and foreign ministry; for Iranian documents, that means the judiciary and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Does my spouse also need a language test?
No. The language requirement applies to the applicants who own the business, not to accompanying spouses. Language will still help your spouse work in Canada.
What happens if the share structure changes after I file?
The ownership conditions must hold both when you file and when IRCC makes its decision. If new investment dilutes you below 10%, or takes the applicants and the designated organization together to 50% or less, the application is at risk. Check every change to the shares with your lawyer before it happens.
Where these figures come from
Sources
- IRCC — Start-up Visa Program Programme status: paused on 30 June 2026, files already accepted still processed. Checked 29 Oct 2026.
- IRCC — Start-up Visa: who can apply Voting rights, CLB 5, the settlement funds table (updated 29 July 2025), the cap of 10 group applications and the 6-month filing window. Checked 29 Oct 2026.
- IRCC — Start-up Visa: language testing The five approved tests, the CLB 5 scores for each and the two-year validity rule. IELTS Academic is not on the list. Checked 29 Oct 2026.
- IRCC Help Centre — What is an essential person under the Start-up Visa Program? Who names an essential person, and what a refusal of that person means for the others. Checked 29 Oct 2026.
- IRCC — Start-up Visa: how to apply The supporting documents, the fees paid to other organizations and the open work permit. Checked 29 Oct 2026.
Talk it through
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Whether your application is already with IRCC, or you are weighing the pilot that replaces the Start-up Visa against routes open today, bring your documents and get an honest read. If Canada is not the right route now, we will say so.
Also on this programme: what it costs and how designated organizations work.
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Regulatory Notice: The programme's status on this page was read off canada.ca on 12 September 2026, and fees, language tests, settlement funds and the designated-organization page were re-checked on 29 October 2026. The Start-up Visa has been paused since June 30, 2026; nothing here is an invitation to apply. Settlement funds follow IRCC’s table of 29 July 2025, which IRCC revises every year. This page is provided for informational purposes only. VisaRoads Inc., an Ashavid company, is a strategic business advisory firm — we are NOT an immigration law firm. IRCC revises its pages without notice — always verify current rules and figures at canada.ca.