Changes To Canada Business Immigration 2024

Last Updated On 19 June 2024, 11:54 AM EDT (Toronto Time)

Today, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, Marc Miller, unveiled a number of modifications to federal business programs in Canada.

The new changes aim to shorten application backlogs and processing times and will come into effect on April 30, 2024.

In order to enhance the Start-up Visa Program, IRCC encourages designated venture capital firms, angel investor groups, and business incubators to focus on most promising proposals by

capping the permanent residence application numbers that IRCC will accept for processing every year to those associated with no more than 10 start-ups per designated organization.
granting priority processing to entrepreneurs whose start-up receives financial backing from Canadian capital or a Tech Network-affiliated business incubator. This includes both pre-existing and newly submitted applications in the inventory.

Minister Miller further declared a complete pause on new applications for the Self-Employed Persons Program beginning April 30, 2024.

This step is necessary in order to concentrate on the processing of applications derived from the existing inventory.

The Self-Employed Persons Program is for those who have significant experience in sports, recreation, art, or culture and will contribute to Canadian cultural vitality.

Processing times have extended beyond four years as a consequence of the large volume of applications received for this program.

Despite the current suspension, IRCC will continue to process overdue applications while evaluating potential program reforms and safeguarding the program’s integrity.

IRCC can effectively mitigate the backlog and shorten wait times for the talented, innovative, and entrepreneurial newcomers essential for the sustained expansion of Canadian economy by implementing measures such as

limiting application intake until the end of 2026 and
allocating additional admissions for the federal business category in accordance with the multi-year levels plan for 2024–2026.

Foreign entrepreneurs seeking admission into the Start-up Visa Program are required to secure committed backing from either of the following:

a specified venture capital fund (minimum investment of $200,000)
an angel investor group (minimum investment of $75,000)
a business incubator (entrance into their incubation program)

This category has helped over 300 start-ups and facilitated the permanent residency of approximately 900 entrepreneurs since the program’s inception in 2013.

IRCC will prioritize processing all applications from venture capital and angel investors, as well as those from business incubators with a minimum investment of $75,000.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development published a report in 2023 that identified Canada as the most appealing location for start-up entrepreneurs.

Access to capital, corporate tax rates, workforce skills, university strength and quality of life, and immigration policies for entrepreneurs and their families were among the numerous criteria that were considered for the rankings.

What is the current processing time for the Start-up Visa Program?

37 months is the current processing time for the Canadian start-up visa program.

What is the current processing time for the Federal Self-Employed program?

52 months is the current processing time for the Canadian Federal Self-Employed program.

Satinder Bains

Satinder brings expertise, knowledge, and experience related to internal work flows at IRCC. She worked at Canadian Consulate in Chandigarh before moving to Canada. Her articles on “Chinook – An internal IRCC tool used to bulk process temporary applications” was one of the notable work on our news website