Canada’s Immigration Minister has announced a reform of the Start-Up Visa program and a temporary stop to the Self-Employed Persons program that will take effect on April 30, 2024.
Start-Up Visa Program Changes
Limited Applications and Priority Processing
To improve efficiency, the Start-up Visa program will cap how many applicants can be approved from each supporting business group. Entrepreneurs with backing from Canadian funding sources or established tech incubators will have their applications fast-tracked.
Self-Employed Persons Program Changes
Due to a backlog of applications causing long wait times, Canada has temporarily stopped accepting new applications for its Self-Employed Persons program. This pause is expected to last until late 2026 to allow time to process existing applications and improve the program.
Important To Consider
Notably both programs fall under the “Federal Business” category of the immigration levels plan, which is set to increase from a 5,000-newcomer allocation to a 6,000-newcomer allotment starting in 2025.
Speaking on the 29th of April, Miller reiterated the need for more efficient processing for these streams:
“Fast processing is critical to the success of entrepreneurs who come to Canada through our federal business programs. These necessary changes will set…. faster processing times while we look ahead to further reforms to make these programs more sustainable and effective over the long term.”
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