Maple Observer - Canada’s Start-Up Visa Program frozen, ending work permit pathway

After years of delays documented across multiple investigations, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has announced changes to the Start-Up Visa (SUV) program, effectively freezing new intake and cutting off a pathway founders relied on to build businesses while awaiting permanent residency.

New Canadian Media was the first outlet to report on prolonged delays and backlogs affecting Start-Up Visa applicants beginning in late 2023. Since then, NCM has published multiple stories tracking the program’s growing inventory, policy shifts and the impact on immigrant entrepreneurs and their families.

In a statement released Dec. 19, IRCC said it is no longer accepting applications for work permits tied to the SUV program, except for extensions from applicants already in Canada. The ministry also confirmed it will stop accepting new SUV permanent residence applications after Dec. 31, with a narrow exception for applicants who received a valid commitment from a designated organization earlier this year, but have not yet applied.

IRCC said it will prioritize permanent residence applications from SUV applicants already in Canada “as levels allow,” while citing pressures created by immigration levels targets and a large inventory of applications across business immigration streams. The department said the measures are intended to help manage backlogs and pave the way for a new pilot program for immigrant entrepreneurs. Details are expected in 2026.

Thousands of founders are already waiting, many of whom have invested heavily, relocated families, and built revenue-generating companies in Canada. For them, the announcement brings clarity on the intake change, but leaves unanswered questions about how long IRCC will take to finalize existing applications — and whether those still waiting outside Canada will see their cases move at all.