Start-Up Visa (SUV) entrepreneur immigration to Canada softened somewhat in February from its blisteringly-fast pace in January.

The number of new permanent residents arriving to the country dropped by 14.3 per cent month over month, the latest data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) reveals.

That’s a drop in immigrant entrepreneur immigration that’s almost lock-in step with the monthly decline in total immigration to Canada in February.

Canadian immigration softened in February by 18.4 per cent compared to the previous month, driving down the number of new permanent residents to the country by 13.8 per cent for the year to date compared to the first two months of last year.

In February, Canada welcomed 420 immigrant entrepreneurs as permanent residents through the SUV, down from 490 the previous month.

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The IRCC reports that 925 new permanent residents came to Canada through that program in the first two months of this year.

But while SUV immigration has softened month over month so far this year, it is still much higher than during the comparable months last year.

In January this year, Canada welcomed 490 immigrant entrepreneurs through the SUV, up from only 50 for the comparable month last year.

The number of new permanent residents through the SUV in February this year was more than 10 times the level of immigration through the program during the comparable month last year when 40 came through the SUV.

Projecting out from the current level of SUV immigration in the first two months would mean Canada could welcome up to 5,550 immigrant entrepreneurs this year.

Launched in 2015, the SUV saw only 55 immigrant entrepreneurs come to Canada through that program in its initial year.

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That number, though, doubled to 110 new permanent residents in 2016 and rose another 22.7 per cent the following year. By 2018, the program had more than quadrupled in popularity with 240 new permanent residents arriving under the SUV that year.

In 2019, the last full year before the arrival of COVID-19, the SUV welcomed 515 new permanent residents to Canada.

As the pandemic swept across Canada and public health and travel restrictions were imposed, though, immigration plummeted 45.9 per cent – and the number of people who arrived under the SUV fell in tandem with that overall drop in immigration to Canada.

In 2020, only 260 immigrant entrepreneurs became new permanent residents of Canada through the SUV.

With immigration rebounding strongly in 2021 to hit 406,020 new permanent residents, the SUV also saw increased activity with 385 new permanent residents coming to Canada through it that year, an improvement of 48.1 per cent over 2020.

It took until 2022 for the SUV to fully recover from the pandemic-fuelled downturn but it more than doubled in popularity last year compared to the previous year.

Ontario and BC Popular SUV Destinations

Ontario and British Columbia remain the most popular destinations for SUV immigrants.

Ontario had received 525 new permanent residents through the program by the end of February of this year and British Columbia welcomed 300 during those two months.

Alberta added 10 new permanent residents through the program in January and February and Manitoba added 75 immigrant entrepreneurs through the SUV during those months.

The only other province to see the arrival of immigrant entrepreneurs through the SUV in January and February was Nova Scotia which welcomed five.

None of the other provinces or territories had added any new permanent residents through the SUV by the end of February.

The SUV program generates much lower overall numbers of new permanent residents than federal worker programs, such as the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) and Federal Skilled Trade (FST), the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) or the regional economic development programs including the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) or Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP). 

Due to these smaller numbers, the monthly and even yearly fluctuations in the number of new permanent residents under the SUV can sometimes seem exaggerated when examined in percentage terms.

Candidates applying under the SUV program can initially come to Canada on a work permit supported by their designated Canadian investor before their application for permanent residence is finalized.

The entire process of applying for permanent residence to Canada through the SUV is currently estimated by the IRCC to take 37 months.

Under the SUV, three types of private-sector investors are considered: angel investors, venture capital funds, and business incubators.

A designated venture capital fund must confirm that it is investing at least $200,000 into the qualifying business. Candidates can also qualify with two or more commitments from designated venture capital funds totalling $200,000.

A designated angel investor group must invest at least $75,000 into the qualifying business. Candidates can also qualify with two or more investments from angel investor groups totalling $75,000.

Three Types Of Private-Sector Investors Are Considered Under The SUV

A designated business incubator must accept the applicant into its business incubator program. It is up to the immigrant investor to develop a viable business plan that will meet the due diligence requirements of these government-approved designated entities.

That investing and the development of the business is usually done with the help of business consultants in Canada’s start-up ecosystem with oversight from experienced corporate business immigration lawyers who can ensure a start-up’s business concept meets all industry-required terms and conditions.

The basic government-imposed candidate eligibility requirements for the SUV are: