Talent, skills & founders · 🇨🇦 Canada
Closed to new applicantsCanada Start-up Visa: Closed — What Founders Can Do Instead
Closed to new applicants since December 2025 — a new entrepreneur pilot is planned.
Who it’s for
Founders who were considering Canada’s Start-up Visa.
Work permits
New applications stopped 19 December 2025
Permanent residence
New applications stopped 31 December 2025 (2025 commitment holders had until 30 June 2026)
Next
A new entrepreneur pilot is planned; details not yet published
Requirements
- Not open to new applicants
Costs
- —
Timeline
Watch for the new pilot. Provincial entrepreneur streams remain an alternative.
How Skylite Visa helps
We assess and introduce a licensed adviser
Paid advice on this route must come from a licensed professional. We review your profile first, then introduce you to a licensed partner and stay with you through the process.
Questions
- What can founders do instead?
- Provincial Nominee Program entrepreneur streams, or business routes in other countries (for example the UK Innovator Founder visa or the UAE Golden Visa for entrepreneurs).
Official source: Government of Canada — Start-up Visa · last checked 9 October 2026. Rules change — we re-confirm before you apply.
We don’t sell jobs, “work permits” or quota places — and nobody legitimately can.
A real work visa starts with a real employer. If you are recruited for work abroad, check the recruiter is licensed where you live. Be wary of anyone asking for large payments for a visa “guarantee”, a quota place, or turning a visit visa into a work visa.
This route is closed
Ask us about the alternatives — we’ll tell you honestly what fits.
Free profile check
Tell us about yourself and we’ll tell you honestly whether this route fits — before you pay anything.
We use your details only to answer your enquiry. Skylite Visa is not a government website, does not recruit for jobs abroad and never guarantees a visa.