Business immigration to Canada

Business immigration covers the ways an entrepreneur, investor, business owner or self-employed person can come to Canada to start, buy or run a business. Some routes lead to permanent residence. Others are work permits that let you run a business for a limited time.

The federal programs are the Start-up Business Class and the Self-employed Persons Class in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR). Ministerial Instructions published in the Canada Gazette on December 20, 2025 set the number of new applications for both classes at zero from January 1, 2026, until further notice, with a narrow exception for Start-Up Visa commitments made in 2025. Business work permits are issued under sections 204 and 205 of IRPR, mostly through the International Mobility Program, which does not require a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).

There is no federal investor program. IRCC's list of permanent residence programs shows only Quebec's business programs for investors. Quebec runs its own Investor, Entrepreneur and Self-Employed Worker programs, and provinces run entrepreneur streams through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).

The one thing most people get wrong: a business owner work permit is not a path to permanent residence by itself. IRCC's C11 work permit is for owners who seek only temporary residence, and time you spend self-employed or running your own business in Canada does not count as work experience for the Canadian Experience Class (CEC). For permanent residence, you usually need a provincial entrepreneur stream or a Quebec business program.

Likely a good fit if:

• You have several years of business ownership or senior management experience. Most provincial entrepreneur streams ask for 2 to 5 years within the last 5 to 10 years.
• You have a net worth you can document and trace. Most provincial streams ask for $300,000 to $600,000, and Quebec's Investor Program asks for $2,000,000.
• You are ready to live in a specific province, sometimes in a smaller community, and to manage the business day to day.
• You graduated from a college or university in Alberta, Nova Scotia or Newfoundland and Labrador and run, or plan to start, a business there.
• Your employer is a multinational company with operations in at least 2 countries and wants to send you to open or run a Canadian branch.
• You are a United States or Mexican citizen who has invested in, or trades with, a business in Canada.

Look at other options if:

• You planned to apply to the Start-Up Visa or the Self-Employed Persons Program. Both are closed to new applications.
• You want to invest money without running the business. Provincial streams require you to actively manage the business, and some, such as British Columbia's, exclude passive investments.
• Your plan depends on Saskatchewan's or Ontario's entrepreneur streams. Both are closed.
• You cannot show where your money came from. Business programs check the lawful source of your funds.
• You are mainly a skilled worker with a job offer or Canadian work experience. Express Entry or a provincial worker stream may suit you better.

Next, read the work permits page for temporary options, the Provincial Nominee Program page for how nomination works, and the Quebec page for Quebec selection.

The Start-Up Visa Program gave permanent residence to entrepreneurs outside Quebec whose start-up had the support of a designated venture capital fund, angel investor group or business incubator. Each applicant needed at least 10% of the voting rights, and language of at least Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 5.

1. 1

   2024: annual cap

   IRCC limited each designated organization to 10 complete start-up applications per year and gave priority to start-ups backed by Canadian capital or by a business incubator in Canada's Tech Network.

2. 2

   December 19, 2025: work permit closed

   IRCC stopped accepting applications for the optional Start-Up Visa work permit, except extensions from people already in Canada on that permit.

3. 3

   December 31, 2025: new applications stopped

   At 11:59 p.m., IRCC stopped accepting new Start-Up Visa applications, except from people with a valid commitment made by a designated organization in 2025.

4. 4

   January 1, 2026: Ministerial Instructions

   New instructions set new applications for the Start-up Business Class and the Self-employed Persons Class at zero, until further notice.

5. 5

   June 30, 2026: last deadline passed

   Holders of a valid 2025 commitment certificate had to apply by June 30, 2026. IRCC's program page now says the program was paused on that date.

IRCC processes accepted Start-Up Visa files in this order: first, files where a team member holds a Start-Up Visa work permit and the commitment came from a venture capital fund (at least $200,000), an angel investor group (at least $75,000) or a qualifying business incubator; second, files that meet those conditions except the work permit; third, all others. If you already hold a Start-Up Visa work permit, you may be able to extend it while IRCC processes your permanent residence application.

IRCC has said it will replace the Start-Up Visa with a new pilot for immigrant entrepreneurs. Its 2026–27 Departmental Plan describes a high impact start-up pilot with eligibility focused on elite entrepreneurs. As of November 3, 2026, IRCC has not published eligibility rules or an opening date, so you cannot apply to it.

The Self-Employed Persons Program was for people with relevant experience in cultural activities or athletics who would contribute significantly to Canada's cultural or athletic life. IRCC paused intake on April 30, 2024, when processing times had grown beyond four years, and extended the pause until further notice from January 1, 2026.

IRCC's 2026 admissions target for all federal business programs together is 500 people.

Most business work permits are LMIA-exempt and issued under the International Mobility Program. For each one, an offer of employment is submitted in IRCC's Employer Portal and the employer compliance fee is paid, unless an exemption applies. When you own the business, you are both the employer and the employee, and you must meet the rules for both.

Similar investor categories exist under other free trade agreements, including those with the European Union, the United Kingdom, Chile, Colombia, Korea, Peru and Ukraine, and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

C11 compared with an LMIA for your own job: some owners instead apply for an LMIA for their own position, often called an owner-operator LMIA. In that case your Canadian business applies to ESDC as an employer, ESDC assesses the job under its LMIA rules, and the business pays a $1,000 processing fee per position. A C11 permit needs no LMIA, but you must prove significant benefit and a temporary stay. IRCC says that if you own less than 51% of the business, you must apply as an employee, which may mean an LMIA or another LMIA-exempt category.

What officers look for in a C11 application:

• A business plan that shows the real steps to start the business (location, suppliers, costs, marketing and customers), not just a market study of the industry.
• Benefit beyond you and your family: jobs that matter for the area, wages at the median or higher, regional development, exports, or a service that is hard to find locally.
• Location matters. IRCC's own example is a small convenience store: in downtown Toronto it may bring no significant benefit, while in a rural area far from other stores it may.
• Your background, skills and language ability to run this business.
• A temporary plan. Year-round businesses need an exit or transition plan, for example hiring a manager before you leave Canada.
• Proof of where your business funds came from.

How these permits can lead to permanent residence:

• Self-employment does not count for the CEC. IRCC's instructions state that experience as a self-employed person or entrepreneur does not qualify, and the CEC page lists self-employment as experience you cannot count (some physicians are the exception).
• Paid work as an employee of a Canadian company, for example as an intra-company transferee, can count if it meets the usual CEC rules.
• For business owners, the main route is a provincial entrepreneur stream: you get a C60 work permit with the province's support letter, run the business under a performance agreement, and then ask the province for a nomination.
• In Quebec, a notice of intention to select lets you get a work permit; you receive the Quebec Selection Certificate after meeting the program's conditions.

Most provincial streams use a performance agreement. You sign it after the province approves your application, arrive on a work permit, run the business for a set time (at least one year in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, and six months of operations in New Brunswick), and report your results before the province decides whether to nominate you.

Provinces charge their own fees. For example, British Columbia charges $300 to register and $3,500 to apply, Manitoba charges a $2,500 application fee, and Newfoundland and Labrador charges no application fee for International Entrepreneur. Nova Scotia started charging nominee program fees on September 1, 2026.

A provincial nomination is not permanent residence. After you are nominated, you apply to IRCC, which checks admissibility and makes the final decision.

Quebec selects its own business immigrants. You first apply to Quebec's Ministère de l'Immigration et de l'Intégration (MII, called MIFI until October 22, 2026) for a Quebec Selection Certificate (Certificat de sélection du Québec, CSQ), then apply to IRCC for permanent residence. On November 3, 2026, Quebec's pages say you can apply to all of its business programs at any time, with no maximum number of applications.

All Quebec business programs require spoken French at level 7 or higher on the Québec scale of French proficiency levels, proven with an accepted French test (results less than two years old) or an accepted diploma. After the CSQ, IRCC's business immigration fees apply (see Costs and processing times).

Most provincial entrepreneur streams use an expression of interest. You create a profile with your experience, net worth, language, education and business idea, and the province scores it on a points grid. British Columbia, for example, scores human capital factors such as experience, education and language, plus the commercial viability and economic benefits of your proposal, and invites candidates in periodic draws. New Brunswick requires at least 65 out of 100 points.

An invitation lets you submit a full application, usually with a detailed business plan, a third-party net worth report and, in some provinces, an interview or an exploratory visit. Newfoundland and Labrador requires a visit to the province before you apply from outside it. Quebec does not use draws for its business programs; you apply directly.

1. 1

   Check the stream is open

   Confirm the stream's status and minimums on the province's official site on the day you apply. Programs change often.

2. 2

   Research and visit

   Study the local market and, where required or recommended, visit the province or community. Some streams need a community referral.

3. 3

   Submit an expression of interest

   Enter your experience, net worth, language results and business concept. Keep your information accurate, because changes after an invitation can lead to refusal.

4. 4

   Apply after an invitation

   Send the full application with your business plan and a net worth and source of funds report from an approved verifier, within the province's deadline.

5. 5

   Sign the performance agreement

   If approved, you sign an agreement with your investment, job and management targets and receive a work permit support letter.

6. 6

   Apply for a work permit

   Apply to IRCC for a C60 work permit, paying the work permit fee and the employer compliance fee.

7. 7

   Start or buy the business

   Arrive, report to the province, invest and run the business as agreed, and keep records of spending and hiring.

8. 8

   Ask for nomination

   When you meet the agreement, you request nomination. The province reviews your results before deciding.

9. 9

   Apply for permanent residence

   Apply to IRCC with your nomination. IRCC checks admissibility, including medical and security checks, before deciding.

IRCC refunds the right of permanent residence fee if you withdraw or your application is refused. The LMIA processing fee is not refunded if the LMIA is negative.

The processing times shown below come live from IRCC. The Start-Up Visa and Self-Employed times apply only to files IRCC has already accepted. Provinces and Quebec publish their own processing times.

• Business plan not viable or not concrete. Officers check whether your plan shows real start-up steps, costs, suppliers and customers, or is only a general market analysis.
• Significant benefit not shown (IRPR 205(a)). A small business that competes with many similar businesses in a large city, with few low-wage jobs, often does not meet the test.
• Officer not satisfied you will leave Canada (IRPR 200(1)(b)). For C11, a year-round business without an exit plan, or years of back-to-back permits, raises doubts that your stay is temporary.
• Not able to do the work (IRPR 200(3)(a)). Missing business experience, education or language ability for the business you propose.
• Source of funds not proven. You must show where your net worth and business funds came from; unexplained deposits or funds you cannot trace lead to refusals.
• Ownership or company structure does not qualify. Less than 51% ownership for C11, a foreign company that is not yet a multinational for an intra-company transfer, or a Canadian office with no physical commercial premises.
• Missing steps. No offer of employment in the Employer Portal or unpaid employer compliance fee before you apply (IRPR 200(3)(f.1)).
• Performance agreement not met. If you do not make the agreed investment, create the jobs or manage the business actively, the province can refuse to nominate you.
• Misrepresentation (IRPA section 40). False documents, hidden refusals from other programs or undisclosed information can make you inadmissible for five years.

When IRCC approves your permanent residence, you pay the right of permanent residence fee if you have not paid it already, and you complete your landing. You then receive a permanent resident card.

Provincial nominees who arrived on a work permit should keep their status valid until they become permanent residents. Quebec investors must complete the required 12-month stay in Québec within two years of receiving the work permit.

Keep your business records, bank statements and reports to the province. Some provinces, such as Alberta, monitor whether your business continues to meet their requirements.