CIMM – Federal Business Stream – November 25, 2024

Key Facts and Figures

• The Federal Business Stream includes the Start-up Visa (SUV) program and the Self-Employed Persons program.
• The admissions target for this stream is 2,000 in 2025. This is a reduction of 60% from the 2024 target of 5,000.
• The 2025-2027 Levels Plan projects further reductions to 1,000 for both 2026 and 2027.
• With 6,099 permanent residents admitted as of September 2024, the Department has already surpassed the 2024 target of 5,000.

Key Messages

• While fewer entrepreneurs and start-ups will arrive in 2025 compared to recent years, we are confident that those that arrive will be strong contributors to Canada’s prosperity.
• The reductions in the Business Stream are in line with reductions in other immigration programs. 
• We have taken steps to address the lengthening wait times in business programs and are exploring additional options to ensure that we continue to welcome the talented, innovative and entrepreneurial newcomers Canada needs.

Supplementary Information

• Canada’s business immigration programs target entrepreneurs with the skills to generate wealth and create jobs in Canada.
  • The SUV program attracts entrepreneurs with the skills and potential to build businesses in Canada and help our country compete on a global scale.
  • The Self-employed program selects exceptional individuals in the arts or athletics who will help strengthen Canada’s cultural fabric.
• Wait times have reached 40 months in the SUV program and 48 months in the Self-employed program.
• The Department has introduced a number of measures to address wait times, including:
  • SUV program: limiting the number of new permanent resident applications that each of our private sector partners can support, to 10 per year;
  • Offering priority processing to start-up applications with a strong chance of success (i.e., those that are supported by a Canadian authorized venture capital fund, an authorized angel investor group, or an authorized business incubator with minimum investment amounts or where the authorized business incubator is supported by members of Canada’s Tech Network;
  • Implementing a temporary moratorium on the designation of new private-sector partners who support start-ups;
  • Introducing a three-year Open Work Permit for many applicants so they can launch their start-up in Canada while waiting for a decision on their application. This permit will allow applicants to supplement their income by working for another employer in Canada.
  • Self-employed program: a full pause on new application intake from May 2024 through end of December 2026, to enable the Department to focus on the applications already in the inventory.

Responsive (program integrity and fraud):

• The Department is aware of allegations of wrongdoing in the SUV program. While I cannot speak to any particular cases, the Department has tools at its disposal for addressing such allegations, including the means to suspend or de-designate private sector partners from participating in the program and to investigate or refer a case to law enforcement.
• The Department is also working on regulatory amendments to further strengthen the integrity of the SUV program, as well as on a series of non-regulatory program integrity improvements, which will serve as important stop gap measures until the regulations are in place.