Start-up Visa Educational and Financial Requirements

Education requirements

You must provide proof of your education with your application. Specifically, you will need:

• proof of having completed at least one year of post-secondary education
• proof that you were in good standing during at least one year while you were attending a post‑secondary institution

Your proof of education may be in the form of transcripts and a letter of good standing or certificate or diploma or degree.

Have sufficient settlement funds

The Government of Canada does not provide financial support to new start-up business visa immigrants.

You must show that you have enough money to support yourself and your dependents after you arrive in Canada. You cannot borrow this money from another person. You must be able to use this money to support the costs of living for your family.

You will need to provide proof of your funds when you submit your application for immigration.

The amount of money you need to support your family is determined by the size of your family. These amounts are updated every year.

Start-Up Visa Inception

Since its inception, the Startup Visa initiative has achieved several milestones, from increasing awareness of the need for entrepreneurial immigration reform to changing entrepreneurial immigration policies on Parliament Hill. After a few years of hard work, the Startup Visa Canada initiative was successful in convincing the Canadian Government that creating a new Startup Visa program was the right way to go. This year on January 24th, Minister Kenny announced Canada’s new Startup Visa program would officially commence in April 2013.

Since Minister Kenny’s welcomed announcement, there have been a lot of questions floating around regarding what the startup ecosystems in Canada look like. To keep you informed, we’ve summarized the Startup Visa Canada Initiative’s live event below.

The first of its kind in the world, Canada’s new Start-Up Visa Program is available to international entrepreneurs who meet specific requirements laid out by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). This new visa program aims to connect immigrant entrepreneurs to experienced private sector organizations that have expertise in working with start-ups.