Quick answer
Canada is still open to entrepreneurs and investors, but the route in has changed. The Start-Up Visa is paused — closed to new applicants since 1 January 2026, with the final deadline for 2025 commitment certificate holders having passed on 30 June 2026. The Self-Employed Persons Program is also paused.
What remains open: the C11 entrepreneur work permit, the C60 provincial business candidate permit, intra-company transfers, provincial nominee entrepreneur streams in some provinces, and business acquisition. This page maps which is which, and which of our services applies to each.
If you are an entrepreneur or investor looking at Canada right now, you are being told two contradictory things.
Marketing websites still promote the Start-Up Visa as Canada’s flagship entrepreneur program. Meanwhile, IRCC’s own page for that program says “Status: Paused.” The last group of applicants — those holding a 2025 commitment certificate — had until 30 June 2026 to file. That date has passed.
We would rather lose a consultation than sell you a program that no longer accepts applications.
So this page does something different. Before we describe our services, we tell you where the open doors are. Then, if one of them fits your situation, you will know which of our practice areas applies.
Where Canada's Doors Stand in 2026
Canada is not closed to entrepreneurs. It is closed to unstructured entrepreneurs. The programs that survived the 2026 tightening all reward the same thing: a real, funded, operating business with documented benefit to Canada.
Status: Open
Owners who will hold 51%+ and actively run a funded Canadian business
Status: Open
Entrepreneurs working toward a provincial nomination who need to enter and operate first
Status: Open
Existing foreign companies opening or expanding a Canadian branch or affiliate
Status: Varies by province — Open in some, closed in others
Owners willing to commit to a specific province
Status: Open — Category confirmed for 2026
Senior managers with at least 12 months of Canadian work experience in the last three years, in NOC 2021 codes 00010–00013 (TEER 0)
Status: Open
Investors who prefer an operating, revenue-generating asset over a start-up
Status: Paused — Closed to new applicants since 1 Jan 2026 — full status update
No new applicants. Existing files continue to be processed.
Status: Paused
No new applicants
What we are watching
IRCC has said it is building a replacement — a targeted entrepreneur pilot with a shorter service standard, sector-specific quotas tied to Canada’s technology clusters, and milestone-based work permit conditions. No eligibility criteria, cap, or opening date has been published. We will update this page the day it is, and it is tracked on our 2026 immigration changes tracker (https://sobirovs.com/resources/canadian-immigration-changes-2026/).
Our honest read: do not wait for it. Entrepreneurs who use an open work permit route now will be inside Canada, operating, with a track record — which is precisely what any future PR pilot is likely to reward.
What Changed in 2026, and Why It Matters to Your File
Three shifts explain almost every refusal we see this year.
The C11 ownership threshold moved from 50% to 51%. Officers want clean separation between personal and business funds, documented control, and duties that match what you said you would do.
C11 permits are now capped at 18 months, down from two years. Your business plan has to show meaningful progress inside that window, because your extension depends on it.
Time spent working on a C11 as a self-employed person no longer counts toward Canadian Experience Class eligibility under Express Entry. If your plan assumed C11 → CEC → PR, that plan needs rebuilding. Provincial nomination is now the main PR route for C11 holders. Most provincial entrepreneur streams issue a base nomination, which supports a PR application filed directly with IRCC, outside Express Entry. Express Entry’s senior managers category may help some owners, but IRCC has not confirmed that self-employed C11 time counts toward it, so we do not build a plan on that alone.
We wrote the full analysis when the rules changed: Changes to Canada’s C11 Work Permit — what matters and what officers now expect.
None of this makes Canada unworkable. It makes preparation the whole game.
Our Services for Entrepreneurs and Investors
1. Enter Canada and Operate Your Business
Work permits are the practical starting point for most entrepreneurs in 2026. They get you into the country, operating, and building the Canadian record that permanent residence later depends on.
- C11 Entrepreneur Work Permit — the LMIA-exempt significant benefit route under paragraph 205(a) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations. No job offer, no LMIA, no minimum net worth rule — but you must prove 51%+ ownership, active operation, funding in place, and real economic, social or cultural benefit to Canada.
- C60 Work Permit — for entrepreneurs on a provincial nomination track who need to enter Canada and demonstrate business viability before nomination.
- Intra-Company Transfer Program — move yourself or your executives into a Canadian branch, subsidiary or affiliate of your existing company.
- Entrepreneur Work Permit Programs — a comparison of every entrepreneur permit route.
- Work Permits for Executives
Not sure whether C11 or ICT fits? We wrote the comparison: C11 vs ICT — which work permit is right for you.
2. Move From Work Permit to Permanent Residence
A work permit is temporary. The strategy is what turns it into status.
- Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) — province-by-province entrepreneur streams, with current openings and thresholds. Provincial routes carry more weight than ever: provinces hold a larger share of economic admissions under the 2026–2028 levels plan, even as entrepreneur streams themselves have tightened. Alberta · British Columbia · Manitoba · New Brunswick · Nova Scotia
- Express Entry for Senior Managers — a category-based selection route for senior managers (NOC 2021 codes 00010–00013) with at least 12 months of Canadian work experience in the last three years.
- Canadian Citizenship for Business Owners — what the path from permit to passport actually requires.
- Residency by Investment — how investment-linked residency works in Canada, and where expectations set by other countries’ golden visa programs do not transfer.
3. Build, Buy, or Bring the Business
The immigration application is downstream of a commercial decision. We work on both.
- Establish a Foreign Company in Canada — incorporate and structure a Canadian entity that supports your immigration position rather than undermining it.
- Buying a Business in Canada — acquiring an operating business, and the immigration diligence most buyers skip.
- Buying a Franchise in Canada — where franchise models help an application, and where they hurt it.
- Bringing a Foreign Start-Up to Canada — routes for founders who already run a company abroad, now that the Start-Up Visa is paused.
- Starting a Business in Canada — five practical routes for founders.
- Immigration Business Plan Guide — the document that decides most entrepreneur files. Officers are reading these far more sceptically than they did two years ago.
4. Bring Your Team With You
Most entrepreneurs do not arrive alone. Getting key people in is part of the same plan.
- Staff Transfers to Canada
- Hiring Foreign Workers in Canada
- Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)
- Global Talent Stream — for tech roles on an accelerated timeline.
- Business Travel to Canada — entering compliantly for meetings, diligence, or site visits before your permit is in place.
How We Work, and Who We Work With
We assess before we accept. Your first substantive conversation is a paid one-hour strategy meeting with a licensed Canadian immigration lawyer — not a sales call with an advisor. If we do not believe your file can succeed, we say so in that meeting. That is the most valuable hour we can give someone whose plan will not work.
We are selective, and that is the point. We do not take every enquiry. Our capacity goes to clients whose businesses are fundable, whose documents are real, and who will do the work.
You get the lawyer, not a queue. A boutique firm means the person who assessed your file is the person who builds it.
Credentials. Recognised by The Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners. Members of the Law Society of Ontario, the Canadian Bar Association, the Ontario Bar Association, the Toronto Lawyers Association, and the Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association. 160+ applications filed in 2024 for clients across six continents.
Note
We publish our own results openly, including the years the numbers moved against us. In our practice, approval rates fell as 2025–2026 policy tightened. A firm that only ever quotes its best year is telling you something.
Can We Work Together?
We are a fit if you are
- A business owner relocating yourself and your company to Canada
- An investor acquiring an operating Canadian business or franchise
- A founder with funding and traction, not just an idea
- A multinational opening or staffing a Canadian entity
- A high-net-worth individual seeking residence through genuine business activity
We are likely not a fit if you are
- Looking for passive residency with no business involvement
- Hoping to buy a nomination
- Seeking the cheapest possible filing
Those files do not survive 2026-era scrutiny, and we will not take your money to find that out together.
Country Guides
Business immigration works differently depending on where you are filing from — treaty access, document standards, and officer expectations all vary.
Australia · China · European Union (CETA) · Hong Kong · India · Indonesia · Mexico · Nigeria · Russia · Singapore · South Africa · South Korea · UAE · United States · Vietnam
Frequently Asked Questions
No. IRCC lists the Start-Up Visa Program as paused. It stopped accepting new applications on 1 January 2026, and the final filing deadline for holders of a valid 2025 commitment certificate was 30 June 2026. Applications already in the queue continue to be processed. IRCC has said a targeted entrepreneur pilot will replace it, but no eligibility criteria or opening date has been published.
For most entrepreneurs, the C11 entrepreneur work permit. It is LMIA-exempt, requires no job offer and no minimum net worth, and remains open to new applicants in 2026. It requires 51%+ ownership, active operation, secured funding, and evidence of significant benefit to Canada. If you are targeting a specific province, a C60 work permit paired with a provincial entrepreneur stream may be stronger. Which one fits depends on your capital, sector, and where you intend to operate.
Yes, but the route is now almost always indirect: enter on a work permit, build an operating Canadian business, then apply for PR through a provincial nominee entrepreneur stream or, if you qualify, Express Entry. Note that time spent self-employed on a C11 no longer counts toward Canadian Experience Class eligibility — a change that invalidates many older strategies.
There is no single figure. C11 has no statutory minimum net worth, but you must show your business is genuinely funded and viable. Provincial entrepreneur streams set their own investment and net worth minimums, and these differ significantly by province. What matters more than the number is whether the funds are documented, lawfully sourced, and actually committed to the business.
Either can work. Acquiring an operating business often produces a stronger application because revenue, employees, and benefit to Canada are already demonstrable rather than projected. It also carries commercial risk that needs proper diligence.
Work permit decisions are typically the fastest step; permanent residence is the long one. Processing times change often, and published averages have been unreliable through the 2026 policy changes. Check IRCC’s processing times tool for your exact stream — and note that a published service standard is not the same as the real posted wait. We give you current times for your specific route during your strategy meeting.
Often, yes, but the rules tightened in January 2025. Your spouse may qualify for an open work permit if your role is in TEER 0 or 1 (or a listed TEER 2 or 3 occupation) and your permit has at least 16 months left when they apply. With C11 permits now capped at 18 months, that timing needs planning. Dependent children no longer get open work permits, but school-age children can generally attend school in Canada. We plan family status alongside yours rather than as an afterthought.
No. A refusal can often be addressed through a properly restructured second application, informed by the GCMS notes from the first. We have overturned refusals this way — see this C11 case, and your options after a refusal.
No. We assess first and decline files we do not believe will succeed. If your plan will not work, you will hear it in the strategy meeting.
Related reading
- Canadian Immigration Changes in 2026: A Live Tracker
- Changes to Canada’s C11 Work Permit: What Matters and How to Win
- C11 vs ICT Canada: Which Work Permit Is Right for You?
- The Immigration Business Plan Guide
- Visa Eligibility vs. Success Rate: What Applicants Need to Know
Sources:
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada — Start-up Visa Program (Status: Paused)
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada — Supplementary Information for the 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan
- IRCC Program Delivery Update, 27 May 2025 — C11 significant benefit: ownership threshold, permit duration and funding requirements
- IRCC — LMIA Exemption Code C-60, provincial business candidates
- Provincial nominee program allocations and entrepreneur stream status, 2026
