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On April 29, the Minister of Immigration announced that each designated organization would now be limited to 10 startup groups per year. There are approximately eighty-three designated organizations that are allowed to issue Letters of Support, or endorse overseas startups to move to Canada and become eligible for permanent residency. This means that a total of 830 startup groups (4150 applicants based on a maximum of five applicants per group) can be endorsed.
This number doesn’t sound too bad, so why is everyone panicking? The reason is that many designated organizations who were hyperactive in previous years in issuing letters of support will now be limited to 10. Additionally, many of the organizations listed don’t have proper SUV programs and will not be issuing any Letters of Support. This realistic perspective forecasts significantly fewer startups being endorsed going forward.
The IRCC still plans to process 17,000 new PR applicants both for the SUV program and self-employed program by the end of 2026. This is achievable because of the massive backlog of applications already submitted, especially with the self-employed program for world-class occupations in athletics, culture, and the arts.
At INGWE we are EXPERTS in the Canada Startup Visa. We will guide and support you throughout the endorsement letter or Letter of Support process and the entire immigration process including work visas and permanent residencies. Get a FREE email assessment, click here.
In addition to the endorsement caps, Ministerial instructions have been released stating that IRCC officers are to process ‘Priority’ designated organization’s SUV Permanent Residency applications before any other applications. According to the government’s press release, applications will be prioritized for processing if they are supported by a commitment that meets the following conditions:
* the commitment was made by an authorized venture capital fund (minimum of $200,000).
* the commitment was made by an authorized angel investor group (minimum of $75,000); or
* the commitment was made by an authorized business incubator, where the authorized business incubator is either a member of Canada’s Tech Network (CTN) or has committed a minimum of $75,000 to the applicant or applicants’ start-up proposal.
* The Canada Tech Network includes the following incubators:
Of course, besides these, if there has been committed capital by any non-prioritized incubators, these applications will also be prioritized for the SUV processing.
At INGWE we are EXPERTS in the Canada Startup Visa. We will guide and support you throughout the endorsement letter or Letter of Support process and the entire immigration process including work visas and permanent residencies. Get a FREE email assessment, click here.
The implications of these changes for new applicants and agencies involved in the Canadian SUV program are:
* Significantly higher prices to join a cohort or be admitted to a program
* More competition for programs such as DMZ, which do not take a fee but take the best startups in exchange for equity.
* Startup groups will include five co-founders, no more than two, three or even four co-founders, to maximize profit for the industry
* There will be eye-gauging prices being charged due to the limited supply of Letters of Support – people who, in the past, have offered cheap Letters of Support or general SUV “consulting” services will be wiped off the SUV map. This is a fact.
At INGWE we are EXPERTS in the Canada Startup Visa. We will guide and support you throughout the endorsement letter or Letter of Support process and the entire immigration process including work visas and permanent residencies. Get a FREE email assessment, click here.
As everyone tries to adjust to these wide-reaching changes, there are some interesting signs that people are already scrambling:
* Designated organizations are already increasing prices by three to five times what they were previously.
* Somebody has been calling all the designated organizations and offering to pre-purchase all their Letters of Support for the next 3 years
* Some applicants and startups who have already completed the designated organization’s cohort are being asked to wait a year or more for the Letter of Support unless they have investors backing them.
At INGWE we are EXPERTS in the Canada Startup Visa. We will guide and support you throughout the endorsement letter or Letter of Support process and the entire immigration process including work visas and permanent residencies. Get a FREE email assessment, click here.
The SUV program will never be the same again. Agencies that are not established and connected enough to weather this new era will fall to the wayside. Applicants who do not have qualified representation as they try to navigate an intensely competitive marketplace will get left behind.
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If you’re ready to apply and would like a 1-on-1 session with me or one of immigration team members at INGWE, you can also book a session directly using this consultation link.
