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There is a lot of information posted online and companies trying to influence your decision using statistics that are not 100% true. In this article, we will be going over the actual approval and refusal rates for the Canadian Startup Visa program for each year from 2014 to 2021 including PR and work permits.
There are a lot of articles online which claim very high or guaranteed approval rates for the Canadian Startup Visa program. During the early years of the SUV program, there were fewer application intakes, and hence the numbers looked better, but the statistics have changed over the past 2 years. Since 2020 we have seen a drop in the Startup Visa approval rate by up to 65%.
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There are many incubators and designated organizations that inform potential applicants that after 1-2 years the Startup Visa co-founders will receive their PRs without any questions asked. It’s almost guaranteed? Right? Unfortunately, that’s not the truth. The reality is that the Startup Visa approval rate as of March 2023 shows a figure closer to 65%.
When reviewing these official statistics, you may be wondering why some years have higher approval rates than others and the total number of applications doesn’t match the total approved, refused, and withdrawals? The simple answer is that the number of applicants per year has been significantly more than the number of applications processed that same year. This means there is a forwarded balance or inventory of SUV applicants which are processed in the following years, hence skewing the official approval rates, in addition to lower applicants and processing numbers between 2020-2021 due to COVID-19.
In the table below, the number of withdrawals has not been reported which is why the total number of applications processed does not match the total of the refused and approved cases. As well, the official government statistics have not been fully published for 2021 and 2022, which means those 2 years are partially reported.
|
Year |
Intake |
Total PRs processed |
Total Approved |
Total Refused |
Approval Rate |
|
2014 |
9 |
9 |
4 |
5 |
44% |
|
2015 |
45 |
45 |
40 |
5 |
89% |
|
2016 |
205 |
103 |
103 |
0 |
100% |
|
2017 |
347 |
196 |
229 |
56 |
80% |
|
2018 |
890 |
212 |
232 |
131 |
80% |
|
2019 |
1164 |
583 |
634 |
162 |
79% |
|
2020 |
*N/A |
288 |
188 |
96 |
66% |
|
2021 *Until October |
*N/A |
590 |
518 |
59 |
*89% |
|
2022 *Until March |
*N/A |
59 |
50 |
8 |
*84% |
What is the official approval rate for the Startup Visa work permits as published by the IRCC Here are the reported statistics for the Canadian Startup Visa (SUV) between 2015 and 2021 October:
|
Year |
Total Approved |
Total Refused |
Approval Rate |
|
2015 |
4 |
0 |
100% |
|
2016 |
11 |
NA |
93% |
|
2017 |
44 |
1 |
98% |
|
2018 |
45 |
3 |
92% |
|
2019 |
71 |
5 |
94% |
|
2020 |
106 |
9 |
92% |
|
2021 *Until Oct. |
123 |
6 |
96% |
As of September 2022 onwards, we have observed the approval rate for the SUV work permits drop to an estimated 50%, official statistics have not been published yet but they will be released by next year. If you are from Europe or other visa-exempt countries, your Startup Visa work permit approval rates will still be higher at over 80%. But from regions such as Africa, Middle-East, and Asia the work permit approvals for SUV have dropped significantly since the 2nd half of 2022.
If you are trying to make up your mind about applying to Canada or the UK through the Startup Visa Program, look no further. That’s our specialty here at INGWE Canada. 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 statistics reported in this article confirm that the top 7 source countries who applied for the Canadian Startup Visa program between 2014 to 2021 are:
1: Iran
2: China
3: Vietnam
4: Hong Kong
5: India
6: Turkey
7: Brazil
Startup Visa is a great program, but it may not fit everyone’s profile or preferences.
If you are still contemplating whether to apply for this program, then you can review all the advantages and disadvantages of the Canadian Startup Visa program in our published video on YouTube, click here.
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If you’re interested in applying for the Canada Startup Visa, at INGWE we will guide and support you throughout the endorsement letter or Letter of Support process and the entire immigration procedure, including work visas and Canada PR. Get a FREE email assessment with one of our Business Immigration consultants. Fill out the form, click here.
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