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Residency by InvestmentPaused

Canada

Canada Start-Up Visa & Quebec Investor Program

Also known as: Canada SUV, QIIP, Quebec Immigrant Investor Program

Regulator: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC); Quebec Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration (MIFI) for QIIPOfficial program site ↗
Min investment
$150K
Program tier
Permanent Residency
Program type
Investor Visa
Initial validity
5 yr
Renewable
Yes
Path to PR
Immediate
Path to citizenship
3 yr
Schengen access
Yes

Investment options

Business Investment

$150K

Start-Up Visa (SUV) — PAUSED 1 Jan 2026. Required CAD 200,000+ from a designated VC fund, CAD 75,000 from designated Angel investor, or business incubator acceptance (no minimum capital from investor). Created PR for up to 5 founders per business.

Business Investment

$900K
Hold for 5 years

Quebec Immigrant Investor Program (QIIP) — Net worth CAD 2M; 5-year interest-free loan of CAD 1.2M (financed at ~CAD 350K cost) to Quebec government via approved intermediary. Reopened 2024 with stricter French language and Quebec residency intent requirements.

Business Investment

$150K

Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) — Entrepreneur streams from BC, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Nova Scotia. CAD 100,000-600,000 typical depending on province and location. Net worth requirements CAD 300,000-1,500,000.

Physical presence

To apply
Quebec: French language increasingly important; SUV: intent to operate business in Canada
To maintain
PR card requires 730 days physical presence over 5 years
For PR
SUV and QIIP grant PR at issuance (not provisional like Australia 188)
For citizenship
3 years (1,095 days) physical presence in past 5 years + English/French + civics test

Path to citizenship

  • Available: Yes
  • Minimum years: 3
  • Physical-presence years: 3
  • Language test: Yes

Naturalization after 1,095 days physical presence in past 5 years + tax filing 3 of 5 years + English or French CLB 4 + civics test (18-54). Dual citizenship allowed.

Tax implications

  • Becomes tax resident automatically: Yes
  • Worldwide income taxed: Yes
  • Territorial tax system: No
  • Day-count for tax residency: 183 days
  • Wealth tax: No

PR triggers Canadian tax residency in practice (Canada uses residency test not citizenship). Worldwide income taxed. Federal PIT to 33% + provincial to 25.75% (combined up to ~54%). Capital gains 50% included rate (increased to 66.67% above CAD 250K threshold proposed; status fluctuating). No estate tax but deemed disposition on death. Departure tax on giving up tax residency.

Family inclusion

  • Spouse: Yes
  • Children under 18: Yes
  • Dependent adult children: No
  • Parents: No

Spouse/common-law partner, dependent children under 22. Parents and grandparents only via separate sponsorship after PR.

Additional fees

  • Application fee: $1K
  • Government fees: $1K
  • Legal/agent (est.): $20K

PR application fee CAD 1,365 main + CAD 235 right-of-PR + dependents. Designated organization fees (SUV) CAD 25,000-50,000 typical. Quebec intermediary fees CAD 350,000+ for QIIP financed loan.

Eligibility requirements

  • SUV (historical): Innovative business idea with letter of support from designated organization; English or French CLB 5; sufficient settlement funds
  • QIIP: CAD 2M net worth; 2 years management experience; French language; intent to settle in Quebec
  • Clean criminal record
  • Medical exam

Disqualifiers

  • Inadmissibility on health/criminal/security grounds
  • Insufficient settlement funds
  • Failure of source-of-funds review

Recent changes

  1. 2018

    Federal Immigrant Investor Program (CAD 800K interest-free) terminated.

  2. 2019

    QIIP suspended for first time.

  3. 2024

    QIIP reopened with significantly stricter requirements — French language B2 effective requirement, mandatory Quebec residency intent, smaller annual quota.

  4. 2025-12-31

    IRCC stopped accepting Start-Up Visa commitment certificates after Dec 31, 2025.

  5. 2026-01-01

    Start-Up Visa formally paused for new applicants. Existing certificate holders have grace period until 30 June 2026 to file PR applications. Federal investor immigration cut from 1,000 to 500 principal applicants/year for 2026-2028.

Notes

Canada's investor immigration is in retreat. Federal Start-Up Visa is paused indefinitely (1 Jan 2026); QIIP is reopened but with French B2 effectively gating most applicants. PNP entrepreneur streams (BC, Manitoba, Saskatchewan etc.) remain the realistic path for non-Quebec-French investors but require active business operation and provincial-specific commitments. Citizenship after 3 years (1,095 days) is the fastest in G7. Tax-residency exposure is significant — Canada taxes worldwide income.

EasyPassport is a document-organization tool focused on citizenship by descent. This page is reference research, not legal or financial advice. Always verify with the official program authority.