To be eligible, you must have:

• A Commitment of Support from A Designated Canadian Venture Capital Fund, Business Incubator, or Angel Investor Group.
• Ability To Communicate in Either French or English.
• Completed At Least One Year of Study at A Post-Secondary Institution.
• Adequate Amount of Money in Order to Settle and Provide for The Cost of Living Prior To Earning an Income and
• Passed Canadian Security and Medical Clearances

The required commitment from a designated entity must meet the following criteria:

• A Designated Angel Investor Group Must Confirm That It Is Investing At Least $75,000 CAD Into the Qualifying Business or Two Or More Commitments from Designated Angel Investor Groups Totaling $75,000 CAD; OR
• A Designated Venture Capital Fund Must Confirm That It Is Investing At Least $200,000 CAD Into the Qualifying Business or Two Or More Commitments from Designated Venture Capital Funds Totaling $200,000 CAD; OR
• A Designated Business Incubator Must Confirm That It Is Accepting the Applicant into Its Business Incubator Program.

In order to qualify, the intended business must be incorporated and carrying on business in Canada at the time the commitment is made and:

• The Applicant Owns a Least 10% of the Voting Rights in The Corporation; AND
• No Other Person Holds 50% or more of the Total Amount of Voting Rights in the Corporation.
• Up to five applicants may have their application for permanent residence supported by the same business investment. However, certain applicants may be designated as essential to the intended business. If any of the essential applicants withdraw their application or are refused for other reasons, all other applicants under the same business investment will see their applications terminated.
• Applicants who have secured a Commitment Certificate from a designated entity, and who wish to begin working in the business during the processing of their permanent residence application may apply for a short-term work permit based on their Commitment Certificate if the designated entity supports such a request.
• Canada's Start-Up Visa program does not apply to applicants who intend to reside in the province of Quebec.

At the date of publication, designated entities that may support an application under the Start-Up Visa program are:

• BDC Venture Capital
• Blackberry Partners Fund II LP (Doing Business as Relay Ventures Fund II)
• Celtic House Venture Partners
• Celtic House Venture Partners Fund III LP
• Celtic House Venture Partners Fund IV LP
• DRI Capital Inc.
• Golden Opportunities Fund Inc.
• INovia Capital Inc.
• Lumira Capital
• MaRS Cleantech Fund L.P. I.
• New Brunswick Innovation Foundation Inc.
• OMERS Ventures Management Inc.
• Pangaea Ventures Fund III, LP
• PRIVEQ Capital Funds
  • PRIVEQ III Limited Partnership
  • PRIVEQ IV Limited Partnership
• Quorum Group
  • PRIVEQ III Limited Partnership
  • PRIVEQ IV Limited Partnership
• Real Ventures
• Rho Canada Ventures
• Rogers Venture Partners, LLC
• Summerhill Venture Partners Management Inc.
• Tandem Expansion Management Inc.
• Vanedge Capital Limited Partnership
• Version One Ventures
• Wellington Financial LP
• Westcap Mgt. Ltd.
• Canadian Accelerator Fund Ltd.
• Yaletown Venture Partners Inc.