The Start-Up Visa Program was introduced by ministerial instruction in April 2013 as a five-year pilot project. It was made permanent on March 31, 2018.

The Start-Up Visa program grants Canadian permanent residence to qualified immigrant entrepreneurs. The program aims to recruit innovative entrepreneurs to Canada and link them with the Canadian private sector businesses, (angel investor groups, venture capital funds or business incubators) and facilitate the establishment of their start-up business in Canada.

The program is not intended as a mass immigration stream. According Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, 132 entrepreneurs were approved during the initial five-year pilot period.