Canada · Business & founder
Self-Employed Persons Programme
Paused
Last verified July 2026
Paused to new applications from 1 January 2026, under the same ministerial instructions that closed the Start-up Visa (Canada Gazette, 20 December 2025). Applications filed on or after that date are returned without processing. IRCC has not published a restart date.
It is included here mainly because it is still marketed. In fact, it is paused indefinitely, and it was never a serious UHNW route to begin with.
The facts
- Total landed cost
- Historically modest. This was never a capital programme.
- Route type
- Business & founder
- Physical presence
- Historic: intent and ability to be self-employed in cultural activities or athletics in Canada
- Family
- Spouse or common-law partnerDependent children
- Permanent residency
- Direct PR (historic)
- Citizenship
- 3 years of physical presence out of 5
- Language test
- CLB 4 English or French for ages 18–54
- Dual citizenship
- Permitted
- Requirements
- Historic: relevant experience in cultural activities or athletics, plus intent and ability to be self-employed in Canada
What can go wrong
- Paused since 1 January 2026, with no announced restart.
- Before the pause, backlog processing times ran to several years.