The Canadian government is developing a new fast-track startup-friendly visa that could be processed in up to 14 days. The intention is to try to solve Canada’s recurring issues with attracting and keeping top-quality talent.
Why Speed Matters to Startups
For a fast-growing tech company, a hire delayed by six months can be a hire lost. Skilled engineers and specialists usually have several offers, and a startup that can’t say when a new employee will be able to start is at a real disadvantage against companies in countries with quicker systems.
It also matters in the other direction. Many Canadian startups need experienced people who have already built and scaled products elsewhere, so they can train local teams. If bringing those people in is slow and uncertain, companies either grow more slowly or move work outside Canada.
What the Government Is Proposing
The visa, being developed under the Global Skills Strategy, will be aimed at “low-risk” individuals who have specialized, in-demand skills, or can train Canadian workers in them.
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Two kinds of companies—high-growth, and global—will be able to apply for a certain number of visas to recruit overseas. On the government’s side, a dedicated team will process the paperwork.
According to BetaKit, the previous Startup Visa program only accepted 100 people between April 2013 and February 2016. Waiting times for foreign nationals to be granted work visas remain up to six months.
No proposed date for the new, faster, visa system has been set.
What Happened Next: The Global Skills Strategy Arrives
The date came a few months later. In March 2017, ministers Navdeep Bains and Patty Hajdu announced that the Global Skills Strategy would launch on June 12, 2017, including a new Global Talent Stream within the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.
When it launched, two-week processing applied to workers applying from overseas whose employers had been approved to hire through the Global Talent Stream, as well as to certain highly skilled workers in managerial and professional roles. On the employer side, the Global Talent Stream’s labour market assessments carry a service standard of 10 business days.
There are conditions. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s guidance for employers says the worker has to apply online from outside Canada with a complete application, and people applying from inside Canada or on open work permits aren’t covered by the two-week target.
The two-week promise didn’t always hold. A government evaluation published in July 2022 found that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada hadn’t met the commitment since early 2020, because of COVID-19 and rising application volumes.
The Startup Visa’s Long Road
The older Startup Visa program, criticized above for its low numbers, got a second life. It had started in April 2013 as a five-year pilot, and in 2018 the government announced it would become permanent. The federal budget that year set aside $4.5 million to run the program over five years. At that point, 117 principal applicants had been approved for permanent residence, representing 68 startups launched in Canada.
Its problems with delays never fully went away, though. At the end of 2025, Canada closed the Start-up Visa Program to new applications and said it would launch a new entrepreneur pathway to replace it.
What It Means for Founders
Nearly a decade on, the lesson for Canadian startups is that the fast lanes are real but not guaranteed. The Global Talent Stream remains the main route for hiring specialized talent quickly, while programs for entrepreneurs themselves have changed several times.
If hiring from abroad is part of your plan, build in time for delays, check the current service standards before promising a start date, and get advice early. Immigration rules for founders and specialized workers change often, and the program you read about last year may not be the one accepting applications today.
Frequently Asked Questions
What fast-track visa was the Canadian government developing in 2016?
The government was developing a startup-friendly visa under the Global Skills Strategy that could be processed in as little as 14 days. It was aimed at low-risk individuals with specialized, in-demand skills or the ability to train Canadian workers in them.
When did the Global Skills Strategy launch?
The Global Skills Strategy, including the Global Talent Stream, launched on June 12, 2017. Ministers Navdeep Bains and Patty Hajdu announced the date in March 2017.
Did the Global Skills Strategy keep its two-week processing promise?
Not always. A government evaluation published in July 2022 found that the two-week commitment hadn't been met since early 2020 because of COVID-19 and rising application volumes.
How many people did Canada's original Startup Visa program accept?
According to the article, the Startup Visa program only accepted 100 people between April 2013 and February 2016. By the time it was made permanent in 2018, 117 principal applicants had been approved, representing 68 startups.
Is Canada's Start-up Visa Program still open?
No. At the end of 2025, Canada closed the Start-up Visa Program to new applications and said it would launch a new entrepreneur pathway to replace it.