Someone who applied for Canada’s Start-Up Visa in June 2021 has now waited five years, and IRCC tells them 46 months — nearly four more years — are still ahead. That is the best case, because every file submitted from 2023 onward gets a different answer: “more than 10 years”. And nobody new can join them, because the programme has been paused since 1 January 2026.
Every figure below comes from IRCC’s own processing-time tool for the Start-up visa, stamped last updated 3 September 2026.
What IRCC tells a Start-Up Visa applicant today
The tool asks when you applied, then gives the time still remaining — not the total wait, but what is left from today. These are its answers, together with the number of people it says are ahead of you in each case.
| You applied in | Estimated time left | People ahead of you |
|---|---|---|
| June 2021 | 46 months | about 2,000 |
| June 2023 | More than 10 years | about 15,400 |
| June 2024 | More than 10 years | about 28,100 |
| June 2025 | More than 10 years | about 41,300 |
Look at the first row. Someone who applied in June 2021 has already waited more than five years, and IRCC still puts 46 months in front of them — and that is the best case in the table, because everyone who applied after them is told the same thing: more than ten years.
Behind all of them sits one number that does not change whichever date you enter: about 47,500 people are waiting for a decision. For a file from June 2019 the tool declines to give an estimate at all, and says only that it needs more time.
The door is closed
Nobody new is joining that queue either. IRCC’s tool states it plainly: “As of January 1, 2026, the Start-up Visa Program is paused.” The programme page carries the same status — paused, and closed to new applicants.
There was one narrow exception, and it has expired. If you held a valid 2025 commitment certificate, you could still file, but the deadline for that was 30 June 2026. That date has passed. In IRCC’s words, the programme is now closed to all other applications.
So the practical position in September 2026 is simple. You cannot apply. If you are already in the queue, you are in it, and the estimate above is what IRCC is telling you.
How a one-year wait became this
The Start-Up Visa did not always look like this. In its early years the wait was measured in months rather than years, and it lengthened steadily through the pandemic and after it. Two things built the backlog, and IRCC has documented both.
First, refusals climbed: on IRCC’s own figures, approvals fell from 87% to 26% across three years. Second, and this matters more, most files are not being assessed slowly — they never entered the processing queue at all, and sit in a holding list IRCC calls prospective inventory.
With those two, the current numbers stop being surprising. A queue that admitted far more files than it decided, for years, ends up where this one is.
If you are already in the queue
- Your file is not cancelled. The pause stops new applications. It is not a decision on applications already filed.
- Check your own date, not a headline. The estimate depends on when you applied, and the tool is updated monthly. The figures above are from 3 September 2026.
- If you hold a work permit under the programme, IRCC says you may be able to extend it while your permanent residence application is processed.
- Nobody can tell you when the pause lifts. IRCC has not said, and neither will we.
If you were planning to apply
There is nothing to file. The route is closed, and the last window shut on 30 June 2026. If your plan was built on the Start-Up Visa, it needs rebuilding on something that is actually open — provincial entrepreneur streams and Quebec’s own business programmes are separate systems with their own intake, and they are where this conversation now starts. Our Canada Start-Up Visa page sets out how the programme worked and what its status means for existing files.
The status of the programme, and every decision inside it, rests with IRCC.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Start-Up Visa closed or just slow?
Both, and they are separate facts. IRCC lists the programme’s status as paused as of 1 January 2026 and closed to new applicants. Separately, for applications already filed, its estimate of the time still to run is more than 10 years for anything filed from 2023 onward.
I applied years ago. Where do I stand?
Enter your own application month in IRCC’s processing-time tool rather than relying on any single figure. As of 3 September 2026 a June 2021 file was told 46 months left with about 2,000 people ahead of it; a June 2025 file was told more than 10 years with about 41,300 ahead.
Does “more than 10 years” mean I will wait ten more years?
It means IRCC will not put a number on it beyond that. The tool stops at “more than 10 years” rather than estimating further. It is a limit on what IRCC is willing to estimate, not a promise about year eleven.
Can I still apply with a commitment certificate?
Not now. A valid 2025 commitment certificate allowed an application up to 30 June 2026. That deadline has passed, and IRCC says the programme is closed to all other applications.
Will the pause be lifted?
IRCC has not said, so anyone giving you a firm date is guessing.
What happens to my work permit?
If you already hold a work permit issued under the programme, IRCC says you may be able to extend it while your permanent residence application is processed. That is separate from the pause on new applications.
In short
Two things define the Start-Up Visa today: a queue that is barely moving, and a door that is closed. On IRCC’s own tool, updated 3 September 2026, about 47,500 people are waiting for a decision, a file from June 2021 still has 46 months in front of it, and anything filed from 2023 onward is told more than 10 years. Meanwhile the programme has been paused since 1 January 2026 and the final application window closed on 30 June 2026. If you are in the queue, check your own date. If you are not, this is not a route you can join.
Sources
- Check processing times, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada — Economic immigration, Start-up visa. Figures and quoted wording as returned on 10 September 2026; the tool states it was last updated 3 September 2026 and is updated monthly.
- Start-up Visa Program, Government of Canada — page date 21 July 2026. Status: paused; closed to new applicants.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and it describes published official rules rather than any individual case. Hadi Imani is a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant, licence R522575, practising in Toronto; that licence covers Canadian immigration only.
