Canada's once-promising Startup Visa program has become a nightmare for thousands of Indian entrepreneurs who moved to the country with dreams of building successful businesses, only to find themselves trapped in an immigration backlog that now stretches over a decade.
The Broken Canadian Dream
When Maulik Pandya, founder of Toronto-based food tech startup Eatance, announced on LinkedIn in October that he was giving up on his Canadian dream and returning to India, his emotional post went viral across WhatsApp groups and founder communities in both countries. His story resonated with hundreds of immigrant entrepreneurs stuck in Canada's Start-up Visa (SUV) backlog, their hopes dashed by endless waiting and uncertainty.
Gaurav Chauhan's experience typifies the crisis. The co-founder of KonarkPro and Jellyfish Technologies moved to Canada in 2022 under the SUV program, while his business partner Amit remains in India waiting for permanent residency approval. "When I applied, the processing time was around 18 months," Chauhan reveals. "By the time I landed, it had crossed 30 months. Now, the tracker says more than 10 years."
Despite running a profitable business that employs 70-80 people in India and paying taxes in Canada, Chauhan's legal status remains unstable. His first work permit expired in June 2023, and renewal requests came back with reduced validity. His wife has been unable to leave Canada for over a year due to immigration risks, while their children's study permits face constant renewal challenges.
How the System Failed
The SUV program was launched as a pilot in 2013 and became permanent in 2018, designed to attract innovative entrepreneurs who would create jobs and compete globally. The program offered a straightforward path: a single letter of support from designated venture capital funds, angel groups, or incubators was enough to file for permanent residency.
The initiative quickly became popular among Indian entrepreneurs because Canada grants permanent residency upfront, allowing applicants to apply for citizenship after just three years of residency—among the fastest naturalization timelines in the Commonwealth. This combination of safety, stability, and long-term security made Canada particularly appealing compared to the US, UK, or Australia.
However, interest in the program far outpaced processing capacity. As of October 2025, nearly 43,200 applicants are stuck in the SUV queue, with current estimates suggesting a wait time exceeding 10 years—a dramatic increase from the 12-18 month timeline advertised when many applicants filed their paperwork.
Families Bear the Brunt
The delays are creating real hardships for families who have built lives in Canada. Provincial health cards are being renewed for only six months instead of the 3-5 years granted to permanent residents. Children who have studied in Canadian schools for years are now classified as international students when applying to universities, facing tuition fees as high as CAD 29,000.
Nishant Ahlawat, who entered Canada in 2021 as an entrepreneur and now practices immigration law in Toronto, explains the structural problems. "The biggest problem is the flood of 'paper businesses'—startups that exist only on paper, created solely to get a letter of support and apply for PR," he says. "The designated entities were supposed to vet innovative businesses, but in many cases, they didn't."
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) attributes the increased wait times to "available spaces relative to overall targets" under the Immigration Levels Plan. In April 2024, Ottawa introduced a cap of 10 letters of support per incubator per year to manage the backlog.
Moving On From the 'Sweet Jail'
For entrepreneurs like Gaurav Chauhan, the uncertainty has become unbearable. "It feels like living in a mithiyan jailan (sweet jail)," he describes. "You can see everything Canada offers—but you're constantly waiting for someone to decide if you can stay."
Chauhan is now preparing to make the difficult decision many entrepreneurs face: "By next summer, if nothing moves, we may leave Canada. Maybe Europe. Maybe Dubai. I can't keep my family in this mental trauma."
While some founders like Carlos Secada of AI automation company Zagitas have successfully navigated the system, he describes the process as "unclear, unstable, and stressful." Even successful applicants face unpredictable timelines and heavy administrative demands that distract from building their businesses.
The future of Canada's Startup Visa program remains uncertain as Ottawa prepares its next immigration-levels plan. The department confirms it's investigating allegations of program misuse and recognizes "there is more to do to strengthen the integrity of the SUV program." Designated incubators found violating rules could face suspension or revocation.
As Indian entrepreneurs reassess their options, the promise of quick settlement and market access that once made Canada so appealing has been replaced by the reality of indefinite waiting and professional stagnation.
