Thank you very much for sharing this positive news, much appreciated
Startup Visa Program Timeline
- Thread starter deenfae
- Start date
What I share here is backed by verifiable evidence. One of my friends runs a well-known media monitoring company in the Middle East, and I provided him with targeted keywords related to the Startup Visa program and Bill C‑12. As a result, I receive daily reports covering every piece of traditional or social media content mentioning these topics.
However, keep in mind that things can change quickly, and nothing is guaranteed. My personal assessment, based on recent news, is that the bill will likely pass after some amendments. The most controversial aspects remain the “public interest” clause and the broad ministerial powers it grants.
What I didn’t mention before is that over 300 organizations — including Amnesty International, the Canadian Council for Refugees, and CILA — have publicly called for the full withdrawal of Bill C‑12. They warned that the bill replicates the problems of Bill C‑2, citing human rights risks such as retroactive refugee exclusions, erosion of due process, and potential mass cancellations harming vulnerable groups like survivors of gender‑based violence and applicants stuck in the Startup Visa backlog.
Hello everyone, SUV-members,
I am an Alumi member here, who applied PR under this stream from mid 2020 and got PR on early 2023, and have been granted citizenship recently. it can say, my family was settled down quite well in this new country after 3 years. Because of an injury, I was approved for 7days off from my company, so I have a chance to come back to this forum, which brings back to me all old-unforgetable-memories when I was at your situation. And now please accept me to share some of my thoughts from my POV.
First of all, I feel so sorry about the insane of processing timeline, 10+ years. From my perspective, it is another way of shutting down the program because no business is considered a start-up in the 10y term length; even 3y or 5y is also inappropriate. In short, within these very long years, if you do nothing for the startup (just wait for the PR granted then start), IRCC will refuse your application because of the stupid famous reason: "you have no serious intention, or are not dedicated to starting a startup in Canada". And what if you do? Well, 5y or 10y giving up your current career, current job for a vague start up, cost a lot of money, time, hope, and chances; in return for a right to stay and run business in a not-home country(!!!), is gonna make us look like a fool more than an entrepreneur.
Second, most of us here have thought that PR is the destination, but actually it is just the starting point for a journey full of difficulties and challenges in another country ahead. That challenge can come at an extremely high cost, that we couldnot pay for, or also the sweet rewards if we overcome. And there is a bitter truth that Canada is not a paradise for everyone. I have seen many suv families (most of them are wealthy families in their host country) came here and then left because they could not associate with the social here. It wasn't simply just leaving, they had previously suffered countless wounds and disappointments. Is this worth it?
From my sincerity, I am not saying that you should give up, but I want you to consider and prepare carefully for your situation. I know that each of us has good reasons why we decide to settle in another country, but please remember that Canada can solve your current problems, but at the same time it will also create new problems that you can never imagine. So please consider it. And finally I want to say all the hard work pays off. Stay strong everyone. Good luck.
I am an Alumi member here, who applied PR under this stream from mid 2020 and got PR on early 2023, and have been granted citizenship recently. it can say, my family was settled down quite well in this new country after 3 years. Because of an injury, I was approved for 7days off from my company, so I have a chance to come back to this forum, which brings back to me all old-unforgetable-memories when I was at your situation. And now please accept me to share some of my thoughts from my POV.
First of all, I feel so sorry about the insane of processing timeline, 10+ years. From my perspective, it is another way of shutting down the program because no business is considered a start-up in the 10y term length; even 3y or 5y is also inappropriate. In short, within these very long years, if you do nothing for the startup (just wait for the PR granted then start), IRCC will refuse your application because of the stupid famous reason: "you have no serious intention, or are not dedicated to starting a startup in Canada". And what if you do? Well, 5y or 10y giving up your current career, current job for a vague start up, cost a lot of money, time, hope, and chances; in return for a right to stay and run business in a not-home country(!!!), is gonna make us look like a fool more than an entrepreneur.
Second, most of us here have thought that PR is the destination, but actually it is just the starting point for a journey full of difficulties and challenges in another country ahead. That challenge can come at an extremely high cost, that we couldnot pay for, or also the sweet rewards if we overcome. And there is a bitter truth that Canada is not a paradise for everyone. I have seen many suv families (most of them are wealthy families in their host country) came here and then left because they could not associate with the social here. It wasn't simply just leaving, they had previously suffered countless wounds and disappointments. Is this worth it?
From my sincerity, I am not saying that you should give up, but I want you to consider and prepare carefully for your situation. I know that each of us has good reasons why we decide to settle in another country, but please remember that Canada can solve your current problems, but at the same time it will also create new problems that you can never imagine. So please consider it. And finally I want to say all the hard work pays off. Stay strong everyone. Good luck.
Immigration minister says bill’s trigger for new powers intentionally vague
Immigration Minister Lena Diab says the definition of a “public interest” event that would allow her department to pause or revoke immigration applications is “intentionally not defined” in new legislation.
Diab told the House of Commons immigration committee today the definition was left open-ended in the government’s new border security bill, C-12, to allow Ottawa to respond to unforeseen events.
“It is intentionally not defined in the legislation, as I said, to allow for maximum flexibility for the government to respond in a range of unforeseen circumstances that threaten the public interest,” Diab told the committee.
Diab was asked repeatedly during the committee hearing when the government would be permitted to use the new powers to pause immigration applications or cancel existing documents.
The minister said they could be deployed in a national security emergency or health crisis, adding the government could have made good use of the power to pause immigration applications during the COVID-19 pandemic. ( Google to Continue )
In February 2023, former Immigration Minister
@SeanFraserMP
issued a Public Policy directing IRCC to essentially bulk-approve all visitor visa applications submitted before January 16, 2023. The intent was to clear the massive pandemic-era backlog and “position Canada for a clean start.” Perhaps not surprisingly, many of those admitted under this policy later filed asylum claims at a higher-than-average rate. At the time, some observers suggested that IRCC likely would have preferred simply to cancel the pending applications altogether. Bill C-12 now seeks to grant that very power, allowing the Governor in Council to cancel any applications still in process, as well as existing and valid visas, PR cards, work permits, study permits, and more. This has raised reasonable concerns about whether IRCC might use this new authority to eliminate other backlogs, such as in the Humanitarian and Compassionate Class (with its 50-year processing time), Start-Up Business, or Self-Employed classes.Questions have now logically arisen regarding whether IRCC will use Bill C-12's ability to cancel applications in these categories to terminate the backlogs. During today's #CIMM meeting,
@SameerZuberi
(who is impressive) asked
@LenaMetlegeDiab
if this was IRCC's plan. The Minister said no, and then went on to say that she wanted to be clear that Bill C-12 does not permit IRCC to cancel asylum claims, assuring claimants that their cases would not be affected. It is hard to tell what to make of her response. The purpose of Bill C-12 remains unclear, apart from the fact that it grants sweeping new powers to government. As
@MichelleRempel
pointed out, there are no safeguards. And of course, even if the government has no current intention to use these powers broadly to cancel application categories, it can always change its mind in the future. At this point, the government appears to have three choices. It can increase admissions quotas in the above three categories to reduce backlogs. It can accept multi-decade processing times. Or it can cancel applications altogether. It's not unreasonable for people to be concerned that they will choose the latter.
@SeanFraserMP
issued a Public Policy directing IRCC to essentially bulk-approve all visitor visa applications submitted before January 16, 2023. The intent was to clear the massive pandemic-era backlog and “position Canada for a clean start.” Perhaps not surprisingly, many of those admitted under this policy later filed asylum claims at a higher-than-average rate. At the time, some observers suggested that IRCC likely would have preferred simply to cancel the pending applications altogether. Bill C-12 now seeks to grant that very power, allowing the Governor in Council to cancel any applications still in process, as well as existing and valid visas, PR cards, work permits, study permits, and more. This has raised reasonable concerns about whether IRCC might use this new authority to eliminate other backlogs, such as in the Humanitarian and Compassionate Class (with its 50-year processing time), Start-Up Business, or Self-Employed classes.Questions have now logically arisen regarding whether IRCC will use Bill C-12's ability to cancel applications in these categories to terminate the backlogs. During today's #CIMM meeting,
@SameerZuberi
(who is impressive) asked
@LenaMetlegeDiab
if this was IRCC's plan. The Minister said no, and then went on to say that she wanted to be clear that Bill C-12 does not permit IRCC to cancel asylum claims, assuring claimants that their cases would not be affected. It is hard to tell what to make of her response. The purpose of Bill C-12 remains unclear, apart from the fact that it grants sweeping new powers to government. As
@MichelleRempel
pointed out, there are no safeguards. And of course, even if the government has no current intention to use these powers broadly to cancel application categories, it can always change its mind in the future. At this point, the government appears to have three choices. It can increase admissions quotas in the above three categories to reduce backlogs. It can accept multi-decade processing times. Or it can cancel applications altogether. It's not unreasonable for people to be concerned that they will choose the latter.
Hi Fiat,Immigration minister says bill’s trigger for new powers intentionally vague
Immigration Minister Lena Diab says the definition of a “public interest” event that would allow her department to pause or revoke immigration applications is “intentionally not defined” in new legislation.
Diab told the House of Commons immigration committee today the definition was left open-ended in the government’s new border security bill, C-12, to allow Ottawa to respond to unforeseen events.
“It is intentionally not defined in the legislation, as I said, to allow for maximum flexibility for the government to respond in a range of unforeseen circumstances that threaten the public interest,” Diab told the committee.
Diab was asked repeatedly during the committee hearing when the government would be permitted to use the new powers to pause immigration applications or cancel existing documents.
The minister said they could be deployed in a national security emergency or health crisis, adding the government could have made good use of the power to pause immigration applications during the COVID-19 pandemic. ( Google to Continue )
Thank you for a very helpful shared information!
This decision looks to be reasonable for both of us and IRCC in this current situation
Good luck to all
Cheers
Hali
Thanks for the info @Fiat@fifo. But you reckon this is good? I believe she says nothing, like , we are not going to cancel the applications but we can do it?