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C11 work permit · Business plan

A C11 business plan is a start-up plan, not a market report.

IRCC tells its officers what to look for in a C11 business plan. Here is that checklist in plain words — and what each point means for yours.

Have your plan readC11 work permit guide

What the officer checks

Six things IRCC tells officers to look at

From IRCC’s instructions to officers for C11 work permits (last modified 27 May 2025). Read them yourself — they are short, public and the only rules that count.

The first question

Concrete steps, not a market report

IRCC asks officers whether the plan sets out concrete steps to start the business, or is simply a detailed market analysis. Pages of industry statistics do not answer it. What you will do in the first weeks and months — premises, registration, suppliers, first hires, first sales — does.

Location

Why there, and not somewhere else

Where the business will operate is on IRCC’s list, and it can decide the case. IRCC’s own example: a convenience store competing with established Canadian businesses in a large market may not qualify, while the same store in a remote area may.

Sourcing

Where your product comes from

If you will import, the plan has to show it — including import costs and duties. A margin that only works before duty is paid is a margin an officer can check.

Finances

Start-up costs, wages — and whether your money covers them

IRCC lists start-up costs, wages, and whether the funds cover them. The arithmetic has to close: every cost in the plan should be paid for by money you can show.

Marketing and customers

Who buys, and how they find you

A named customer base and a realistic way of reaching it. “Everyone in Canada” is not a customer base.

Jobs

Jobs that matter for the area, at fair pay

Officers consider whether the business will be viable and create jobs significant for the area, at the median wage or higher so that it does not depress wages. Show the roles, when you will hire, and what you will pay.

The money

Two pots of money, both proven

IRCC wants the money for the business kept separate from the money you will live on — and both shown.

Business funds are whatever your plan says it takes to start and run the business. You must prove where the money you will invest came from. Money that appears in an account shortly before you apply, with no trail behind it, is exactly what that requirement exists to test.

Personal support funds are tied to the low-income cut-off for your family size, for at least 18 months or your length of stay if that is shorter. IRCC moves the figure, so check it at the source.

The test it serves

“Significant benefit” is what the plan has to prove

A C11 permit is issued because your work brings a significant benefit to Canada. IRCC names the kinds of benefit it means: market expansion, job creation, new products or services, export growth, or keeping Canadians in work.

It also names what does not count on its own: the type of business, or the amount you spend. The plan has to connect your business to one of those benefits — and connect you to the business, because IRCC also weighs whether your skills and language ability make it more likely to succeed.

Built for a temporary stay

C11 is for business owners seeking only temporary residence. IRCC says the work should normally not exceed 18 months; a longer request needs a definite plan to step back from managing the business, such as hiring a manager. Seasonal businesses are temporary by nature — a year-round one needs that plan written in.

If what you really want is to settle in Canada, IRCC points business owners to other routes — provincial business programmes and the Start-up Visa among them. See the business immigration routes. And you must control at least 51% of the business for C11 at all; below that, you would apply as an employee.

Straight answers

C11 business plan questions

Is there a minimum investment for a C11 work permit?
No. IRCC’s instructions set no minimum investment, and they say plainly that neither the type of business nor the amount spent is what makes it significant — what matters is how your work benefits Canadians, permanent residents or a local economy. Officers do have discretion to judge how much money it really takes to establish and run your business, so the plan’s costs have to be realistic.
Does IRCC have a business plan template?
No. IRCC publishes the points officers consider — start-up steps, location, sourcing, finances, marketing and customers, jobs and wages — not a template. A plan built around those points answers the officer’s questions; a generic template usually answers none of them.
How much money do I need to show?
Two separate amounts. The business funds the plan says it needs, with proof of where that money came from. And personal funds to support yourself and your family, which IRCC ties to the low-income cut-off for your family size, for at least 18 months or the length of your stay if shorter. IRCC updates that figure, so check it on IRCC’s page rather than trusting a number on any website, ours included.
Do I have to hire Canadians?
There is no fixed number. Job creation is one of the benefits IRCC lists, and officers consider whether the business will create jobs significant for the area at the median wage or higher. A plan that hires no one has to show its benefit to Canada some other way — market expansion, innovation, exports or keeping Canadians in work.
How long should the plan cover?
At least the length of the permit you are asking for. IRCC says the work should normally not exceed 18 months; asking for longer means showing a definite plan to move out of managing the business, such as hiring a manager. Seasonal businesses are treated as temporary by nature; a year-round business needs that exit plan.
Can someone else write my business plan?
You can get help, but the plan has to be yours. The officer is assessing whether you can make this business work — IRCC lists your skills and language ability among the factors — so every number and every step in it should be something you can explain.

Already refused? Why C11 applications are refused, and what to do next.

Reviewed by the Tashfeen legal teamLast reviewed October 2026

Before you file

Have your plan read against IRCC’s checklist

Bring your draft plan and your proof of funds. We’ll tell you where an officer is likely to stop — and whether C11 is the right route for you at all. No one can guarantee an outcome, and we won’t.

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