POSTERN

Canada

Self-Employed Persons Program. Permanent residence for people with two years of self-employment in cultural activities or athletics; new applications have been paused since 30 April 2024 and the pause was extended indefinitely in December 2025.

Free · The law behind every answer · Checked Sep 27, 2026

Self-Employed Persons Program

Nothing for new applicants today. When open: permanent residence outright, with no work-permit stage.

Who qualifies

  • At least 2 years of relevant self-employed or world-class experience in cultural activities or athletics in the five years before applying (the farm-management stream closed in March 2018).
    IRCC, Self-Employed Persons Program
  • The intention and ability to be self-employed in Canada and make a significant contribution to its cultural or athletic life; selection scores experience, education, age, language and adaptability against a 35-point pass mark.
    IRCC, Self-Employed Persons Program
  • IRCC paused intake on 30 April 2024 to clear a backlog that peaked above 11,000 people; about 8,500 were still waiting in late 2025 with processing of 3–5 years, and in December 2025 the pause was extended indefinitely pending a redesigned entrepreneur pathway. The 2026–2028 levels plan gives this program and the Start-up Visa a combined 500 admissions a year.
    IRCC, Evaluation of the Self-Employed Persons Program; Fragomen, Canada: two entrepreneurial programs paused

You keep your U.S. citizenship.

1

Not taking new families today.

Nothing to file. Watch IRCC’s Self-Employed Persons page for a reopening or replacement.

There is nothing to file: a paused program, an aging backlog, and only a promise of a targeted entrepreneur pilot sometime in 2026.

Doors open today →
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What it takes.

Time
Paused indefinitely as of December 2025; people already in the queue are seeing 3–5 years, some over 10.
Cost
About $2,500–4,000 in government fees plus $5,000–15,000 in legal fees; moot while paused.
The hard part
There is nothing to file: a paused program, an aging backlog, and only a promise of a targeted entrepreneur pilot sometime in 2026.
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Citizens by 2031.

If your first permit is issued in 2027 and you keep living there, this is the road.

  1. 2027
    First residence permit

    5 years, renewable for 5 years at a time.

  2. 2030
    Apply for citizenship

    With a language test and a civics test.

  3. 2031
    Citizenship
Language
English or French at Canadian Language Benchmark 4, ages 18–54.
Civics
The citizenship test, ages 18–54: rights and responsibilities of citizens, Canada's history, geography, government and symbols.
Time away
At least 1,095 days physically in Canada in the 5 years before applying. Each day there as a temporary resident before permanent residence counts as half a day, up to 365 days. Tax returns filed for 3 of those years. Keeping permanent residence itself needs 730 days in Canada in every 5 years.
Two passports
Yes. You keep your U.S. citizenship.
  • Paused to new applications with no reopening date; files already in lead straight to permanent residence (the permit shown is the 5-year PR card).
  • IRCC's citizenship processing time changes month to month and is not fixed; we did not record a range.
  • How long the decision takes isn’t published; we allow a year.
The law behind these dates
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Living there.

Time you must spend there
As a permanent resident, 730 days in Canada in every rolling five-year period.
Tax
Permanent residents become Canadian tax residents on worldwide income once they have residential ties in Canada.

We never file a tax return. We tell you what applies and brief the professional who does.

5

Start today.

  1. Nothing to file. Watch IRCC’s Self-Employed Persons page for a reopening or replacement.Open canada.ca ↗
6

Not open today.

Self-Employed Persons Program isn’t taking new families right now. Members hear the day it opens, and we look for the door that fits in the meantime.

Doors open today →
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ISSUED TO

YOUR FAMILY

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