Federal court rejects SUV application for "lack of genuine business purpose"
Ottawa, April 11, 2019 – The Canadian Federal Court has ruled to reject the appeal of applicant XHB, a Vietnamese citizen, in the Start-Up Visa (SUV) program, on the grounds that he failed to demonstrate that his goal was to implement a genuine startup project in Canada, but rather to obtain permanent residency.
Background of the incident
The applicant submitted their immigration application in 2017 with the idea of developing an application connecting Vietnamese farmers with tourists and consumers. The business was established as Savago Technologies Ltd., with its planned headquarters in Vancouver.
Mr. B. received a Commitment Certificate from Empowered Startups Ltd. – a designated business incubator.
However, IRCC requested an independent peer review and concluded that Empowered did not conduct thorough due diligence before accepting Mr. B's project.
Why was the application rejected?
On June 26, 2018, immigration officials officially rejected Mr. B.'s application for permanent residency for the following reason:
"The applicant's primary purpose in participating in the project is not to conduct business, but to obtain immigration benefits under Canadian immigration law."
The factors mentioned include:
- He did not explain why he didn't start his business in Vietnam – where he already had market knowledge.
- The Savago website is not fully functional, is only in Vietnamese, and does not have a real phone number.
- No documentation was provided proving meetings with universities or agreements signed with the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture.
- There has been no noticeable progress over the past 7 months.
The applicant's arguments and the court's decision.
The applicant countered that:
- The website is incomplete because it has not yet been granted PR (Permanent Residency).
- The inability to establish links with universities is due to visa barriers.
- There are no regulations requiring product testing in Vietnam before deployment in Canada.
However, the Court stated:
- The applicant has a valid work permit in Canada, therefore they are still able to commence business operations and there is no reasonable reason to delay.
- There is a lack of concrete evidence to prove that business activities were carried out.
- The official was justified in suspecting the true purpose of the SUV application in this case.
Federal Court ruling
- The petition for review is rejected.
- There are no significant legal issues that need to be escalated to a higher level.
The court emphasized that honesty in business intent is a core requirement of the Start-Up Visa program, and written commitments cannot replace actual evidence.
Lessons from the incident
This ruling shows that:
- You cannot use a fake or poorly prepared project to apply for permanent residency.
- A Commitment Certificate is worthless without actual business activity or genuine business objectives.
- Failure to demonstrate a commitment to launching a startup in Canada is a major factor that can lead to application rejection.
KeyApply and Ontario Startup Studio – We don't accept projects just for PR.
Although Mr. XHB was not a KeyApply customer, this incident serves as a clear warning to those seeking to settle in their homes via SUVs with unclear plans.
KeyApply and Ontario Startup Studio offer a comprehensive solution:
✅ We only support genuine projects, genuine products, and genuine implementations in Canada.
✅ Permanent office in Ontario – direct customer support ✅ Experienced consulting team: technology, legal, finance
✅ Transparent, legal, and supportive from startup to settlement.
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