Canadian Federal Court rejects SUV application due to key member's withdrawal.

Toronto, December 6, 2024 – The Federal Court of Canada has ruled to reject Emilie Grace Tan's appeal for reconsideration in the Start-Up Visa (SUV) program, citing the withdrawal of a key member of her startup team before a final decision was made. The court affirmed that IRCC's rejection was reasonable and in accordance with the law.

The project was affected by a member's withdrawal.

Ms. Tan's application for permanent residency was submitted in November 2020 as the Chief Operating Officer of NextProp, a blockchain-based real estate management platform. The team consisted of five members and received a Commitment Certificate from the designated organization, Canadian International Angel Investors Ltd., with all members marked as "essential members".

However, the project's CEO, Sebastian Niklaus Kopp, later withdrew his application, forcing the remaining team to develop a new business plan under the name LinkProp and submit a revised Commitment Certificate, removing Kopp from the list of essential members.

Reasons for IRCC's rejection.

On March 28, 2023, IRCC officially rejected Ms. Tan's application for permanent residency, citing section 98.08(2) of the Immigration and Refugees Regulations (IRPR), which states that if an essential family member withdraws their application, the remaining family members are also ineligible for permanent residency.

IRCC officials stated:

"The applicant is no longer eligible because the amended Commitment Certificate was submitted after the permanent residency application had been filed, and therefore does not serve as a replacement."

The applicant's arguments and the court's conclusion.

Ms. Tan's lawyer stated:

• There is nothing in the law that prohibits submitting a new Commitment Certificate before a formal decision has been made.
• Staff changes are common in startups and should be accepted with flexibility.

However, the Court rejected this argument and concluded:

• A valid Commitment Certificate must be in effect at the time of application.
• Allowing changes after application submission will lead to abuse of the application queue to "reserve a spot," and then change the entire project.
• In this case, the startup team underwent a near-complete overhaul: the leadership, the company name, the business plan, and the legal and financial structure.

The court stated:

"Such drastic changes cannot be considered a legitimate continuation of the original plan."

Final verdict

• The petition for review is rejected.
• There are no legal questions significant enough to warrant escalating to a higher level.

Lessons from the 2024 FC 1986 ruling

This ruling reaffirms the strict timing and consistency of SUV records:

• 🛑 Fundamental documents cannot be modified after submission – changes to personnel, roles, or the nature of the business after the submission date will be rejected.
• ⏳ Essential member leaves = the entire team is affected
• 📄 A Commitment Certificate is only valid if submitted on time and accurately reflects the actual plan.

KeyApply and Ontario Startup Studio: Be cautious from the start to avoid losing everything.

Although the applicant in this case was not a KeyApply client, this serves as a practical lesson in ensuring the consistency, validity, and authenticity of the application from the outset.

KeyApply and Ontario Startup Studio are committed to:

✅ Professional risk management to avoid mistakes.
✅ Build a real project in Canada with practical activities.
✅ In-depth guidance on each team member's role, contracts, and long-term strategy.
✅ Stay up-to-date with the latest guidelines from IRCC.

👉 Start right from the beginning – so you don't have to pay the price with your dream of settling down.