Start-Up Visa and C11 Business Setup Cost Calculator
Opening a Canadian corporation from abroad to support a work permit or PR application. Work out the incorporation cost, the registered address, the business plan, the first-year compliance budget and the week-by-week timeline.
year one, all in
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Setup Cost
| Item | Basis | Amount |
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First-Year Compliance Budget
| Item | Basis | Annual |
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Week by Week
| Week | What Happens |
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What This Stream Needs the Company to Show
| Requirement | Detail |
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Points That Decide This
What to Do Next
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Disclaimer: We are Chartered Professional Accountants and not immigration consultants or lawyers. Nothing on this page is immigration advice, and we do not assess eligibility for any immigration stream, prepare immigration applications or represent applicants before Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Anyone pursuing a work permit or permanent residence should retain a licensed immigration lawyer or a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant, and this calculator is intended to price the accounting and corporate side of establishing a Canadian company, not to indicate whether an application will succeed. Government fees are stated as $300 for Ontario incorporation and $200 for federal incorporation, with a NUANS name search report at $25, and should be confirmed against the current fee schedules at the time of filing. Ontario does not impose a resident director requirement for corporations incorporated under the Ontario Business Corporations Act; federal corporations under the Canada Business Corporations Act are generally subject to a resident Canadian director requirement, with limited exceptions. Every corporation must maintain a registered office address in its jurisdiction of incorporation. GST/HST registration is generally required once taxable supplies exceed $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters, and voluntary registration is available below that. Professional fees shown are indicative fixed fees including HST, confirmed in writing before any engagement begins. Timelines depend on registry and CRA processing and on the completeness of the information provided. This page is general information, not tax, legal or immigration advice.
What We Do and What We Do Not
We are accountants. We can incorporate the company, set up the CRA accounts, prepare the financial projections in a business plan and run the first year of compliance.
We do not give immigration advice, assess eligibility or prepare applications. That work belongs to a licensed immigration lawyer or a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant, and anyone telling you an incorporation package secures a visa is not being straight with you.
Incorporating a company does not obtain a work permit. The corporation is one supporting element in an application that turns on your own credentials, the genuineness of the business and the officer’s assessment. Be careful of anyone selling a bundled “business setup and visa” package, because the two are separate professional services with separate regulators.
Incorporate in Ontario, Not Federally
For a founder outside Canada this usually matters more than the fee difference. Ontario does not impose a resident director requirement. Federal incorporation generally does.
A founder in Delhi or Dubai incorporating federally needs a Canadian resident director, which means either finding someone willing to take on directors’ liabilities or paying for a nominee arrangement. Incorporating in Ontario avoids that question entirely.
| Ontario | Federal | |
|---|---|---|
| Government fee | $300 | $200 |
| Resident director required | No | Generally yes |
| Practical cost for a foreign founder | Lower | Higher, nominee needed |
The hundred dollar saving on the federal fee is irrelevant next to a nominee director arrangement. Unless there is a specific reason to be federal, Ontario is the straightforward answer for a founder who is not yet resident.
The Bank Account Is the Real Obstacle
Incorporation is quick. Getting a Canadian business bank account opened for a corporation whose director is overseas is the part that takes time, and it is where most of these setups stall.
The obstacle is not legal, it is identity verification. Canadian banks have FINTRAC obligations that in practice mean seeing a signing officer in person. Nobody tells foreign founders this before they incorporate, and it is the single most common surprise.
- In person at a branch once you are in Canada, which is cleanest but requires you to be here
- A Canadian-resident signing officer, if you have a trusted one
- A fintech business account, faster to open and more limited in what it does
The Business Plan Financials Have to Survive Scrutiny
Where a plan is required, the financial projections are the part an officer can actually test. Revenue assumptions with no basis, payroll that does not match the staffing narrative, and margins unlike anything in the industry all read as a template rather than a business.
That is the piece we prepare. The market analysis and the immigration narrative belong with your immigration representative, and the two documents need to say the same thing.
A plan projecting five employees in year one against a payroll budget that supports two is a visible inconsistency. Officers read a lot of these. Internal contradictions between the narrative and the numbers are the easiest thing for them to find.
Year One Compliance Is Not Optional
A corporation that exists on paper and files nothing is worse than no corporation at all, because it creates obligations without producing evidence of a real business.
- A T2 corporate return, required even with no activity
- Financial statements, which is what a bank or an officer actually looks at
- GST/HST registration and returns once revenue crosses the threshold
- Payroll accounts and remittances if anyone is paid, including you
- T4 slips by the end of February
- An annual return with the registry
For an application that will be reviewed a year later, filed statements showing real activity are the strongest evidence available that the business is genuine. A dormant shell is the opposite.
What Actually Sets the Timeline
| Step | Realistic |
|---|---|
| NUANS and incorporation | Days |
| CRA business number and program accounts | Days to a week |
| Business plan financials | 1 to 2 weeks |
| Bank account | Weeks, and the real constraint |
What This Calculator Does Not Cover
- Immigration eligibility, applications or fees, which are not ours to advise on
- Designated organisation costs under the Start-Up Visa
- Legal fees for shareholder agreements or commercial contracts
- Nominee director arrangements, priced separately if federal incorporation is required
- Personal tax residency, which changes once you land
- Provinces other than Ontario
Get your immigration representative and your accountant talking early. Our incorporation service covers the company, the CRA accounts, the plan financials and the first year of filings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions on setting up a Canadian company from abroad.
Related Calculators and Guides
More tools for founders setting up from abroad.
The Accounting Side, Handled Properly
Tell us the stream your representative is pursuing and your timeline. We will incorporate the company, open the CRA accounts, prepare the plan financials and run the first year of filings so the business has a real record behind it.