Can I start a cleaning business on an open work permit in Canada?

Cleaning is one of the most common first businesses for newcomers in Ontario: it needs no provincial licence, little equipment and no Canadian credential. The question people ask before they start is not about vacuums or pricing. It is whether the permit in their passport lets them work for themselves, and what a cleaning business does to their chances of permanent residence. This guide explains the general rules from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Your own permit, and advice from a licensed representative, decide your case.

Can I be self-employed on an open work permit?

In most cases, yes. IRCC describes an open work permit as one that lets you work for any employer, with only a short list of excluded employers: those on IRCC's ineligible employers list and businesses that regularly offer striptease, erotic dance, escort services or erotic massage. It is not tied to a job offer or a Labour Market Impact Assessment, and nothing in that general description limits you to working for someone else. What can limit you is the conditions box printed on the permit itself, so read it before you register anything.

What conditions on my permit could stop me cleaning?

The most common one for cleaners is the medical condition. If you did not do an immigration medical exam, your permit usually says you are not authorised to work in child care, primary or secondary school teaching, or health services occupations. IRCC has said this applies to jobs in those settings even when the work itself is not clinical. In practice, a cleaner with this condition should not take contracts in clinics, dental offices, long-term care homes, retirement residences or daycares. Private homes and offices are not affected.

To remove the condition, you book an upfront medical exam with an IRCC panel physician and then apply to change the conditions on your work permit. Until the new permit is issued, the old condition still applies. Also check the permit for a location or occupation restriction, and for its expiry date: your business must stop when the permit expires, unless you applied to extend it before then and are waiting on maintained status.

Does self-employment count toward permanent residence?

Not for the Canadian Experience Class. IRCC states plainly that work experience gained while self-employed does not count toward it, with a narrow exception for some physicians. The Canadian Experience Class needs at least one year of skilled, paid work in Canada (1,560 hours) in the three years before you apply, in an occupation at TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3.

Cleaning has a second problem: house and office cleaning is classed as light duty cleaners (NOC 65310), which is TEER 5. So even as an employee of a cleaning company, that experience would not qualify for the Canadian Experience Class. The team-lead occupation for cleaners (NOC 62024) is TEER 2, but that experience counts only when a cleaning company employs you in that role, not when you run your own small business.

For business owners, the federal Self-Employed Persons Program stopped taking applications on April 30, 2024, and IRCC has extended that pause until further notice. IRCC has said more on a new pilot for entrepreneurs would be shared in 2026. If PR is your main goal, plan your work history with a licensed representative before you leave a job that counts.

Should I start a business now or wait for PR?

It depends on which route to PR you are relying on. If you need Canadian skilled work experience for Express Entry, full-time self-employment in cleaning will not build it, so many people keep an employed job that counts and clean on evenings and weekends, if their permit allows both. If you already qualify, or your route does not need Canadian work experience, a cleaning business can give you income and a Canadian business record now. There is no rule that you must wait for PR to register a sole proprietorship; the limits are the ones on your permit.

What do I need to register a cleaning business on a work permit?

The same as any resident, once your status allows the work. A Social Insurance Number that starts with 9 is the normal one for temporary residents, and it works for a business too.

1. Register a business name on the Ontario Business Registry if you trade under any name other than your own legal name. It lasts five years.
2. Report business income on Form T2125 with your personal tax return. Nothing is withheld from what clients pay you, so set money aside through the year.
3. Register for HST once your taxable sales pass $30,000 in a calendar quarter or over four consecutive quarters. Ask an accountant whether registering earlier helps you.
4. Buy commercial general liability insurance, and a fidelity bond if you clean while clients are out. Clients and platforms ask for both.
5. Keep clean records and a business bank account. Records prove your income for a lease, a car loan or a future immigration application.

What mistakes do newcomers make with a cleaning business?

• Taking a clinic or daycare contract while the permit still carries the medical condition.
• Assuming a spouse's permit or status covers the same work.
• Working past the permit's expiry date without having applied to extend it in time.
• Counting on cleaning income to qualify for the Canadian Experience Class.
• Taking cash without records, then having no proof of income when a landlord, lender or IRCC asks for it.
• Working without insurance because no client asked for it yet.

Once you are set up, you can find jobs through referrals, community groups and platforms. Doyo pros in Toronto and York Region pass a photo ID check and a police record check before they work, and customers can describe a job in English, French, Persian or Spanish. If you already run a small team or know other cleaners and tradespeople, Doyo's Area Partner program in York Region lets you earn a share of Doyo's fee on jobs done by the pros you bring. Partners never pay Doyo.