Startup Visas: 15 Countries That Welcome Founders and Entrepreneurs

A startup visa is a residence permit you get for starting an innovative business in a country, usually with a faster path to long-term residency, and sometimes citizenship, than a standard work or investment visa. Dozens of countries run one, sometimes under a different name: entrepreneur visa, founder visa, or innovation visa.

What they ask for varies enormously. Funding requirements run from a few thousand euros in personal savings to over a million in committed investment. Some countries decide in weeks; others take years. Programs also change: several that were open a couple of years ago have since closed to new applicants or been replaced by stricter routes. The right one for you comes down to your budget, your business, and where you actually want to build it.

Startup visa programs, country by country

United Kingdom Innovator Founder Visa

The UK closed its old Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa to new applicants in 2019. The current route for founders is the Innovator Founder visa, which replaced the earlier Innovator and Start-up visas in 2023. It is built around endorsement rather than a fixed investment: your business idea must be new, innovative, viable, and scalable, and approved by a Home Office-recognized endorsing body that then monitors your progress.

There is no minimum investment requirement, though you need to show realistic funding to deliver your business plan, along with £1,270 in personal savings and English at B2 level. The visa leads to settlement after three years if your business meets the endorsing body’s growth criteria, and your spouse and children can join you with work and study rights.

Ireland Start-up Entrepreneur Programme (STEP)

Ireland’s STEP is for non-EEA founders with a high-potential startup: a business in an internationally traded sector, capable of creating at least 10 jobs and €1 million in sales within three to four years. There are no job-creation targets in the early stage, but the business has to show that potential.

You need to show access to at least €50,000 in funding, which can come from your own resources, a loan, angel or venture funding, or an Irish state agency grant. A second founder needs an additional €30,000. Applications go to an evaluation committee that meets quarterly, so build that wait into your timeline. Approval gives you and your family an initial two-year residence permission, renewable for three, and the route can lead to long-term residence and citizenship.

Portugal Startup Visa

Portugal runs its Startup Visa through IAPMEI, the national agency for competitiveness and innovation. You apply by getting your business approved by a certified Portuguese incubator, which then submits your project to IAPMEI for assessment on innovation, scalability, market potential, and job creation. There is no fixed investment requirement. You need to show funds to support yourself for the first year, currently around €11,000.

To qualify, your business should be technology or knowledge based, and able to reach €325,000 in annual turnover or asset value within five years of incubation. Approval leads to a residence permit valid for two years, renewable for three, with family reunification available. Note that the immigration agency you deal with after arrival is now AIMA, which replaced the former SEF.

Spain Startup Visa

Spain assesses your application on the benefit your business brings to the country, with a broader test than programs that focus only on a single innovative product. Since the 2023 Startup Law, the process runs through ENISA, the national innovation agency, which evaluates your project’s innovation and economic value. There is no fixed investment requirement; you show funds to support yourself.

Approval gives a three-year residence permit, longer than Spain’s standard initial cards, and you can apply from within Spain while on another legal status. The main drawback for founders thinking long term: Spain requires 10 years of residence before citizenship for most nationalities, longer than several other countries on this list.

France French Tech Visa for Founders

France runs the French Tech Visa for Founders as part of its Talent residence permit. To qualify, your innovative startup needs an endorsement from a recognized French incubator, accelerator, or partner organization, and you submit a business plan covering the project’s innovation and economic impact. You also need to show personal funds equivalent to the French minimum wage, currently around €22,400 a year.

The permit can be issued for up to four years and is renewable, and your spouse and children can join you under family status. France also offers separate tracks for tech employees and for investors, the latter requiring a minimum €300,000 committed to French operations.

Netherlands Startup Visa

The Netherlands grants a one-year residence permit to founders of innovative businesses, on the condition that you work with a government-approved facilitator, an experienced mentor or incubator that supports your company through its first year. The facilitator relationship is mandatory, not optional.

There is no minimum investment, but you must show enough personal funds to support yourself for the year, currently in the range of €15,000 to €16,000, tied to the Dutch minimum wage. After the first year, if the business shows progress, you can apply for a self-employed residence permit, which can lead toward permanent residency after five years of legal residence.

Denmark Startup Visa

Start-up Denmark gives non-EU founders a residence and work permit to build an innovative, scalable business. Your business plan is assessed by an independent expert panel appointed by the Danish Business Authority, and you usually hear back within six weeks. Traditional businesses like retail, restaurants, and small import-export operations do not qualify; the program is aimed at sectors like tech, life science, cleantech, and food.

If the panel approves your plan, you apply for the permit through SIRI. It is granted for up to two years and can be extended three years at a time. Your spouse and children under 18 can join you and are granted the right to work. One constraint to plan around: the scheme caps approvals at roughly 75 founders per year.

Estonia Startup Visa

Estonia produces more startups per capita than almost any EU country, and its Startup Committee assesses applicants on whether the business is genuinely innovative and scalable. The founder visa is issued for up to 12 months and can be extended, after which you can apply for a temporary residence permit for enterprise valid for up to five years. Your spouse and children can join you. You need to show modest personal funds, currently around €800 per month.

Separately, Estonia’s e-Residency program lets you start and run an Estonian company online without living there. It is worth being clear about what it is: e-Residency is a digital identity for remote company management, not a visa or residence permit, and it does not grant the right to live in Estonia or tax residency. The state fee is €150.

Latvia Startup Visa

Latvia offers a temporary residence permit for founders building an innovative, scalable product, available for up to three years. Up to five founders of a single company can apply, and the permit covers your spouse and dependent children. The company must have been registered no more than a year before you apply, and you register as a board member within three months of approval.

There is no fixed investment requirement to apply. For renewal, requirements have shifted away from set capital-raising thresholds toward demonstrating genuine progress with the business, so check the current conditions with Latvia’s Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs before relying on older figures.

Singapore EntrePass

Singapore’s EntrePass is for founders of venture-backed or innovation-driven businesses. You hold at least 30% of a Singapore private limited company that is less than six months old at application, and the business has to meet one of several innovation criteria. The best-known route is funding: at least S$100,000 raised from a government-recognized venture capital firm or angel investor. The others are participation in a recognized incubator or accelerator, holding registered intellectual property that gives a competitive advantage, or an active research collaboration with a Singapore institution.

There is no minimum salary and no foreign worker levy. The pass is issued for a year initially, with renewals tied to business spending and local hiring milestones. Traditional businesses like food outlets, bars, and a list of excluded trades do not qualify.

Hong Kong Investment as Entrepreneurs

Hong Kong admits founders under the General Employment Policy through the Investment as Entrepreneurs route, for people establishing or joining a business in the city. There is no fixed minimum capital requirement. Immigration assesses whether your business makes a substantial contribution to the economy, weighing your business plan, investment, job creation, and any new skills or technology you bring. Backing from a government-supported program, such as InvestHK’s StartmeupHK, Cyberport, or the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks incubators, strengthens an application.

Processing normally takes about four weeks once your documents are complete. The visa covers your spouse and unmarried dependent children under 18. The initial stay is granted for up to 36 months, with extensions after that, and seven years of continuous residence opens a path to permanent residency.

Japan Startup Visa

Japan’s Startup Visa, run by METI, gives founders time to set up a business before having to meet the stricter Business Manager visa requirements. As of January 2025 it expanded nationwide, so you are no longer limited to Fukuoka or a handful of designated cities, and the validity period was extended to up to two years. You apply through a certified support organization in your chosen prefecture or city, with an approved business plan.

The visa is a preparation phase: it lets you incorporate, find an office, and build traction without immediately meeting the full Business Manager requirements. Plan for what comes next, though. The follow-on Business Manager visa raised its minimum capital requirement to ¥30 million in late 2025, so you need a realistic funding path before that transition.

New Zealand Entrepreneur Visa

New Zealand’s Entrepreneur Work Visa let founders build or buy a business with a minimum NZD 100,000 capital investment, on a path toward residency. It closed to new applications in August 2025 and was replaced by the Business Investor Visa, which opened in November 2025.

The replacement is an investor route, not a founder route. It requires NZD 1 million invested in an existing business for a three-year work-to-residence pathway, or NZD 2 million for a 12-month fast track. Founders who already hold an Entrepreneur Work Visa can still apply for residence under the Entrepreneur Resident category, but there is no longer a dedicated startup visa for new applicants. If your plan was to start something small in New Zealand rather than buy into an established business, this route no longer fits.

Canada Start-Up Visa

Canada’s Start-Up Visa offered permanent residency to founders backed by a designated venture capital fund, angel group, or business incubator. It closed to new applicants at the end of 2025. Founders who already held a commitment certificate have until June 30, 2026 to file for permanent residence; after that, no new certificates are being honored under the old program.

The government has signaled a replacement: a capped entrepreneur pilot for 2026 with tighter eligibility and lower intake. The details were not public at the time of writing, so treat Canada as a route to watch rather than one you can apply for today. If Canada is your target, check the current status with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada before building any plans around it.

Chile (Start-Up Chile)

Start-Up Chile is a government-backed accelerator run by CORFO, and it goes well beyond a visa. Selected founders get equity-free funding, a two-year work visa, and access to Chile’s startup ecosystem of mentors, investors, and alumni. The funding is non-dilutive, so you keep full ownership of your company.

The program runs in tiers by stage, from early-stage validation through to companies ready to scale internationally, with grants ranging from roughly US$15,000 to US$100,000. It has supported well over a thousand startups since 2010 and draws founders from more than 80 countries. Chile offers good infrastructure, a low cost of living, and a base for reaching Latin American markets.

A note for founders interested in the USA

The United States still has no dedicated startup or entrepreneur visa, and no direct startup-based path to residency or citizenship. The routes that exist are complex and oversubscribed.

The closest thing is the International Entrepreneur Rule, which is now active. It grants “parole,” a temporary authorized stay rather than a visa, for up to five years to founders whose startup has raised at least $311,000 from qualified US investors or $124,000 in government grants. It is used relatively little, partly because parole offers no direct route to a green card. Founders without that backing typically look at other routes, such as the O-1 for individuals with extraordinary ability, or the E-2 treaty investor visa, which is restricted by nationality. Firms like Unshackled Ventures and One Way Ventures focus specifically on immigrant founders and may be worth approaching.

Why founders look abroad

The reasons a founder relocates a business usually come down to a few things:

• Access to incubators, accelerators, and mentors that a home market may lack
• New customers and markets, and a base for reaching a wider region
• Funding sources, both government grants and private investors, geared toward innovative companies
• Skills and talent that are hard to hire at home
• A more favorable tax position, depending on the country
• A path to residency and citizenship for you and your family

Each program asks for something different in return, which is why the right fit depends on your specific business and situation rather than on which country looks best on paper.