In addition to the recent policy emphasis on fostering the creation and development of innovative startups, many countries have implemented immigration programmes to attract start-ups and high-potential entrepreneurs from abroad. Start-up programmes differ from entrepreneur visa streams in that they focus on innovative, scalable, and potentially high-impact businesses in their early stages. Start-up visa programmes prioritise the potential of a business idea over capital invested or existing jobs in the company.

What are the Start-Up Visa programmes’s goals?

Start-up visa programmes are initiatives designed to attract foreign entrepreneurs to establish innovative, high-growth businesses. Almost all countries have visa programmes for foreign entrepreneurs with proven experience and capital to invest in a sufficiently large and viable business.

Start-up visas, on the other hand, are aimed at a category that does not qualify for such existing programmes, either because the business does not yet exist, has too few employees, has a short history and a negative balance sheet, or the owner has no capital of their own. However, a country may want to host and foster innovative businesses and business ideas. Start-up visas may include both a business component and a migration component.

When countries admit investors and standard entrepreneurs, they usually try to choose only those whose businesses have a very high chance of success. Such expectations are difficult to apply to applicants from start-ups. Indeed, start-ups fail at a higher rate than other types of businesses. This is consistent with the start-up business model, which is defined by high uncertainty, higher risks, and relying on the surrounding ecosystem.

What sorts of projects are sought?

Not all start-up ideas and businesses can secure a visa for their founders. Even without the expectation of universal success,  countries have taken a variety of approaches to ensure that their start-up programmes target innovative, scalable, and viable business ideas, as well as individuals and firms who would otherwise be ineligible for visa issuance. Some countries impose requirements on the business, others on the applicant, and still others on both. Objective or subjective requirements can exist.

How are projects chosen?

The challenge in any start-up visa programme is selecting winners from among the applicants. Many countries use review processes to judge start-ups and identify eligibility, in addition to objective criteria regarding the characteristics of the entrepreneur, the business, and the financial plan.

What happens when the visa runs out?

The founding entrepreneur is a key determinant of start-up success, and many successful start-up founders have prior experience with failed start-ups.

Because most programmes admit founders based on an idea, they do so on a conditional basis, with further stay contingent on the success of the business. The frequency with which they check on the status of progress and what options for further stay are available varies greatly between countries.

What exactly are risks and rewards?

The better the permit conditions, the more confident the issuer is that the startup will fulfil its promise. The greater the volume of the start-up programme, the greater the host country's confidence that unsuccessful founders will not become a burden or undermine the integrity of other skilled migration programmes by providing a "back door" to the labour market that may displace local workers and negatively interact with standard business visa programmes.

Temporary and provisional permits work on a "trial period" basis, with successful start-up founders offered the option of extending their stay or obtaining permanent status once they have proven their success. In this context, there is little risk in admitting start-up founders because unsuccessful founders must leave after their temporary stay as well as meet the requirements of a different visa.

About SUO Global

SUO Global is a one-stop shop for individuals and families looking to invest in foreign markets for business opportunities as well as a better quality of life for themselves, their parents, and their children. We offer our clients complete solutions that include crystallising their dreams, obtaining the necessary permits, emigrating, obtaining new passports, and eventually becoming global citizens. We provide seamless, single point of contact solutions for all formalities related to investment-based immigration through our offices in Noida, Chandigarh, and New York. These include, but are not limited to, investment requirements, meeting mandatory qualification criteria for permanent residence, citizenship, and foreign investment, as well as the nitty-gritty of visa applications, residency permits, and passport acquisition.