Countries with startup or entrepreneur visa routes
Current entrepreneur and startup pathways by destination with route-specific official evidence.
24 destinations have a current sourced route in this family. The table now shows the main conditions available in the route registry and links directly to each authority.
- Items compared
- 24
- Countries represented
- 24
- Last checked
- 2026-07-16
Source-backed answers
Compare each answer with its unit and checked date; the complete source ledger is below.
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| Country | Route and main conditions | Official source | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | Entrepreneur Startup route — Requirements: Fees: Official Fee Fields Reviewed: Yes; Purpose: attract exceptionally talented migrants who can contribute to Australia and create jobs or improve productivity; Dependants: Eligible Family Members Can Be Included: Yes; Processing: Invitation Stage: Yes; Official Processing Time Guide Linked: Yes; Eligibility: Invitation Required: Yes; Exceptional Achievement Record: Yes; Expression Of Interest Required: Yes. | 2026-07-13 | Official source |
| Austria | Red-White-Red Card for start-up founders — Founders must present an innovative product, service, process or technology, a coherent business plan and personal influence on the business's management. | 2026-07-13 | Official source |
| Czechia | Entrepreneur Startup route — People who completed qualifying Czech university study or scientific research may seek long-term residence to look for employment or start a business. | 2026-07-14 | Official source |
| Denmark | Start-up Denmark residence and work permit — Founders need a business in Denmark or a Danish branch, an innovative business idea and a credible contribution to economic growth and new jobs. | 2026-07-13 | Official source |
| Finland | Finland residence permit for a start-up entrepreneur — Applicants need a positive Business Finland Eligibility Statement no more than four months old; the startup must be growth-oriented or about to be established, and the first permit is granted for two years. | 2026-07-14 | Official source |
| France | Entrepreneur Startup route — Applicants need a real and serious French business project and at least €30,000 investment; the entrepreneur residence route also requires the applicable qualification or professional-experience basis. | 2026-07-15 | Official source |
| Ireland | Ireland Start-up Entrepreneur Programme (STEP) — Good-character applicants with no convictions can qualify to establish an innovative Irish business with €50,000 available funding; the holder must work full-time in that business and cannot take other employment. | 2026-07-14 | Official source |
| Italy | Italia Startup Visa for non-EU innovative startup founders — Applicants seeking Italy's startup self-employment visa must intend to establish an innovative startup in Italy and provide certification of the financial reference parameters required for the self-employed activity, together with a Nulla Osta. | 2026-07-16 | Official source |
| Japan | Japan Startup Visa — foreign entrepreneur preparation route — Applicants must use a Japanese government-approved entrepreneurship support organization, submit a business plan and pass its review and the subsequent immigration review; the preparation period can last up to two years. | 2026-07-14 | Official source |
| Latvia | Entrepreneur Startup route — Non-EU founders may qualify when establishing a startup based in Latvia; the startup may have up to five founders and the residence permit route is valid for up to three years. | 2026-07-13 | Official source |
| Lithuania | Startup Visa Lithuania — Innovative non-EU entrepreneurs building an innovative startup in Lithuania may qualify after the business idea is evaluated; the route leads to a temporary residence permit. | 2026-07-13 | Official source |
| Luxembourg | Residence permit for job search or business creation after studies — Third-country students who completed qualifying studies in Luxembourg may seek a residence permit to look for work or create a business; this post-study permit is valid for 12 months. | 2026-07-14 | Official source |
| Malta | Malta Startup Residence Programme — Third-country startup founders and co-founders may qualify for Malta's Startup Residence Programme; the initial residence permit lasts three years and can be extended to five years after successful completion. | 2026-07-13 | Official source |
| Netherlands | Entrepreneur Startup route — Entrepreneurs need an innovative business assessed by the Dutch authorities, personal experience and sufficient resources to support the business and themselves; the temporary start-up residence period is limited before a self-employed permit. | 2026-07-13 | Official source |
| Poland | Business-activity temporary residence permit for startup founders; no dedicated startup permit — Founders use Poland's business-activity residence route rather than a separate startup permit; the activity must be conducted or planned in Poland and assessed by its income or effect on the Polish labour market. | 2026-07-13 | Official source |
| Portugal | Entrepreneur Startup route — Applicants need an innovative company or project integrated into a certified incubator and the supporting assessment required for Portugal's startup residence route; the initial temporary residence permit is valid for two years. | 2026-07-13 | Official source |
| Romania | Commercial / business activities — Shareholders or members of a company's management or administration may qualify for Romanian residence for commercial or business activity; the official route is not described as a separate startup scheme. | 2026-07-13 | Official source |
| Slovakia | Business-activity temporary residence for an entrepreneur or startup founder; no separate startup visa asserted — A person conducting or planning business in Slovakia may qualify as a natural person or as a representative of a company or cooperative without an employment relationship; the temporary residence may last up to three years. | 2026-07-13 | Official source |
| Slovenia | Starting a business and obtaining a single residence and work permit — Non-EU founders who establish or co-establish a Slovenian business need a single residence-and-work permit; a majority owner with at least 51% ownership may use the owner employment route, while a representative permit can last up to two years. | 2026-07-14 | Official source |
| South Korea | Entrepreneur Startup route — South Korea's D-8-4 technology-startup route is for a founder of a Korean corporation with intellectual property or equivalent technical skills. The founder must hold a Korean associate degree or higher, a foreign bachelor's degree, or a central-government recommendation, score at least 60/300, and complete the corporation's registration. | 2026-07-16 | Official source |
| Spain | Entrepreneur Startup route — Adults developing an innovative entrepreneurial activity of special economic interest to Spain may qualify when ENISA gives a favourable assessment of the applicant profile, business plan and innovation or economic value. | 2026-07-15 | Official source |
| Sweden | Entrepreneur Startup route — A founder must run the Swedish business and own at least 51% of it, with enough business and personal funds; the residence permit is normally granted for up to two years. | 2026-07-15 | Official source |
| United Arab Emirates | Golden visa for entrepreneurs — Entrepreneurs may qualify for the UAE Golden Visa when they have an innovative or technical project supported by project-value evidence and a letter from an incubator or relevant emirate authority; the entrepreneur residence lasts five years. | 2026-07-14 | Official source |
| United Kingdom | Innovator Founder — The Innovator Founder route is for an innovative, viable and scalable UK business with endorsement; the founder needs a key day-to-day role, 70 points including B2 English and financial requirements, and permission can last up to three years. | 2026-07-15 | Official source |
What this measures
Select current sourced routes in the entrepreneur_startup family, keep one route per destination, publish available conditions and link the responsible authority.
- A listed route confirms an official pathway exists; it does not establish that a specific applicant qualifies.
- Rows
- 24 places
- Geographic grain
- country legal route
- Observation period
- 2026-07-13
- Last checked
- 2026-07-16
- With an official source link
- 24 of 24
Cite this page
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APA citation
ImmigrationDB. (2026, September 12). Countries with startup or entrepreneur visa routes [ImmigrationDB compilation; snapshot approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0; version approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/reports/startup-and-entrepreneur-visa-countries/ Retrieved 2026-09-12. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/BibTeX citation
@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_countries-with-startup-or-entrepreneur-visa-routes_70b26a0d9f4e,
author = {ImmigrationDB},
title = {Countries with startup or entrepreneur visa routes},
publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-09-12},
version = {approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0},
snapshot = {approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0},
url = {https://immigrationdb.com/reports/startup-and-entrepreneur-visa-countries/},
note = {Retrieved 2026-09-12. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}Markdown citation
[Countries with startup or entrepreneur visa routes](https://immigrationdb.com/reports/startup-and-entrepreneur-visa-countries/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; snapshot approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0; version approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0; retrieved 2026-09-12; built 2026-09-12.This citation identifies the ImmigrationDB compilation/page. Underlying source publishers and datasets retain their own terms; inspect the Sources section and cite those records separately. View the underlying source records.