Startup and Entrepreneur Visas: Where Founders Can Still Get In

You would not be reading about founder visas unless you plan to build your business in another country. Everything below is for founders who want to know which doors are still open and what each one asks for.

Canada plans to admit just 500 people through all of its federal business programs in 2026 (IRCC, 2026). Its Start-up Visa, once the best-known founder route in the world, stopped taking new founders on 31 December 2025.

If you have a business idea and a quiet feeling that your home market is too small for it, that number should sting. Founder routes do not fade away slowly. They close, sometimes with a few weeks' notice.

The short answer: In 2026, the strongest open founder routes are the UK Innovator Founder visa (no minimum investment, but you need an endorsement, and you can settle after 3 years), Germany's self-employment permit (settlement possible after 3 years), France's talent card for business creators (€30,000 investment), and the Dutch start-up permit. US and Japanese citizens also have a Dutch treaty route that needs only €4,500 in the business. Canada's Start-up Visa and Australia's business innovation visas are closed to new applicants. Most founder visas ask for a strong idea and someone credible to back it, not a fortune.

What is changing, and when

• 31 July 2024: Australia closed its Business Innovation and Investment Program, including the subclass 188 visa, to new applications (Home Affairs, 2026).
• 16 October 2025: Japan's Business Manager visa now needs ¥30 million in capital, up from ¥5 million. You also need a full-time employee and Japanese at B2 level in the business (Immigration Services Agency of Japan, 2026; KPMG, 2025).
• 31 December 2025: Canada closed its Start-up Visa to new founders. People with a 2025 commitment certificate had until 30 June 2026 to apply (IRCC, 2026). A new "High Impact Start-up Pilot" is planned, but it has no launch date yet (IRCC, 2026).
• 19 May 2026: Portugal's new nationality law raised the residence needed for citizenship from 5 to 10 years for most non-EU citizens (Ministry of Justice, 2026).
• Proposed, UK: The UK plans to make most migrants wait 10 years for settlement instead of 5. Under the plan, Innovator Founder holders could still settle after 3 years (GOV.UK, 2025). This is not yet law. If it passes, the founder route becomes one of the fastest roads to UK settlement by a wide margin.

The pattern is clear. Each closed door was open the year before. If a route fits you today, waiting is a choice with a cost.

Three routes people confuse

These three get mixed up all the time, and they have very different rules and price tags. Here is a simple way to see it. A work visa is like renting a room in someone else's house. An investor visa is like buying a house and not living in it. A founder visa is like building your own house on land the country lends you. If you stop building, you lose the land.

A work visa ends when the job ends. A self-employment visa suits a freelance architect, a consultant or a small-shop owner: the test is viability, not disruption. If you want to write a cheque and relax, you want the investor lane. If you want to be in the building, hiring people and shipping product, this guide is for you.

Who founder routes suit

Governments run founder visas because a skilled worker fills one seat, but a founder who succeeds fills a floor. These routes suit:

• The technical founder with a product or prototype but no local network.
• The experienced operator who has hit a ceiling in a slow market. We look at this in what happens to ambitious people in economies that aren't growing.
• The freelancer or consultant who already has international clients and needs the right to live somewhere better.
• The recently laid-off professional who would rather build than job-hunt. If that is you, also read laid off? should you move abroad.

They do not suit someone who needs a salary from day one, or whose "business plan" is really a plan to get a residence card. Ask yourself: would you start this business if the visa were guaranteed anyway? If the honest answer is no, stop here.

Country by country: the founder routes in 2026

Rules change often. Confirm every figure with the official source before you spend money.

United Kingdom: Innovator Founder visa

There is no minimum investment. Your business must be new, innovative, viable and scalable, and an approved endorsing body must endorse it before you apply (GOV.UK, 2026).

Think of the endorsement as a co-signer on a lease. The landlord (the government) does not know you, so it wants someone it trusts to vouch for you. That endorser meets you after 12 and 24 months to check your progress.

• Visa fee: £1,357 from outside the UK, plus £1,000 for the endorsement and £500 for each check-in meeting (GOV.UK, 2026)
• Stay: 3 years, extendable with no limit
• Settlement: possible after 3 years
• English: you must prove it, usually at B2 level
• Not for: freelancers or ordinary small businesses, which are usually refused as not innovative

If you want employment instead, see the UK Skilled Worker visa guide and our UK overview.

Germany: self-employment permit (§21 Residence Act)

Germany has two tracks (Make it in Germany, 2026):

• Business founders (§21(1)): there must be an economic interest or regional demand for your product, a likely positive effect on the economy, and financing from your own capital or a loan commitment.
• Freelancers in liberal professions (§21(5)): doctors, engineers, architects, journalists, IT consultants, artists. You need enough funds and any required licences.

If you are over 45, you must show adequate pension provision on either track. There is no fixed capital minimum; the plan is judged on its merits.

• Stay: first permit up to 3 years
• Settlement: business founders can apply after 3 years if the business succeeds
• Job-seeking instead? See the Germany Opportunity Card guide or our Germany overview

France: talent card for business creators

France renamed its "passeport talent". The business-creation track is now the "talent – porteur de projet" card. You need a real, viable project, at least €30,000 of financing, and personal income of at least the minimum wage, which is €22,404.20 a year from 1 June 2026 (Service-Public.fr, 2026). A separate track covers innovative projects recognised by the economy ministry.

The card can last up to 4 years from the start (Welcome to France, 2026). Your spouse and children can come under a simpler family procedure. See our France overview.

Netherlands: start-up permit and the treaty route

The Dutch start-up permit gives you one year to launch an innovative business with an approved facilitator, an experienced mentor recognised by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (IND, 2026). After that year, you can move to the self-employed permit if the business is on track.

US and Japanese citizens have a cheaper door. Under the Dutch-American Friendship Treaty or the Dutch-Japanese trade treaty, most business forms need a minimum investment of only €4,500 (IND, 2026). See our Netherlands overview.

Portugal: D2 entrepreneur visa

The D2 suits founders and self-employed people who want to move a business or start one. There is no fixed capital minimum. You show a credible plan, enough funds to set up and run the business, and ideally a Portuguese company or the intent to form one.

It is realistic for ordinary entrepreneurs, not just the wealthy. But the road to citizenship is now longer: 10 years for most non-EU citizens since 19 May 2026 (Ministry of Justice, 2026). See migrate to Portugal.

Ireland: Start-up Entrepreneur Programme (STEP)

STEP is for high-potential start-ups. You need funding of at least €50,000, and the business must be able to create 10 jobs in Ireland and reach €1 million in sales within 3 years (Irish Immigration Service, 2023). An evaluation committee reviews proposals every quarter (Irish Immigration Service, 2026). It is not for lifestyle businesses. See our Ireland overview.

Canada: Start-up Visa (paused)

Canada's Start-up Visa gave founders permanent residence directly, if a designated venture capital fund, angel group or incubator backed them. It is now closed to new applicants. Only people with a 2025 commitment certificate could apply, and that window ended on 30 June 2026 (IRCC, 2026). The Self-Employed Persons Program is also paused (IRCC, 2025).

If Canada is still your goal, the Canada Express Entry guide covers the skilled route, and migrate to Canada has the full picture.

Australia: business visas (closed)

The Business Innovation and Investment Program, including the subclass 188 visa, closed to new applications on 31 July 2024 (Home Affairs, 2026). The main business-adjacent door left is the invitation-only National Innovation visa, a permanent visa for people with an internationally recognised record of exceptional and outstanding achievement (Home Affairs, 2026). For most people, skilled migration is the better path; compare subclass 189 vs 190.

Singapore: EntrePass

EntrePass is for serial entrepreneurs, high-calibre innovators and experienced investors. You must start a private limited company and meet at least one test, such as raising SGD 100,000 in a single funding round, support from a recognised incubator or accelerator, registered intellectual property, or a research partnership with a Singapore institution (Ministry of Manpower, 2026). Coffee shops, bars, massage parlours and employment agencies are not eligible. PR is a separate, later application. See migrate to Singapore.

The routes at a glance

"No minimum" does not mean free. You still need enough to run a real business and live. And notice the trade: the cheaper routes almost always swap a cash threshold for a gatekeeper. The country still filters. It filters on the quality of your idea instead of the size of your cheque.

Want to see the full bill? Our visa cost calculator adds up fees for a move, and the proof of funds calculator shows how much savings a visa expects you to hold.

Founder, investor or employee: the same country, three paths

Take three people moving to the same European country. A software engineer with a job offer takes a work visa; her right to stay depends on keeping that job. A saver with €400,000 takes an investor visa; it is expensive, passive, and these schemes are shrinking. A founder with a prototype, two co-founders and €25,000 takes a founder visa. She wins an endorsement, builds the company and hires locally. In the UK or Germany, she can reach settlement in 3 years.

The founder route is the middle path for people with more ambition than money. But your visa is tied to the business like a phone number is tied to a SIM card: if the business stops, the visa can stop too.

How to choose your route

1. Is your business truly innovative, or a solid ordinary business? Innovative and scalable points to the UK, Ireland, the Dutch start-up permit or Singapore. A consultancy, trade or shop points to Germany's §21, Portugal's D2 or France's business-creation track.
2. Can you get a backer or endorser? The UK is closed to you without one. If you cannot get one, routes that judge your own plan (Germany, Portugal) are more realistic.
3. How much can you invest? Below €30,000, look at the Dutch treaty route (if you are American or Japanese), the UK or Portugal's D2.
4. How fast do you need settlement? The UK and Germany allow it after 3 years for founders. Most others follow their normal timelines.
5. What if the business fails? Plan for it: savings, a skill you can switch to a work visa, or a way home.

Taxes matter as much as visas. Our guide to the best countries for entrepreneurs and low taxes covers the trade-offs, and the compare tool lines up countries side by side. Not sure a founder route fits at all? The free assessment will point you to the categories worth pursuing.

Mistakes that sink founder applications

• Applying to the wrong route. A freelance designer applying to an innovation-only route (UK, Ireland) will be refused.
• Forgetting personal funds. Most routes want money for you on top of money for the business. Many people are refused on this, not on the idea.
• Ignoring check-ins. The UK checks at 12 and 24 months. The Netherlands reviews after the start-up year. Fail these and your extension is refused.
• Waiting for a route to "settle down". Canada, Australia and Japan all changed their founder rules in under two years.
• Paying for a "guaranteed founder visa". Nobody can guarantee an endorsement. Read how to avoid immigration scams before you pay any consultant.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to be rich to get a startup visa?

No. The UK Innovator Founder visa, Germany's §21 and Portugal's D2 have no large fixed capital requirement, and the Dutch treaty route needs €4,500 for US and Japanese citizens. These routes judge your idea and often need an endorsement. You still need enough money to run the business and support yourself.

Is Canada's Start-up Visa still open in 2026?

No. It closed to new founders on 31 December 2025. Only people with a 2025 commitment certificate could apply, and that ended on 30 June 2026. Canada plans a "High Impact Start-up Pilot" to replace it, but there is no launch date yet.

What is the difference between a startup visa and an investor visa?

A startup visa means you build and run a new business, usually with an endorsement, and it needs little of your own money. An investor visa means you place a large sum, often €250,000 to £2 million, into approved assets, and you may not run anything at all.

Which country is fastest to settlement for founders?

Now that Canada's Start-up Visa is closed, the UK Innovator Founder visa and Germany's self-employment permit lead. Both allow settlement after 3 years if the business meets the conditions.

Can my family come with me on a founder visa?

In most cases, yes. The UK Innovator Founder visa and France's talent card both allow a partner and children. Rules on your partner's right to work vary, so check your route.

What happens if my business fails?

Your residence is usually tied to the business staying active. If it fails, you may lose the right to stay, though you may be able to switch to another visa if you qualify. Keep a financial and career fallback.

Is a self-employment visa easier than a startup visa?

Often, yes. Self-employment routes like Germany's §21 freelancer track and Portugal's D2 judge viability, not innovation. A freelancer with real clients and a clean plan can qualify without an endorsing body.

The bottom line

Founder visas are too much work for people who want to buy their way in, and too much risk for people who want a salary. That is why they stay underused. If you have a real business and more drive than capital, they are often the cheapest and most independent way to move.

Match an innovative company to an endorsement route, and a solid ordinary business to a self-employment route. Treat the endorser as free advice: if a credible body will not back your plan, better to learn that before you emigrate.

The doors that are open today were not all open two years ago, and some will not be open two years from now. Run your profile through the assessment and compare your shortlist with the compare tool while your best route is still taking applications.