Startups Nations, a network of 72 startup-savvy policy advisors and public-sector program leaders, recently formed a working group to document knowledge on the most innovative policy levers from around the world – startup visa design and implementation.
At least a dozen countries now have startup visa programs to attract entrepreneurial talent: Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Denmark, Canada and Chile. The Startup Nations Summit in Monterrey last November included a discussion on which programs are emerging successful. Lead discussants were representatives from Startup Chile, Startup Denmark, Startup Poland and the Kauffman Foundation. The roundtable discussion also aimed to explore why some programs, like Canada’s Startup Visa, weren’t having the impact aimed for at the policy design stage.
As it happens in policy exchanges, more questions than answers emerged. Inspired by the summit discussion on the topic, Startup Denmark’s Kasper Gregersen called for a side meeting on the topic and the working group organically emerged.
Working group members have continued to exchange information as many of its participants are leading pilot-programs. For example, the Startup Denmark policy scheme was officially launched in January 2015 as a ‘policy experiment’ and is intended to continue until the end of 2017, where further continuation will depend on renewed political support and a positive evaluation of the system.
Led by Gregersen, the core of the working group are Startup Nations member organizations currently operating a startup visa program and whose representatives are knowledgeable about the topic and able to drive the discussion based on their experience.
However, the group is also open to inquiries from all Startups Nations member organizations thinking of starting a visa program. Most recently, Mariano Mayer from Argentina’s National Secretariat for SMEs and Entrepreneurs joined the working group as his government explores launching its own startup visa.
Jose M. Checo from the Dominican Republic’s Directorate for Entrepreneurship, who also has a startup visa project in the very early stages, has asked the working group about which social security benefits startup visa holders should have access to, and how beneficiaries should be positioned within the public sector’s business development strategy.
Mari Vavulski, head of Startup Estonia, joined the group because her government has decided to implement a startup visa program starting January 2017. Valvuski is putting together an expert committee which will evaluate founders and employees applying for the visa.
Among the Focus Groups’ expert members is StartupDelta. The Netherlands already offers a startup visa, but StartupDelta’s leadership team has been working on a proposal to create a European startup visa, which targets non-European start-up founders, and aims to cut red tape for crossing borders and covers the entire European single market.
The MiGreat report “Open Borders to Entrepreneurs” classifies startup visa program into three broad categories:
- Entrepreneur visa: a visa category with specific rules, requirements and rights that are different than a general work visa.
- Fast-tracked general work visa: A general work visa that is obtained through a fast-track application process specifically for entrepreneurs.
- Incubation programs: Temporary right-to-enter and work in a country given the individual is selected and actively taking part in an approved incubation program.
The Startup Nations working group on startup visas is brainstorming which approach has worked best for each national context and why.
“I think it's important to carefully consider both evaluation criteria and application format when designing a startup visa system. In particular, I believe it's important to keep national needs and context in mind and what kind of entrepreneurs one wants to attract”, said Gregerson.
The group’s members are contributing to the Startup Nations Atlas of Policies (SNAP), a compendium of policies and programs experimented by the public sector to date. SNAP will expand knowledge on the topic and make it accessible through startupnations.co.
The SNAP entry for a startup visa in the Netherlands explains how the government addressed a weakness in the policy, related to the duration of the residence permit.
“The permit is valid for one year. However, it usually takes 2-3 years for a startup to get traction. After one year the residence permit can be prolonged under the self-employment scheme. However, it was foreseen that the startup still would have trouble passing the points based system”, explained SNAP contributor Lieke Vollenbroek, senior policy officer at StartupDelta.
This led to a change in the points system as of January 1, 2016, such that a startup basically can now potentially have three years to launch and to get traction.
The working group will meet again in person in Cork, Ireland, on November 20, 2016 as part of the Startup Nations Summit 2016 activities.
Members of the Startup Nations Working Group on Startup Visas
- Start-Up Chile
- Startup Denmark
- Startup Estonia
- Startup Poland
- Startup Ireland
- Startup Lithuania
- Startup Delta
- Startup Georgia
- Startup Norway
- Startups.be (Belgium)
- ZIP / Startup Croatia
- Argentina – National Secretariat for SMEs and Entrepreneurs
- Dominican Republic -- Ministry of Industry and Trade, Directorate for Entrepreneurship
- Guatemala -- Ministry of Economy
Photo credit: Flickr