What is a startup visa?

A startup visa, also known as an entrepreneur visa, is a special type of visa category that many countries offer to attract foreign talent and stimulate economic growth through entrepreneurship. Once acquired, this visa enables entrepreneurs to enter and reside in their chosen country to establish or invest in their business ideas. 

Unlike conventional work visas, which usually need sponsorship from established employers, a startup visa is specifically designed for individuals with innovative business ideas or high-growth potential startups.

Startup visas provide founders with access to vital resources more readily available in specific countries, facilitating the growth and expansion of their businesses. They provide: 

• A strong startup community and ecosystem 
• Greater proximity to key stakeholders and investors
• Optimized supply chain routes
• Lower operational expenses
• Tax incentives
• Affordable labor markets

Startup visas can also provide benefits such as streamlined application processes, extended residency rights for entrepreneurs and their families, access to local resources and networks, and sometimes even a pathway to permanent residency or citizenship for successful ventures.

For Alex, securing a startup visa was a critical milestone. It enabled him to launch one of history’s fastest-growing tech startups, Deel, and later acquire the very immigration service that assisted him in obtaining his startup visa so that he could assist other founders and entrepreneurs in scaling their businesses internationally.

How do I get a startup visa?

The first step to acquiring a startup visa is to choose your destination country. Various countries possess unique attributes that make them particularly attractive to specific types of startup ventures.

Once you’ve chosen your preferred location, it’s time to obtain your startup visa. Turning to a leading immigration service can reduce the risk of complications and delays and give you space to prepare for the upcoming move and push on with your business plans. 

Deel Immigration, which has a more than 98% approval rate, helps you navigate eligibility criteria, forms, and deadlines. Our hands-on approach extends to showcasing your business plans effectively. We guide you in crafting a compelling proposal and selecting the optimal documents to bolster your case.

How can I grow my startup abroad?

Once you’ve successfully obtained your startup visa, engaged with fellow entrepreneurs, forged connections with local investors, and developed your product, the next step is to gear up for expansion. This means creating an infrastructure that supports rapid growth without losing performance or stability.

Adapting to a new country’s business landscape presents unique challenges, including deciding whether to set up a local entity, hire employees or contractors, work remotely or in an office, develop compensation strategies, and ensure the right equipment and benefits for your team. Additionally, complying with local regulations is crucial, especially when funding rounds with investors.

At this point, leveraging a global payroll, HR, and compliance platform is instrumental in aiding startups and organizations of various scales to navigate their international expansion with ease. Here’s how:

Reunite with family and co-founders

Welcoming family members and critical staff to the country offers invaluable emotional backing, stability, and a wealth of skills and expertise. Opting for a platform with immigration services that prioritizes obtaining visas for these individuals will significantly enhance your startup’s success.

Deel Immigration is your dedicated partner throughout your entrepreneurial journey. We assist founders, their families, co-founders, and essential employees with visas, relocation, settling-in services, travel insurance, visa renewals, and permanent residency.

Hire talent and test new markets

As your startup starts to take off, there’s often an urgent need to swiftly onboard new talent. Choosing a platform that offers Employer of Record (EOR) services is a game-changer. This hiring method enables you to engage talent globally without the burdensome, expensive, and lengthy process of establishing legal entities in each country.

Deel EOR enables you to bypass the entity setup process completely to engage workers and conduct market tests instantly. Deel EOR can handle administrative tasks like payroll, taxes, and benefits, allowing you to focus on your core business.

Gain regulatory approvals

The beauty of startups is rooted in their innovative spirit, capable of turning new and exciting ideas into reality. Yet, this creativity often comes with its own set of challenges, particularly in maneuvering through complex legal environments. Opting for a platform that provides the necessary infrastructure to secure regulatory approval can significantly expedite the process of transforming your innovative concepts into recognized and legitimate businesses.

With Deel EOR, you already have a local entity in your chosen countries that lets you acquire the necessary paperwork and permissions upfront. This can include hiring local experts, applying for patents, or obtaining licenses. You can fast-track your entry into a new market while remaining compliant with all the local laws and regulations that vary between jurisdictions. 

Reduce compliance risk

When you begin the process of onboarding new hires locally or from various countries, your payroll, compliance, and HR responsibilities become significantly more complex. By choosing a platform that assists in avoiding errors and potential fines by ensuring proper documentation, classification, and management are maintained, you can effectively reduce your legal and operational burdens.

With Deel Compliance, you have access to legal counsel with vast knowledge of employment laws and tax regulations across different regions, which can help you protect intellectual property rights, minimize employee classification liabilities, and ensure your team members are set up to work compliantly. 

Streamline M&As

While M&As are often seen as strategies for larger companies, they are just as important for startups. Founders should remain open to M&A opportunities as they can be critical tools for growth, market penetration, and long-term sustainability. Choosing a global platform to streamline mergers and acquisitions positions founders to capitalize on future opportunities.

Deel’s platform simplifies domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, providing a standardized process for seamlessly integrating inherited workers into your company. Deel will help you navigate local regulations concerning M&As, worker rights, and collective bargaining agreements and help you transfer any liabilities (salary, benefits, and perks that employees are entitled to) from the previous company.

Standardize international expansion

Changes in regulatory frameworks, trade agreements, or market conditions can open new opportunities or present risks that force your startup out of one market and into another. Adopting a platform that offers a flexible yet standardized approach to new market entry will make it easier for your startup to adapt swiftly and efficiently.

With Deel you can expand into new markets quickly and adjust your workforce according to evolving business requirements. Instead of handling each location on an ad-hoc basis, you gain access to a fully assembled team of HR, payroll, and compliance experts who have local expertise. There’s no need to build out these functions every time you expand abroad and tie up valuable resources. That way, your startup can keep its core operations consistent while Deel helps you manage the new market’s unique challenges and cultural nuances. 

Fast-track entity setup and management

As you delve further into the local market and consider opening offices and facilities, establishing a legal presence might be on your agenda. Choosing a global platform offering entity setup services can streamline this process, enabling you to establish your presence more efficiently, saving both time and money.

Deel provides a full suite of entity setup services, including incorporation, ongoing maintenance, and corporate obligations. Deel’s legal team helps you create and manage your new entity to minimize the risk of non-compliance. We can also facilitate the transition to global payroll for your entire team.

Take the first step to establishing your startup abroad with Deel Immigration

Deel combines immigration, HR, payroll, and compliance into a single platform. This is important for growing your startup internationally and executing seamless hiring and workforce management. We provide a full package to founders, encompassing: 

• Visa and immigration support for founders, their families, co-founders, and key personnel in over 40 countries
• Worldwide hiring capabilities through Deel EOR and Deel Contractor of Record 
• Simplified and automated payroll management via Deel Global Payroll
• Efficient management of global teams with Deel HR, Deel Engage, and Deel IT solutions 
• Streamlined global compliance with Deel’s Compliance Hub

Securing a start-up visa can be a pivotal moment in your journey toward success. Schedule a consultation with an immigration specialist to initiate the visa process.

“Globalization is inevitable. The world is becoming...a smaller place, and we want to be the infrastructure to make this happen. We want to help hundreds of millions of people get to work for the best companies in the world.” - Alex Bouaziz, Co-founder and CEO