Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneur Visa Program Across G20 Countries

An entrepreneur is a challenger, a starter, a driver, and an initiator. Somebody who creates something new may be a business, an initiative, or a company. He/she is the foundation (sometimes the end) of a business venture. The entrepreneur might not be the person behind the idea, but he/she is the one who actually initiates that idea into a reality.

Every entrepreneur knows the struggles of entrepreneurship and the difficulties of establishing a business. Mobility is one of the major issues faced by entrepreneurs, expanding a business in a foreign country and recruiting new talents abroad can be not only stressful but is often like the worst nightmare.

Therefore G20- The international forum for the central bank governors and governments from 19 countries and the European Union, offers “Entrepreneur Visa Program” for the G20 countries to motivate the entrepreneurs to grow their businesses by a collaborative effort among the G20 countries. The concept of the G20 “Entrepreneur Visa Program” is created on the similar ethics as the “Working Holiday Visa”.

Let’s have a look at the entrepreneur visa program across the G20 countries.

Australia

This visa permits entrepreneurs to own and manage a business in Australia; it also allows conducting business and investment activity or entrepreneurial activity in Australia. Australia offers visas in seven major categories: Business Innovation stream, Investor stream, Significant Investor stream, Business Innovation Extension stream, Significant Investor Extension stream, Premium Investor stream, and Entrepreneur stream.

Learn more about the Australian Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa

Brazil

The Brazil investment visa lets a foreigner live and work in Brazil. The investment visa container can take along his or her family to Brazil he/she can come and go to Brazil as per his/her wishes. The visa owner will be preserved as an ordinary Brazilian citizen but excluding from political and voting rights.

Learn more about: The Brazilian Economic Citizenship Program

Canada

Canada offers two types of visa programs for entrepreneurs: Start-up Visa Program and Self-Employed program. A Start-up visa allows Groundbreaking entrepreneurs to start a business and generating jobs in Canada, On the other hand, a Self-employed visa lets people immigrate to Canada permanently as self-employed people.

Learn more about :

France

France offers three types of visa programs for entrepreneurs: French Tech Ticket program French Tech Visas for Founders and The residence permit “skills and talents”. French Tech Ticket program is a one-year program by the French government to entice ambitious individuals from all around the globe and help them begin their startup in France and if you are a startup founder you will be eligible to obtain the French Tech Visas for Founders. The residence permit “skills and talents” visa give France residence card for a duration of 3 years renewable to the skillful talents which allow them to practice the profession of their choice within the context of the project they aim to develop.

Learn more about :

Germany

To get Self-employment Visa the person should have a recognized university degree and need to verify that he/she has a job in Germany that matches his/her qualification. To obtain this visa the person must earn at least 53,600 euros as yearly gross income. Experts in the arenas of IT mathematics, engineering, life sciences, and doctors may be eligible for an EU Blue Card if they earn the same amount as similar to German laborers, but not a lesser amount of 41,808 euros gross per year. EU Blue Card owners are eligible for a permanent citizenship permit after their 33 months stay in Germany.

Learn more about Germany Self-employment Visa Program

Italy

The Italia Startup Visa plan offers an efficient process for non-EU talents to initiate new startups in Italy. This visa will endorse a new entrepreneurial culture, inspiring better social mobility and introducing innovation into the Italian business ecosystem, and nurturing sustainable growth, employment, and technological development for young people.

Learn more about Italia Startup Visa Program

Japan

The Japan Investor Visa is for Candidates who will either invest in or take on a senior role in handling a business in Japan. This visa also allows the visa holders to sponsor a housekeeper or other personal help for themselves. Investor Visa can be used by those people who wish to “self-sponsor” a visa in Japan.

Learn more about: Japan Investor Manager Visa Program

South Korea

This Startup visa is a scheme to help foreigners to begin start-up companies in Korea based on their academic properties. The OASIS Visa system embraces acquisition and training of intellectual property rights and helps for the whole start-up procedure from technological start-up visas to arrangement to the authentic commercialization of the endeavor.

Learn more about: South Korea Overall Assistance for Start-up Immigration System (OASIS)

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom offers three types of visa programs for entrepreneurs: Entrepreneur visa, Exceptional Talent visa, and Graduate Entrepreneur visa. You can apply for an Entrepreneur visa If having access to at least £50,000 investment funds, you are suitable for an Exceptional Talent visa if you work in a qualifying field and have been endorsed as a recognized leader or an emerging leader and if you are a graduate who has been officially endorsed as having a genuine and credible business idea you can obtain a Graduate Entrepreneur visa.

Learn more about :

United States of America

This visa program is created to arouse the U.S. economy through job formation and money investment by foreign investors. All EB-5 visa holders need to capitalize on a new commercial business that will generate full-time works for at least 10 eligible workers.

Learn more about United States of America EB-5 Visa Classification

South Africa

In South Africa an entrepreneur’s visa is stated as a business visa, it will permit entrepreneurs to launch a business in South Africa. To get this visa an entrepreneur should submit a business strategy that frameworks all the actions that the entrepreneur will be undertaking.

Learn more about: South Africa Entrepreneurs Visa

Spain

Non-EU citizens who aim to grow an entrepreneurial activity or innovative business with special economic attention for Spain may apply for an entrepreneur visa or residence authorization. Applicants who are overseas must apply for a one-year residence visa and applicants who are lawfully in Spain, for example, who have a residence or an entrepreneur visa or stay permit must apply for a two-year residence visa.

Learn more about: Spain Residence Programme. Entrepreneurs Law Visa

Hungary

This visa program offers entrepreneurs and investors to obtain business immigration in Hungary. The entrepreneur residency visa program of Hungary is the low-cost investment program in Europe necessitating the least possible investment beginning from €50,000. Just by initiating a new startup in Hungary, a person can get immigration to Hungary as a director or board member.

Learn more about the Hungarian entrepreneur residency program

Ireland

The Start-up Entrepreneur Programme is to let non-EEA Residents and their relations who obligate to a high potential startup business in Ireland can attain a secure citizenship position in Ireland. The Government of Irish established this visa program to inspire startups investment and citizenship in Ireland. This visa program offers relatable welfares to successful business experts.

Learn more about Start-up Entrepreneur Programme

Netherland

A Start-up visa gives determined entrepreneurs a year to start a new company in the Netherlands. One condition to obtain this visa is that the entrepreneurs are administered by reliable facilitators in the Netherlands. Start-ups obtain great help in the Netherlands to progress into effective enterprises. This is good for the entrepreneur and also for the economy of the country.

Learn more about Netherlands Startup visa

Denmark

Start-up Denmark visa is for capable entrepreneurs who want to initiate high-impact start-ups in Denmark. Acknowledged candidates get a work permit and residence for Denmark legal for two years and there is the possibility of extension. It permits the visa holders to build their business in a well-known entrepreneurial ecology reinforced by great community business growth initiatives and entrees to the European Single Market.

Learn more about Start-up Denmark Visa

Benefits for countries that support the entrepreneur visa program in their countries

Foreign entrepreneurs have a straight positive influence on the number of new businesses and jobs created in the Country·
It is an effective and quicker way to add migrants and make sure they contribute to the local economy as they have to pay taxes and have to study the business rules of a country.
Visa policies that target to entice startups and young entrepreneurs send a strong indication to the world that this country is inviting foreigners.
Entrepreneurs make the country more noticeable and eye-catching to rich investors and popular entrepreneurs.

Especially the entrepreneur Visa Program Countries invite entrepreneurs to begin businesses in their countries and generate it as easy for them as possible. Will this visa program make it easier to perform business in the largest economies of the world? How is this visa program going to benefits the entrepreneurs?

I would like to hear from you, Let me know your opinions in the comments.

Don’t forget to Reward the People Who Helped you

This is my most recent update, and I hope to share it will help people in management who are struggling with putting their company on the right path and making sure their employees are getting the recognition and reward they deserve for their efforts. On September 17, 2008, I started my first e-commerce business called Extreme-Seo.net. Since its inception, we’ve acquired more than 14,000 international customers and over 120 local Sri Lankan customers. We’ve also delivered over 28,000 link-building project reports in the last five years.

From May 2012 to July 2013, I faced so many challenges in my business as well as my personal life, but I believed every problem had a solution. I knew it all depended on my mindset and strategy. If you’re an entrepreneur, then you know that’s the attitude you have to have. However, if you’re a well-educated businessperson who follows strategies you get from a book, then unexpected problems are going to be harder than ever to solve. You have to find something within yourself to solve these problems, and it doesn’t come from any book.

Failure is success if we learn from it

In the past two years, I have won several Sri Lankan and international awards such as “Young Entrepreneur of the Year” and “Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year”. I took all my past problems as opportunities to overcome them and learn something about myself in the process. I did overcome all my obstacles. I even achieved my 2013 goal before the 5^th year anniversary of Extreme-Seo.net.

I had a tough situation to deal with at first, but I had a meeting with all my staff members, and I shared all the facts with them without hiding anything. A lot of people in management positions miss this very important stage. Every business will go through tough times. There is obviously some information that you can’t share with your staff members or stakeholders publicly, but as the captain of your ship, you have to share information sometimes, or the whole crew will sink with the boat.

Be Transparent with your Staff Members: Explain the problems you’re having with your staff members because these people are in a position to help offer you advice and give you feedback as to what to do in a crisis situation. They are intimately familiar with your organization. You have to be transparent with your crew because they are the ones who are maintaining the ship that you’re captaining. If they aren’t aware of a problem, then you could all sink. You might have to eventually eliminate staff members who are unnecessary to your organization to cut down on expenses. If you do so, make sure you offer a stunning recommendation letter for the staff member so that they can get a position at another company instantly. Keep giving positive updates to your stakeholders during this time so you don’t lose any funding.

Create a Product that sells itself: Instead of spending time copying everyone else, make your own perfect product that the market demands. Give some trial or discount offers for your current customers who are already connected in a business relationship with your company so you can get some feedback. You’ll be able to enter the market with some feedback from existing customers

Don’t forget to Reward the People Who Helped you: If any of your staff members or stakeholders helped you reach your goal, just make sure that you don’t forget them. Reward them according to their contribution. Make sure you give them plenty of rewards for what they’ve contributed.

Alone We can do so little, Together we can Do so much

Inevitably, some staff members are going to jump out of the ship in the middle of the sea and swim to another destination to secure their careers. That is part of the process. You have to learn to accept it.

However, there are some staff members who carried a lot more passion than those who swam out. They told you they would stick by you, and they did. With those staff members’ support, they finally reached their destination, and at top speed, and they’re all smiling now. It’s critical you give a reward to the people who stuck by you with promotions, insurance, pay raises, etc. With the support of the people who stuck by you, your company succeeded, so these people need to be recognized for that.

Employees: If you are an employee, and you are thinking about leaving for another company, don’t do it. If you are confident with your skills, then suggest some new ideas to management to make and deploy new products and services to show off your contribution.

Employers: If you are an employer, and you find yourself in a situation, look at it as a challenge and come up with a risk mitigation strategy. Don’t let your business go down fast. Believe in your business, and never let it sink.

I wish you all the very best!

My Response for The Bank Who Rejected Me

A few months back, I had a meeting with the higher management of one of the Sri Lankan Private banks. The agenda of the meeting was to discuss project funding as well as another business proposal. I myself and the company General manager Nivethan met them and explained everything about our project concept and functionality.

Almost instantly we were discouraged by the bank officials for some irrelevant reasons!

The reasons they gave were entirely irrelevant with respect to my business concept. I would have accepted their reasons if they were anywhere close to my project concepts. Having said so, they gave a completely different explanation from unacceptable angles.

The reasons that they gave are as follows:

The project concept came from a Vavuniya based company and most importantly we proposed an unrivaled innovative world-class start-up concept.
The person asking for the fund (Me) doesn’t hold any traditional Degree and yet plans to conduct the business in a professional manner.
The third reason is totally unacceptable and most Sri Lankan Tamil entrepreneur’s start-up proposals are rejected for this reason.

We let them talk and they said lots, but none of the reasons they provided are related to our project concept. Normally, I love people who discourage me and my strength! I take their words seriously and try to work out my weaknesses.

My biggest motivation is Just to keep challenging myself! A few weeks back, I received an award from the Asian Pacific Entrepreneurship. The award was given to me for being the “Emerging Entrepreneur of The Year 2013 “and every Colombo-based Sri Lankan daily newspaper had my photo and company name on it. Today, I received a letter from the top management of the same bank; saying that “Hi Sharanyan Sharma, We wish you all the very best for your success and if you need any financial support please contact us we are ready to help beyond our boundaries “.

My Response for The Bank Who Rejected Me

But all I can say now is,” Sorry it’s too late “! Because the project is already executed and launched with a different source of funding. And YES! Still, I’m from Vavuniya, the very same uneducated guy and still having the third common reason. What has happened to you now? Why are you guys looking at me?

I’m not complaining about the Bank or the Management, I’m trying to say “To run a business or to launch a product, education and ethnicity is not important; you need to have a clear vision and confidence about your concept “ Prepare to die for your concept!

I would like to say to this Bank is, “Thank you very much for your wishes, Still, I’m living in Vavuniya and I didn’t get my degree yet, most importantly I’m still a Tamil! According to your “Bank policy”, “I am not eligible for your financial support and I’ve decided to NOT to learn more about your offers and I’m also not going to move from Vavuniya and I can’t change my ethnicity. So, the choice is yours.

“As bill Gates said ” It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure”