Best countries for startup immigration
Hey, indie hackers!
I will try to be short:
I reside in the Netherlands. In my spare time, I work on a small project, and I started thinking about ways to transform my pet project into something bigger.
However, I am Russian and I have a Dutch residence permit which makes me kind of "attached" to one particular employer. I can go to Russia and start a business there, of course, but it seems crazy and a bit stupid to do any business-related activities in Russia nowadays (unfortunately).
So I basically have two good options now:
- Start doing attempts to get Dutch "startup" or entrepreneur visa, but the biggest problem is I am alone and not so many people get this visa (would be happy to know any success stories, by the way). Just to avoid some questions — I have kind of business plan and financial support required for these visas.
- Move somewhere else. And this is basically my question — what countries (ideally — in Europe) can you suggest? Are there any countries with some special conditions for startup founders?
Thanks!
I'd suggest look into Estonia.
Assuming you will be leaving your current employer, and therefor forfeit the residence permit (please feel free to correct me if I am wrong); why not leave The Netherlands and settle in a more entrepreneur friendly country (like countries that don't tax income generated outside it's borders). Combine that with a solid off-shore company (like one in Estonia) and you're all set.
Theoretically, I have 3 months after I leave my current employer. But, of course, it's nothing and I need to get a new residence permit somewhere anyway.
What entrepreneur friendly countries can you suggest?
There's a large number of countries that do not tax off-shore income. Establishing residency there, combined with an off-shore company and bank account would allow you to operate either tax free or with very low tax.
Which country is right for you is hard to say; as it largely depends on your personal preferences and circumstances. It'll take some research and possibly some traveling to work it out. I personally went with Thailand as it was/is suited perfectly to my circumstances. Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore are other options in SEA. There's a number of countries in South America as well, and some in Europe (Malta being one of them I think?).
There's a lot of information on the subject to found, and some excellent blogs covering whatever comes to mind. Do some searches for "flagtheory" and/or "geo arbitrage", that should get you looking in the right direction.