Which country is the best for immigrant entrepreneurs to launch a startup?

Canada has emerged as the most appealing country in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries list for start-up founders, with excellent scores in all aspects and a start-up visa that provides various benefits to prospective start-up founders. The United States, France, the United Kingdom, and Ireland occupy second to fifth place in the ranking, according to the 2023 edition of the OECD Indicators of Talent Attractiveness which includes for the first time a ranking of the most attractive OECD countries for immigrant start-up founders.

Immigrant entrepreneurs play an important role in stimulating innovation, creating jobs, attracting foreign investment, and propelling countries ahead. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries are increasingly competing to be the best place to find entrepreneurial talent. As a result, an increasing number of nations are giving start-up visas to high-potential entrepreneurs.

Canada is the most attractive OECD country for start-up founders. Canada together with Australia is the only country offering permanent residence to all successful start-up visa applicants from day one. Canada further scores among the top 25% across all dimensions in the framework except skills environment, with a significant number of unicorns, a favourable regulatory framework for starting and running a business, a welcoming society for migrants, and favourable living conditions

The United States ranks among the top countries, with a thriving startup ecosystem. However, the migration policy framework for start-up founders is unfavorable, as spouses of start-up founders do not have full access to the labor market and there is no direct path from start-up visa to permanent residency.

France offers the most benevolent policies for international start-up founders, with financial options and career paths for start-up employees tied to the start-up visa. International start-up founders are also given a comparatively extended period of time to establish their business before a visa modification is required.

Despite having excellent start-up environments with good access to venture capital and well-developed start-up infrastructure, Japan and Israel remain at the bottom of the table. Their ranking is penalized by the obstacles experienced by international start-up entrepreneurs, particularly the possibility of progressing from a start-up visa to permanent residency, and by the fact that family members are permitted solely as visitors with no access to the labor market.

A notable feature of leading start-up nations is the high share of immigrants among start-up founders. Over half of the most successful start-up companies in the United States (55%) are founded by immigrants, and nearly two-thirds of all billion-dollar companies were founded or co-founded by immigrants or the children of immigrants.