27 routes
Austria
Austria's job-seeker visa for very highly qualified workers, governed by the Settlement and Residence Act and the Act Governing the Employment of Foreign Nationals, lets a third-country national without a job offer come to Austria for six months to look for work — the entry door to the Red-White-Red Card system.
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Austria
Austria's Red-White-Red Card for Start-up Founders, governed by the Settlement and Residence Act and the Act Governing the Employment of Foreign Nationals, admits third-country nationals who establish a company to develop and launch innovative products, services, processing methods or technologies.
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Belgium
The EU Blue Card is Belgium's residence and work permit for highly-qualified non-EU nationals, implementing the EU Blue Card Directive.
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Belgium
Belgium's professional card, issued by Brussels Economy and Employment for non-EU nationals seeking self-employed or independent activity, is the mechanism for registering with the Enterprise Crossroads Bank and conducting business.
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Bulgaria
Bulgaria's EU Blue Card route for highly-qualified workers is governed by the Employment Promotion Act and requires a long-term Type D visa plus the Blue Card itself.
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Canada
The Canadian Experience Class (CEC) is one of the three core economic programs Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) manages through the point-based Express Entry pool, designed for skilled workers with eligible Canadian work experience.
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Get startedCanada
Canada's Express Entry system for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) occupations is a category-based selection stream run by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) inside the point-based Express Entry pool.
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Croatia
Croatia's EU Blue Card is a stay-and-work permit for a highly qualified third-country national, issued without a labour market test or the opinion of the Croatian Employment Service.
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Croatia
Croatia's temporary stay of digital nomads, administered by the Ministry of the Interior under the Aliens Act, is for third-country nationals who work through communication technology for a company — or their own company — not registered in Croatia, and who perform no work for Croatian employers.
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Denmark
Start-up Denmark is the two-stage founder route for non-EU/EEA, non-Swiss citizens (and Danish citizens bringing overseas family): first the business plan must be approved by the Startup Denmark expert panel, then the founder applies separately to the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI…
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El Salvador
El Salvador's Temporary Residence with Work Authorization (Residencia Temporal con Autorización de Trabajar, form F3) is one of the temporary-residence categories issued by the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (DGME) and is the mechanism by which a foreign national is authorised to carry out remunerated …
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Finland
Finland's EU Blue Card is for highly-qualified workers from outside the EU.
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Germany
Germany allows a foreign national to immigrate to work on a self-employed or freelance basis under Sections 9, 9a, 17a, 18, 20 and 21 of the Residence Act (Aufenthaltsgesetz).
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Hungary
Hungary's White Card is a residence permit issued to a third-country national (a non-EEA/non-Hungarian-national who is not a family member of an EEA national, or a stateless person) who either has a verified employment relationship with an employer outside Hungary and performs that job remotely from Hungary using di…
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Iceland
Remote-income digital nomad/remote-worker visa, no local employer required (distinct from earlier Iceland Skilled Worker Permit which is employer-sponsored)
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Ireland
The Start-up Entrepreneur Programme (STEP), introduced by the Irish Government in 2012, lets a non-EEA national with an innovative business proposal apply for permission to establish that business and reside in Ireland full time.
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Latvia
Latvia's Startup Visa, run by Startup Latvia (the state agency LIAA's startup programme), is technically a temporary residence permit for non-EU startup founders who want to launch their idea in Latvia.
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Lithuania
Startup Visa Lithuania is the state's founder-track residence route, run by Startup Lithuania under Innovation Agency Lithuania, giving non-EU entrepreneurs a streamlined path into the Lithuanian startup ecosystem.
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Netherlands
The Dutch Orientation Year (Zoekjaar) residence permit, issued by the IND, is a self-sponsored bridge permit: a person who has graduated, obtained a doctorate, or carried out research can use it to look for work in the Netherlands without needing an employer or sponsor up front.
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Netherlands
The Dutch Self-Employed Person (Zelfstandige) residence permit, issued by the IND, is for people who want to start a business in the Netherlands, or to work as a self-employed artist there — a self-sponsored route with no employer required.
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Norway
Under Norwegian immigration law, an applicant would normally need a job offer before applying for a work-purpose residence permit, but UDI grants a job-seeker residence permit letting a skilled worker stay in Norway to look for skilled employment without first securing a job.
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Portugal
Portugal's Skilled Job Seeker Visa is a national residence visa created to let holders of specialised technical skills enter and remain in Portuguese territory to look for work, authorising them to carry out highly qualified professional activity until the visa expires or a residence permit is granted.
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Slovenia
Since 21 November 2025, Slovenia's Ministry of the Interior grants a dedicated temporary residence permit for digital nomads: a foreigner who is not a citizen of an EU or EEA country and who is employed by, or under civil-law contract to, a business entity based outside Slovenia, or self-employed abroad, performing …
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South Africa
South Africa's Critical Skills Work Visa, granted under Section 19(4) of the Immigration Act by the Department of Home Affairs, is for applicants whose occupation appears on the country's latest Critical Skills List; the applicant selects a single qualifying occupation on the application, in black pen, and must obta…
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Spain
Spain's entrepreneur residence authorisation, under Articles 68 to 70 of Law 14/2013 on support for entrepreneurs and their internationalisation, is for foreign citizens over 18 who intend to launch, develop or manage an innovative business activity of special economic interest to Spain.
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Sweden
Sweden's Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) grants a self-funded residence permit letting a highly qualified non-EU/EEA citizen come to Sweden purely to look for work or investigate starting a business, with no job offer or employer sponsor required.
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United Kingdom
The Global Talent visa is the UK Home Office's unsponsored route for leaders and potential leaders in three fields — academia or research, arts and culture, and digital technology — open to applicants aged 18 or over with no job offer or employer sponsor required.
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