Asian Journal of Innovation and Policy

Asian Society for Innovation and Policy (아시아기술혁신학회)
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Start-Up Visa: Rethinking Entrepreneurship and Human Capital in Immigration Policy

  • Istad, Felicia (Department of Public Administration, Korea University)
  • Received : 2021.10.30
  • Accepted : 2022.04.21
  • Published : 2022.04.30
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Abstract

As industrialized countries transition into knowledge economies, there is a rising demand for talent and innovation. Support for start-ups through incubation, acceleration, and venture capital has turned into a key area of investment, with public and private actors searching for the next unicorn. This article examines start-up visas as an emerging policy tool in the global competition for highly innovative entrepreneurs. The study builds on a sample of eight national start-up immigration programs and applies human-capital citizenship (Ellermann, 2020) as a guiding framework. The article first proposes a conceptualization of start-up visas, suggesting that innovation and entrepreneurship also be considered in the theorization of skills. Second, the study examines the implications of start-up visas for international mobility. By focusing on the logic of entry requirements and subsequent benefits accrued through the status as a start-up founder, the findings of this study highlight the role of start-up visas in expanding privileged pathways to cross-border mobility. The article concludes with a discussion of implications for policy and research concerned with the international mobility of start-ups

Keywords

Acknowledgement

The author is grateful to the editor and the three anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions. An earlier version of this article was accepted to the 4th Neuchatel Graduate Conference of Migration and Mobility Studies in Neuchatel, Switzerland on July 1, 2021. The author would like to thank the conference organizers and participants in the working group "(Non)Essential Mobilities."

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