Why the year ends firmly
The start-up permit exists to give a founder room to prove an idea while a recognised mentor guides them. It is a starting point rather than a destination, so the route forward runs through the ordinary permit for business owners, described in the scoring test.
What replaces the scoring
Normally the Enterprise Agency scores three areas: personal experience, business plan, and added value for the country. For a founder coming out of the start-up year, a statement from the facilitator stands in for the minimum scores on all three. The condition attached to that statement: the guidance ran for at least three months and was completed successfully.
In other words, your mentor writes the document that decides your next permit. Choose them for that reason as much as for their advice.
What to arrange during the year
- Agree at the start that the statement is part of the arrangement, and agree what completing the programme means.
- Keep the milestones documented as you pass them, so the statement rests on a record rather than on memory.
- Register the business and get the bookkeeping running: the ordinary permit expects income that the plan makes credible.
- Meet the general requirements that apply to every applicant, and keep them met throughout.
What the next permit gives you
Two years, renewable. Self-employed work is allowed, family members may work freely, and after five years of work free access to the labour market follows. From that point permanent residence comes into view, which is set out in the five-year path.
The company side
Founders often incorporate during this year. Which form fits, and when a holding above it starts paying for itself, sits in company first or permit first.
Where this advice stops
Holdwise builds the company structure: the entity, the salary, the tax position. The residence application itself belongs with an immigration lawyer, who follows the case law and the forms week by week. Arrange both in the same conversation and the two sides fit together; arrange them separately and one usually has to be redone.