Eligibility for Applicants
As an entrepreneur, you can be eligible for the startup visa if you want to start a company or if you have already registered your business in a non-EU/EEA country. Let’s look at other requirements:
- You need to have at least €5,147 in your bank account for one year
- You must be over 18 years of age and have no criminal record
- You must not be a Schengen regular resident in the recent past.
Conditions for the Startup
First of all, as an investor, you should note that your startup or project must be focused on technology. The experts have agreed that you should concentrate on one of the following sectors, based on your background:
- Information technology (IT)
- Electronics
- Biotechnology and pharmacology
- Communication and media
- Energy
- Industrial products
- Medical/health
- Commerce and consumer products.
In addition to that, your project needs to make a minimum annual turnover of €325,000 per year within five years of entering into a chosen tech incubator. Also, this new business must have the potential to create new jobs. Other conditions include:
- Your startup needs to create and develop an innovative business venture
- You need to ensure the commitment of a business incubator which is governmentally supported in Portugal, and which is partnered with R&D facilities
- Your project or startup needs to undergo a 3-year incubation period. If it is refused, the incubation fees will be given back
- You need to make a start-up/entrepreneur investment into a business incubator. The amount is €175,000, and €25,000 of it will be used as share’s capitalization in the Portuguese business venture, as well as for the payment of the business’s required services. For each new Portuguese venture, the client will own around 95% and empowered around 5% of the share.
