Developing an international business

My company is mining gold and diamonds in Zimbabwe. Despite the rich sound, this industry is fraught with many problems and restrictions associated with government policy and the work of illegal gold miners. After the crisis of 2008, I started thinking about business development in Europe. I wanted to open a network of jewellery stores, as I know everything about precious metals and where to buy them. The demand for such products in Africa is much lower than in Europe. But unfortunately, I need a visa to travel to Europe.

From the day I started my textile company, I knew we would someday export to Europe. All the production was explicitly modelled to comply with strict EU requirements. Once we were finally big enough to enter the international market, I began to search for opportunities to scale up. But, being an entrepreneur from a developing country, I concluded that I needed a second passport to proceed smoothly.

Traveling to Europe is not a luxury, but a necessity. If you want a big and profitable business, be ready to meet with suppliers and partners on their territory. If you want to provide a future for your children, make sure that they have a quality education that is quoted in the world. I decided that my family and I would have it all: prosperity, freedom and a bright future.

I want to develop my business on the international scene. My wife wishes to live in a country with sound ecology and a healthy lifestyle. We would like our children to get a quality European education. So, moving to Austria sounds like a perfect plan. In reality, it was not easy and involved some risks, but thanks to the professional assistance of the lawyers, I succeeded and was very happy about it.

Together with my husband, we are the owners of an IT software development company in Islamabad. When he passed away, the business was taken over by my control. So, I often need to travel to Europe on company business. My business trips alternate with personal visits to Paris, where my daughter is studying. Sometimes my travel plans were ruined because of Schengen visa denials or flight cancellations. Therefore, following the example of my friends, I thought about obtaining a second citizenship or residency in Europe by investment.

It was always not easy for me to open a bank account in Europe. Preparation and submission of documents took several weeks of my life, that’s crazy. Often I was denied without explanation. It collapsed the business routine. If I were an EU resident or citizen, I would open a bank account much faster. Besides, I wanted to have the possibility to travel to Europe visa-free. That's why I decided to apply for residency in Europe.

I’m used to building a safety net in advance. Right now I don't have many clients in Europe, but I want my company to grow in this direction. Therefore, I plan to open a branch and obtain citizenship in the European Union. I am taking the first steps right now — and with minimum costs.

I wasn’t expecting visa issues to stand in the way of my new business. I had just started it and needed to visit my potential European partners. If I were to travel with my Turkey passport and get visas for each trip, visiting consulates would have become a full-time job by themselves. I did not want to postpone my business tasks for visas. The only effective solution for my case seemed to be a second passport allowing me to travel visa-free. I had to get second citizenship fast to start working on my own business finally. Gladly, Immigrant Invest specialists helped me do it in under 6 months.

Our company took off. And the biggest demand for our IT services is in Europe. We need a branch run by one of us to gain a foothold in the EU market. I've volunteered to move to the EU and manage our company there. My business partners have families in India. I'm single, and I can leave my parents in the care of my sisters and brothers.

When all our plans had collapsed at a moment’s notice, I decided that I didn’t want to face any visa problems and be restricted in my freedom of movement ever again.

We were really got tired of bureaucracy. Applying all the documents for a British visa several times a year was exhausting. Vanuatu passport saves my family dozens of precious hours! From now on, we don't need a visa to visit the United Kingdom.

I remember my first working day in our coffee shop in Mumbai. With my brother Nirav, we spent all our savings to launch the business. Now we have almost 20 coffee houses and want to expand our chain to the UK. But with an Indian passport, it's almost impossible.

I have been managing a language school in Pakistan for 7 years. In 2021, I put my mind to creating more for my students. I came up with a digital platform that would run an online school, an application for self-study of languages, and a translator with artificial intelligence. I decided to do business internationally and open a company in Europe. I turned to Immigrant Invest for advice. With the help of the company's specialists, four team members and I got Startup Visas in five months, and Portugal residence permits six months later.

I want my business to grow in Europe. There is a demand for my company’s services, and I have already made a couple of successful deals in Germany. But with my experience of getting visas, I understand I won’t move forward in that quickly. I already had a US visa denial, and I don’t want the same story with the Schengen. Business supposes spontaneous travels, meetings and decisions. Not waiting and begging for visas.

My business was falling apart, and I needed to visit the suppliers in Italy asap. But it was hard to go anywhere during the pandemic. I got sick and tired of depending on visas and constantly changing entry rules. That's why I decided to get a residence permit in the EU

I want to make sure that my children have the freedom to choose where to study, live and work. I want to give them everything that I can. I did not have the opportunity to get a European education or freely travel when I was young. I began to travel around the world only after forty.

I was attracting more and more European customers but had to work with all of them through a partner. I didn’t like the fact that my business depended on someone else too much. I needed a solution. I wanted to work with all the clients directly. So I decided to get a residence permit in Europe.