Europe’s tech sector has long relied on a steady inflow of international talent to fuel innovation and bridge workforce gaps in areas like artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and green technologies. But as a serial entrepreneur navigating the intricacies of startup management, I, Violetta Bonenkamp, have witnessed the fallout of Europe’s shifting immigration policies firsthand. Strict regulations and anti-immigration rhetoric across the continent are suffocating what was once a thriving inflow of global talent. Europe is at a crossroads, and if bold decisions are not made, its position as a global leader in technology could crumble.
Key Data Points Illustrating the Decline
As per the Atomico State of European Tech report, the statistics speak volumes:
- In 2022, Europe attracted a net positive inflow of 52,000 tech professionals.
- By 2024, the number plummeted to just 26,000, cut in half within only two years.
- The UK's tightening of migration rules in mid-2025 made it one of the hardest countries for international tech professionals to settle in, with increased salary thresholds for visas and longer residency requirements. Learn more about the UK Skilled Worker visa changes.
Even countries like Germany, once seen as the paragon of welcoming skilled workers, rolled back policies such as fast-track citizenship pathways in 2025, following political pressures. The EU Blue Card threshold was raised, creating higher barriers for highly skilled non-Europeans. Such policy shifts aren’t merely slowing down migration; they’re actively pushing talent away from Europe.
Understanding the Impact on Entrepreneurs and Startups
The consequences of these migration policies are profound:
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Brain Drain of Senior Talent
Many of Europe’s most seasoned tech veterans are leaving for countries with more welcoming startup ecosystems like Canada, Australia, and UAE. For instance, founders are increasingly choosing Dubai for its tax benefits and streamlined business environment. Learn why founders are departing for Dubai. -
Reduced Innovation Capacity
AI, blockchain, and green tech ecosystems suffer the most due to talent shortages. Without experienced professionals to lead projects, startups struggle to scale or stay competitive. -
Wasted Opportunities for Economic Growth
According to estimates, every skilled immigrant contributes thousands of euros in economic value annually. Cutting immigration not only damages the innovation pipeline but also reduces fiscal growth.
How to Navigate the Talent Shortage in Europe
As a startup founder, I’ve had to adapt to the shifting landscape. Here are some strategies you can implement:
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Cultivate Local Talent with Agile Training Programs
Offer crash courses, mentorship opportunities, and practical hands-on training to recent graduates and early-career tech professionals. Don’t just focus on hiring; focus on building talent. A good example is the F/MS Startup Game, which provides real-world entrepreneurial challenges: explore gamepreneurship to build talent in inventive ways. -
Target Recruitment from Diverse Geographies
Despite Europe’s hurdles, take advantage of countries with streamlined tech migration schemes. For example, Estonia and Portugal still offer relatively efficient pathways for skilled tech professionals. These geographies remain hotspots for startup hiring. -
Leverage Digital Communities
Create remote-first job opportunities that cater to global talent pools. Platforms like Jobbatical offer visa help and smoother relocation processes: learn about Jobbatical and its impact. -
Focus on Non-Salary Benefits
With salary thresholds becoming increasingly restrictive across Europe, attract professionals through benefits like housing subsidies, childcare, or stock options.
Most Common Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make
While adapting to Europe’s anti-immigration trends, avoid these pitfalls:
- Ignoring Remote Work: Some entrepreneurs still insist on local hires, which limits their options drastically. The remote-first model is essential.
- Failure to Simplify Onboarding: Complex bureaucratic processes deter skilled professionals. Simplify legal, bureaucratic, and housing arrangements.
- Neglecting Talent Retention: Hiring is only half the battle; you must create a company culture that encourages professional growth and loyalty.
What Governments Can Do: A Startup Founder’s Perspective
Governments could do more to reverse this debilitating trend, including:
- Cut bureaucracy for skilled professionals. Streamline visa and work permit approvals to make Europe competitive for talent again.
- Coordinate pro-migration messaging across all EU member states to improve Europe’s global image.
- Introduce public-private partnerships to incentivize hiring foreigners in tech-critical sectors. This includes direct grants for companies employing international talent and subsidies for smooth integration efforts.
- Focus on long-term workforce alignment policies, balancing immediate skill shortages with career development pathways that bolster local talent pools.
Concluding Thoughts: Europe Risks Falling Behind
Europe is not just losing tech talent, it’s losing its reputation for innovation. While local startups and entrepreneurs like myself are doing everything we can to support growth, broader systemic changes must be implemented. Without bold political and regulatory actions, the gap in Europe’s talent pipeline will widen. Nations like the US, Canada, and Australia will capitalize on Europe’s mistakes, further accelerating their own innovation abilities.
For those of us trying to create global solutions, Europe’s restrictive policies force tough decisions: do we stay and fight against bureaucratic inertia, or do we move elsewhere to thrive? These are questions every entrepreneur must weigh carefully.
The path forward lies in a collaborative approach, one that balances national interests with global competitiveness. Europe must decide now whether it wants to be a global leader or fall behind in the race for innovation.
Explore the detailed insights from the State of European Tech report, and let’s work together to build a future that embraces talent and innovation, no matter where it comes from.
FAQ
1. Why is Europe experiencing a decline in tech talent inflow?
Europe’s tech talent inflow is collapsing due to more restrictive immigration policies, political shifts favoring anti-immigration rhetoric, higher salary thresholds for visas, and extended residency requirements. Explore this trend in the State of European Tech report
2. How have immigration policies in the UK affected tech professionals?
In June 2025, the UK implemented stricter immigration rules, including higher salary thresholds for the Skilled Worker visa and longer residency requirements for indefinite leave to remain, which deterred international tech workers. Learn about UK Skilled Worker visa changes
3. What changes impacted Germany’s ability to attract tech talent?
Germany reversed its fast-track citizenship pathway in 2025 after political pressures and increased the EU Blue Card salary threshold, both of which created barriers for skilled immigrants. Explore Germany’s EU Blue Card policy
4. Which countries are emerging as alternatives for European tech professionals?
Countries like Canada, Australia, and the UAE, particularly Dubai, are increasingly attracting Europe’s tech professionals due to tax benefits and streamlined startup ecosystems. Learn why founders are choosing Dubai
5. How does the EU Blue Card system impact tech migration?
The EU Blue Card system was adjusted in 2025, with higher salary thresholds that restrict access for many tech professionals outside Europe, contributing to lower migration levels. Explore the EU Blue Card guide
6. What are startups doing to address the talent shortage in Europe?
European startups are offering crash courses for local talent, targeting recruitment from migration-friendly countries like Estonia and Portugal, and creating remote-first job opportunities for global talent pools. Check out F/MS Startup Game for building skills
7. Why are senior tech professionals leaving Europe?
Senior tech professionals cite bureaucratic challenges, anti-immigration environments, and better opportunities elsewhere as reasons for leaving Europe. High-growth sectors like AI and green technologies are especially affected.
8. What benefits can attract tech talent despite salary restrictions?
Non-salary benefits such as housing subsidies, childcare, stock options, and streamlined onboarding processes can appeal to international tech professionals, offsetting salary-related hurdles.
9. How can tech startups in Europe simplify hiring overseas talent?
Platforms like Jobbatical provide relocation support, visa assistance, and integration resources, making it easier for startups to hire and onboard international talent. Learn how Jobbatical simplifies hiring and relocation
10. What policy reforms can help Europe regain its competitive edge in tech?
Simplified visa processes, coordinated pro-migration messaging, public-private partnerships for incentivizing international hiring, and comprehensive workforce alignment policies are essential to building a stronger talent ecosystem.
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta Bonenkamp's expertise in CAD sector, IP protection and blockchain
Violetta Bonenkamp is recognized as a multidisciplinary expert with significant achievements in the CAD sector, intellectual property (IP) protection, and blockchain technology.
CAD Sector:
- Violetta is the CEO and co-founder of CADChain, a deep tech startup focused on developing IP management software specifically for CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. CADChain addresses the lack of industry standards for CAD data protection and sharing, using innovative technology to secure and manage design data.
- She has led the company since its inception in 2018, overseeing R&D, PR, and business development, and driving the creation of products for platforms such as Autodesk Inventor, Blender, and SolidWorks.
- Her leadership has been instrumental in scaling CADChain from a small team to a significant player in the deeptech space, with a diverse, international team.
IP Protection:
- Violetta has built deep expertise in intellectual property, combining academic training with practical startup experience. She has taken specialized courses in IP from institutions like WIPO and the EU IPO.
- She is known for sharing actionable strategies for startup IP protection, leveraging both legal and technological approaches, and has published guides and content on this topic for the entrepreneurial community.
- Her work at CADChain directly addresses the need for robust IP protection in the engineering and design industries, integrating cybersecurity and compliance measures to safeguard digital assets.
Blockchain:
- Violetta’s entry into the blockchain sector began with the founding of CADChain, which uses blockchain as a core technology for securing and managing CAD data.
- She holds several certifications in blockchain and has participated in major hackathons and policy forums, such as the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum.
- Her expertise extends to applying blockchain for IP management, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and secure sharing in the CAD industry.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.
About the Publication
Fe/male Switch is an innovative startup platform designed to empower women entrepreneurs through an immersive, game-like experience. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic "without any funding and without any code," this non-profit initiative has evolved into a comprehensive educational tool for aspiring female entrepreneurs.The platform was co-founded by Violetta Shishkina-Bonenkamp, who serves as CEO and one of the lead authors of the Startup News branch.
Mission and Purpose
Fe/male Switch Foundation was created to address the gender gap in the tech and entrepreneurship space. The platform aims to skill-up future female tech leaders and empower them to create resilient and innovative tech startups through what they call "gamepreneurship". By putting players in a virtual startup village where they must survive and thrive, the startup game allows women to test their entrepreneurial abilities without financial risk.
Key Features
The platform offers a unique blend of news, resources,learning, networking, and practical application within a supportive, female-focused environment:
- Skill Lab: Micro-modules covering essential startup skills
- Virtual Startup Building: Create or join startups and tackle real-world challenges
- AI Co-founder (PlayPal): Guides users through the startup process
- SANDBOX: A testing environment for idea validation before launch
- Wellness Integration: Virtual activities to balance work and self-care
- Marketplace: Buy or sell expert sessions and tutorials
Impact and Growth
Since its inception, Fe/male Switch has shown impressive growth:
- 5,000+ female entrepreneurs in the community
- 100+ startup tools built
- 5,000+ pieces of articles and news written
- 1,000 unique business ideas for women created
Partnerships
Fe/male Switch has formed strategic partnerships to enhance its offerings. In January 2022, it teamed up with global website builder Tilda to provide free access to website building tools and mentorship services for Fe/male Switch participants.
Recognition
Fe/male Switch has received media attention for its innovative approach to closing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship. The platform has been featured in various publications highlighting its unique "play to learn and earn" model.