Over the past years, governments in Europe have grown to use immigration policies to bring international entrepreneurs and Start-up founders in order to enhance innovation and competitive capabilities. Start-up visas, entrepreneur residence permits, or investment based residency programs have become strategic policy tools aimed at encouraging business establishment, increasing global talent mobility and knowledge-based economic development. Although their growth has been fast in Europe, little scholarly literature has been done on the effects of such migration policies on opportunity-based entrepreneurship and Start-up ecosystem development. This paper examines the nature of residence based entrepreneurial migration programs in encouraging the formation of business and opportunities entrepreneurship in Europe. Based on comparative research design, the paper will examine policy framework and entrepreneurial performance in four European economies; Estonia, Netherlands, Portugal and Malta. The study combines qualitative analysis of policy and empirical evidence about the topic based on secondary sources of data, such as migration statistics, reports of Start-up ecosystems, and government policy documents. The results imply that Start-up visa and entrepreneur residence-permit programs will be effective to attract foreign entrepreneurs and promote the development of the innovation-based Start-up ecosystem. Those countries that have well developed digital infrastructure, enablement of regulations and vibrant venture capital markets, e.g., Estonia and the Netherlands exhibit greater levels of foreign founder participation and technology based Start-up formation. By contrast, other kinds of investment-based residency programs, including the Golden Visa in Portugal, are largely a driver of capital inflows and investor-led entrepreneurial growth, but not innovation-oriented ventures. The paper has demonstrated the significance of entrepreneurial ecosystems, such as incubators, accelerators, venture capital networks and research institutions, in helping migrant-founded ventures to start and grow effectively. It presents the term residence-permit entrepreneurship that describes the entrepreneurial practice that is supported by migration policies allowing residency with the condition of business establishment or investment. The results give information to policy makers who are willing to develop effective entrepreneurial migration policies to increase innovation and economy.