UK Innovator Founder Visa

The UK Innovator Founder Visa is designed for entrepreneurs who want to establish and develop an innovative, viable and scalable business in the UK. The route replaced the previous Innovator visa and provides a three-year immigration route for founders whose business or business idea has been endorsed by an approved endorsing body.

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Hudson McKenzie advises international entrepreneurs, founders and business owners on the UK Innovator Founder Visa, from assessing the business concept and endorsement strategy through to the immigration application, extensions and settlement planning.

Start and Grow an Innovative Business in the UK

The Innovator Founder route is aimed at entrepreneurs who intend to play an active role in establishing and running an innovative UK business. The proposed business must demonstrate:

Innovation: an original business proposition that meets a new or existing market need and/or creates a competitive advantage.
Viability: a realistic and achievable business plan, supported by appropriate resources and the founder’s skills, knowledge, experience and market awareness.
Scalability: structured planning for growth, including the potential to create jobs and expand into national and international markets.

The founder must have generated the business idea or made a significant contribution to it. They must also have a key role in the day-to-day management and development of the business.

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The business concept must satisfy the relevant endorsement criteria. A strong commercial idea alone does not necessarily qualify for endorsement.

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What Is the UK Innovator Founder Visa?

The Innovator Founder Visa is a UK business immigration route for entrepreneurs establishing an innovative business. Successful applicants are normally granted permission for up to three years.

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An Innovator Founder can generally:

Establish one or more businesses in the UK.
Work for their own business, including as a company director.
Be self-employed as a member of a business partnership.
Undertake qualifying employment outside their business.
Study, subject to the applicable conditions.
Bring an eligible partner and dependent children to the UK.
Travel abroad and return to the UK.
Apply for settlement after three qualifying years if the relevant requirements are met.

The route does not permit access to public funds or employment as a professional sportsperson, including as a sports coach.

UK Innovator Founder Visa Requirements, Endorsement & Settlement

Who Can Apply?

The main applicant must be at least 18 years old and meet the relevant immigration, endorsement, English language and financial requirements.

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For an application based on a new business, the applicant must:

Have a business plan and have generated, or made a significant contribution to, the ideas in that plan.
Be the sole founder or an instrumental member of the founding team.
Demonstrate that they will have a day-to-day role in implementing the business plan.
Show that the business is innovative, viable and scalable.
Obtain endorsement from an authorised endorsing body.

The founder must have, or be actively developing, the skills, knowledge, experience and market awareness needed to run the business successfully.

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English Language Requirement

Applicants must normally demonstrate English language ability at CEFR level B2 in reading, writing, speaking and listening, unless an exemption applies.

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The evidence must meet the applicable Home Office requirements.

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Personal Financial Requirement

Applicants applying from outside the UK, or applying for permission to stay after less than 12 months in the UK, generally need to show personal savings of at least £1,270 held for a continuous 28-day period.

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Applicants applying for permission to stay who have been in the UK with valid permission for at least 12 months normally meet the financial requirement without providing evidence of these funds.

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Personal maintenance funds are separate from the money needed to establish and operate the business. Business investment funds cannot also be used to meet the personal maintenance requirement.

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Is There a Minimum Investment Requirement?

There is no fixed minimum investment amount for every initial Innovator Founder application.

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However, applicants establishing a new business must demonstrate that sufficient funding is available and explain where it comes from. The business plan should provide a credible financial model, funding position and proposed use of funds.

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Applicants continuing a business previously endorsed under a qualifying route, or pursuing an agreed change of business, may not need to demonstrate additional investment funds in certain circumstances.

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Can an Existing UK Business Qualify?

The rules distinguish between applications based on a new business and applications involving a business previously assessed by an approved endorsing body.

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Buying or joining an existing trading business does not, by itself, establish eligibility for the Innovator Founder route. The business history, endorsement position and applicant’s previous immigration permission must be considered.

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How the Endorsement Process Works

Endorsement is mandatory and is separate from the Home Office visa application.

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The founder must present their business or business idea to an authorised endorsing body. The assessment considers innovation, viability and scalability, together with the founder’s role, skills, experience and funding arrangements.

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Only bodies authorised for the relevant application can issue an acceptable endorsement. Specific provisions apply to legacy endorsing bodies and applicants previously endorsed under earlier routes.

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The endorsement letter must meet the Home Office requirements, must have been issued no more than three months before the visa application and must not have been withdrawn.

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Preparing a credible business plan and supporting evidence is therefore a central part of the application process.

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Contact-Point Meetings

Endorsing bodies monitor the founder’s progress after permission is granted. Founders must attend the required contact-point meetings, normally at 12 and 24 months, to demonstrate progress with the endorsed business.

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If endorsement is withdrawn, the Home Office may shorten the founder’s immigration permission.

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How to Apply

Once the appropriate endorsement is in place, the applicant completes the online visa application, pays the applicable charges, provides supporting documents and completes the required identity checks.

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Applications can be made from outside the UK or, where switching is permitted, from within the UK.

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Documents Required

The required evidence depends on the applicant’s circumstances but generally includes:

A valid passport or other acceptable evidence of identity and nationality.
A valid endorsement letter.
Evidence of personal maintenance funds, where required.
Evidence of meeting the English language requirement, unless exempt.
Tuberculosis test results, where required.
Certified translations of documents that are not in English or Welsh.

The endorsement assessment will also require appropriate business and funding evidence. Additional documents may be needed for the visa application or applications by dependants.

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Innovator Founder Visa Fees

The current visa application fees are:

Applying from outside the UK: £1,357 per person.
Applying inside the UK to extend or switch: £1,693 per person.

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The published endorsement charges are:

£1,000 for an endorsement assessment by an approved endorsing body.
£500 for each required contact-point meeting, with at least two meetings during the period of permission.

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The Immigration Health Surcharge is payable separately where applicable. Dependants must also pay their own visa application fees and any applicable healthcare surcharge.

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These charges are separate from personal maintenance funds, business funding and professional advisory fees. Fees should be checked before applying.

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How Long Does an Application Take?

Once the online application, identity checks and supporting documents are complete, decisions usually take:

Three weeks for applications made outside the UK.
Eight weeks for applications made inside the UK.

Endorsement assessment takes place separately and should be allowed for when planning the overall timetable. Visa processing times can vary.

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Can an Innovator Founder Work Outside Their Business?

An Innovator Founder can undertake employment outside their own business where the role requires at least RQF Level 3 skills.

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The founder must continue to satisfy the Innovator Founder requirements, including maintaining an active role in the day-to-day management and development of the endorsed business.

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Working through the founder’s own company does not automatically make an arrangement permitted business activity. Restrictions apply to arrangements that effectively supply the founder’s labour to another business. Proposed employment or contracting arrangements should be assessed against the visa conditions.

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Can Innovator Founders Bring Their Family?

Eligible partners and dependent children can apply to accompany or join an Innovator Founder in the UK.

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Each dependant must make the appropriate immigration application and meet the relevant relationship, financial and other requirements.

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Where maintenance evidence is required, the additional funds are:

£285 for a partner.
£315 for the first dependent child.
£200 for each additional dependent child.

The required funds must normally be held for a continuous 28-day period and must be additional to any other required maintenance funds.

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A dependant applying for permission to stay who has lived in the UK with valid permission for at least 12 months normally meets the financial requirement without showing funds. This exemption is assessed by reference to the dependant’s own residence.

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Eligible dependants can generally work and study, subject to their immigration conditions. Employment as a professional sportsperson, including as a sports coach, is not permitted.

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Switching to the Innovator Founder Route

Eligible applicants already in the UK may be able to switch from another immigration category.

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Switching is generally unavailable to people with permission as a Visitor, Short-term Student, Parent of a Child Student, Seasonal Worker or Domestic Worker in a Private Household, or with permission outside the Immigration Rules. People on immigration bail also cannot normally switch.

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Additional conditions apply to Student visa holders. They must normally have completed their sponsored course or completed at least 24 months of a qualifying full-time PhD.

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Applicants must meet the Innovator Founder requirements, including endorsement and any applicable English language and financial requirements. Applications should be submitted before current permission expires.

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A partner’s or child’s immigration permission does not automatically change when the main applicant switches. Their position must be considered separately.

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How Long Is an Innovator Founder Visa Valid?

An Innovator Founder Visa is normally granted for up to three years.

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Applicants who continue to meet the requirements can apply for further three-year extensions. There is no stated limit on the number of extensions.

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Extending an Innovator Founder Visa

A further endorsement is required for an extension application.

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For an application based on the same business, the endorsing body must be satisfied that the business is active, trading and sustainable and that the founder has made significant progress against the business plan.

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The business must be registered with Companies House, with the applicant recorded as a director or member. The founder must remain actively involved in its day-to-day management and development and meet the applicable monitoring requirements.

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Can an Innovator Founder Obtain Settlement?

The Innovator Founder route can lead to indefinite leave to remain after three qualifying years, provided the applicant and business meet all settlement requirements.

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Qualifying residence can include time on the Innovator Founder and former Innovator routes. Time spent on other visa routes does not count towards this three-year qualifying period.

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A further endorsement is required. It must confirm the founder’s progress, continuing active role and the business’s trading position and sustainability.

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The business must also meet at least two of the following success criteria:

At least £50,000 has been invested in the business and actively spent on its development.
The customer base has at least doubled within the previous three years and exceeds the mean customer number for comparable UK businesses.
The business has undertaken substantial research and development and submitted an application for intellectual property protection in the UK.
The business generated annual gross revenue of at least £1 million in the last full year covered by its accounts.
The business generated annual gross revenue of at least £500,000 in the last full year covered by its accounts, including at least £100,000 from overseas exports.
The business created the equivalent of at least 10 full-time jobs for settled workers.
The business created the equivalent of at least five full-time jobs for settled workers, with each qualifying job paying a mean gross annual salary of at least £25,000, excluding allowances.

At least two different criteria must be satisfied. Meeting one criterion twice does not count as meeting two criteria. Founders applying for settlement through the same business cannot share the same achievements to satisfy their individual requirements.

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Conditions for Job Creation

Qualifying jobs must have existed for at least 12 months and comply with UK employment law. Full-time employment means an average of at least 30 paid hours a week; qualifying part-time roles can be combined under the rules.

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Residence and Life in the UK

Applicants must satisfy the continuous residence requirement, which generally limits absences to 180 days in any 12-month period, subject to the applicable exceptions.

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The Knowledge of Life in the UK requirement must also be met unless an exemption applies.

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Settlement is not automatic after three years. Founders should assess their business performance, evidence and residence position well before their permission expires.

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Settlement for Dependants

A dependent partner normally needs five qualifying years before settlement. They do not automatically qualify when the founder settles after three years. Dependent children have separate eligibility requirements.

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How Hudson McKenzie Can Help With a UK Innovator Founder Visa

Hudson McKenzie advises entrepreneurs and international businesses on UK business immigration and founder routes. Our advice considers both the immigration requirements and the founder’s plans for establishing and developing a business in the UK.

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Our Innovator Founder Visa service can include:

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Business and Immigration Assessment

Reviewing the proposed business, founder profile and UK business plans against the Innovator Founder requirements.

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Endorsement Strategy

Assessing the endorsement requirements and helping structure the business proposition and supporting evidence around the relevant criteria.

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Business Plan and Supporting Evidence

Working with the founder and relevant professional advisers to ensure that the business plan, funding position and supporting documentation present a consistent and credible application.

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Visa Applications

Preparing and reviewing Innovator Founder Visa applications and supporting documents, including applications from outside the UK and eligible switching applications.

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Dependants

Advising on applications for eligible partners and dependent children, including maintenance requirements and longer-term immigration planning.

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Extensions and Settlement

Advising founders on contact-point meetings, continuing eligibility, extension applications and the business performance requirements for indefinite leave to remain.

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Business Immigration Strategy

Considering the Innovator Founder route alongside other UK immigration options where appropriate. Depending on the applicant’s circumstances, these may include the UK Global Talent Visa, UK Skilled Worker Visa or UK Expansion Worker Visa. Each route has separate requirements and permitted activities.

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Where the UK business plans to recruit sponsored workers, our team can also advise on UK Sponsor Licence applications and ongoing immigration compliance.

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Contact Hudson McKenzie to discuss your Innovator Founder Visa application, endorsement requirements or longer-term UK business immigration plans.

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Disclaimer: The information provided on this page is for general guidance only and does not constitute legal advice. Innovator Founder Visa requirements, endorsement arrangements, fees and UK Immigration Rules may change. Advice should be obtained based on the applicant’s and business’s individual circumstances and the requirements in force at the time of application.