Innovator Founder Visa

What the Innovator Founder visa requires

The Innovator Founder route replaced the Innovator and Start-up visas in April 2023 and removed the £50,000 minimum investment. In its place is a stricter focus on the business itself. An approved endorsing body must be satisfied that your business is:

• Innovative: a genuine, original idea that meets new or existing market needs or creates a competitive advantage, not a standard business such as a restaurant or an agency.
• Viable: realistic and achievable with the resources you have, and you have the skills and experience to run it.
• Scalable: evidence of structured planning and the potential for job creation and growth into national and international markets.

You must be a founder or co-founder with a significant role in the day-to-day management, meet the B2 English requirement, hold the required funds and pass the credibility assessment. After endorsement, you can also take other employment at RQF level 3 or above alongside the business.

You must attend at least two contact-point meetings with your endorsing body during the visa (at 12 and 24 months) so that it can confirm the business is progressing.

Endorsing bodies and the business plan

Endorsements are granted by a small number of Home Office-approved bodies, each with its own application process, fees and sector preferences. Some run accelerator-style programmes; others assess a written business plan and interview the founder. Choosing the right body for your sector and stage is a strategic decision, and applying to the wrong one wastes months.

The business plan is the core of the case. It needs a clear explanation of the innovation, credible financial projections, a go-to-market strategy, a hiring plan and evidence of traction or validation: letters of intent, pilot customers, IP, prior funding or industry expertise. We work with you and, where helpful, with a business-plan specialist so that the plan answers the three tests directly rather than reading like a pitch deck.

Our process

1. Assessment

   We test your idea against the three criteria and the endorsing bodies' preferences, and tell you whether Innovator Founder, Global Talent, UK Expansion Worker or self-sponsorship under a sponsor licence fits best.

2. Endorsement preparation

   Business plan review, evidence of innovation and traction, founder credibility and interview preparation.

3. Visa application

   English evidence, funds, tuberculosis test where needed, dependants and the covering letter. We also advise on incorporating and structuring the UK company.

4. Growth to settlement

   We diarise contact-point meetings, advise on the settlement criteria from day one and manage the extension or settlement application at 3 years.

Settlement criteria

After 3 years you can apply for indefinite leave to remain if the business is trading, you have been actively involved, and you meet at least two of the following: £50,000 invested in the business; customers doubled in 3 years and above the sector average; research and development activity with UK IP protection; £1 million gross revenue; £500,000 revenue with at least £100,000 from exports; at least 10 full-time jobs created; or at least 5 full-time jobs with average salaries of £25,000. Planning for these targets from the start is what turns a visa into a permanent home.

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Frequently asked questions