The Innovator Founder Visa supports entrepreneurs who want to build an innovative, viable and scalable business in the UK. The route can lead to settlement, but the endorsement, business plan, founder role and evidence strategy must be prepared carefully from the start.
Review whether your business idea, endorsement strategy, funds and settlement plan are strong enough before you apply.
The Innovator Founder Visa is designed for entrepreneurs who have created, or made a significant contribution to, a business idea that is new, innovative, viable and scalable. The applicant must be endorsed by an approved endorsing body and must have a key role in the day-to-day management and development of the business.
This route is not a standard employment visa and does not require a UK employer sponsor. It is suitable where the founder intends to establish and grow a genuine business in the UK. It may also be suitable for some founders continuing with a business previously assessed under a relevant earlier route, provided the same business requirements are met.
The main risk is often not the immigration form itself. The real challenge is proving that the business proposition, endorsement position, founder role, funding explanation and evidence of growth all support the same credible case.
Endorsement is the centre of the route. The endorsing body must assess whether the business idea and founder meet the relevant requirements and issue an endorsement letter that supports the immigration application.
For a new business, the case should show that the applicant has a genuine and original business plan, that the plan is realistic and achievable, that the founder has or is developing the necessary skills and market awareness, and that there is structured planning for job creation and growth into national or international markets.
For a same business application or extension, the focus changes. The business must normally be active, trading and sustainable, the founder must be involved in day-to-day management and development, and progress against the business plan must be evidenced.
You must be aged 18 or over, hold a valid endorsement and satisfy suitability requirements. Unless exempt, you must meet English at CEFR level B2 in reading, writing, speaking and listening. Where financial evidence is required, you must hold at least £1,270 for 28 consecutive days; the end of that period must fall within 31 days before applying. If you are applying for permission to stay and have lived in the UK with permission for at least 12 months on the application date, you meet the financial requirement without showing these funds. The application should show that the applicant is a genuine founder and that they will play a central role in the business.
The business must not be a generic or copied concept. It should address a market need, create a competitive advantage, and show practical potential for growth. The founder should be able to explain the market, the product or service, the revenue model, funding position, operational plan and scaling strategy.
Applicants switching from certain UK visa categories must also check whether switching is allowed. Student visa holders face additional completion requirements before switching, and some categories cannot switch into the route from inside the UK.
Your endorsement letter must have been issued no more than three months before the visa application and must not have been withdrawn. Core visa-stage documents include:
The following business materials support endorsement and business assessment; they do not replace the mandatory visa-stage documents.
For new business cases, the document strategy often includes the business plan, market research, product or service evidence, founder CV or profile, funding information, source of funds explanation, pitch material, business model, financial projections and evidence of innovation or scalability. For extension or same business cases, trading evidence, accounts, management role evidence, Companies House records and progress against the business plan become important.
Immigration Visa Expert can review the evidence structure before submission guidance so that the application tells a clear story rather than presenting documents in isolation.
We can review your endorsement strategy, business plan, financial evidence and dependant documents before submission guidance.
A partner and dependent children can apply with or after the main applicant if they meet the relevant relationship, age, care and financial requirements. Their permission will usually be linked to the main applicant’s permission.
Dependants normally need additional maintenance funds unless they qualify for an exemption. Current additional funds are £285 for a partner, £315 for the first child and £200 for each additional child, in addition to the main applicant’s funds where those funds are required.
Dependants may usually work and study, subject to visa conditions. They cannot normally access public funds. Their ILR timing should be planned separately because dependant partners usually need 5 years before settlement.
An Innovator Founder Visa can be extended for a further 3 years if the founder obtains a fresh endorsement and continues to meet the route requirements. There is currently no limit on the number of extensions.
For an extension based on the same business, the evidence should show that the business remains active, trading and sustainable, that significant progress has been made against the business plan, and that the founder remains active in day-to-day management and development.
For a same-business application following Innovator Founder permission, you must also have attended the required contact point meetings during that permission. Extension planning should start early. Contact point meetings, business records, accounts, customer growth, funding, product development and management evidence may become important when the endorsing body assesses ongoing progress.
The Innovator Founder route can lead to ILR for the main applicant after 3 years if the settlement requirements are met. The applicant must usually be in the UK, have the right endorsement for settlement, meet continuous residence and Life in the UK requirements, and show that the business has achieved the required progress.
For settlement, the endorsement must usually confirm significant achievements against the business plan, active trading, Companies House registration, sustainability for at least the next 12 months, and the founder’s active key role. The business must also normally meet at least two of the specified achievement tests, such as investment, customer growth, research and development with intellectual property protection, revenue, export revenue or job creation.
A founder should plan the ILR evidence from year one. Waiting until the final months of the visa can create serious evidential gaps, especially where the business needs to prove trading, revenue, employment or growth milestones.
We can help identify which settlement achievement criteria are realistic for your business and what evidence should be preserved during the first 3 years.
We help founders structure their visa, extension and ILR strategy around endorsement readiness, business plan credibility, financial evidence, dependant planning and long-term UK immigration goals.
We can assess route suitability, endorsement readiness, documents, dependants, extension and ILR strategy before your application is prepared.
It is a UK business immigration route for entrepreneurs who want to establish and grow an innovative, viable and scalable business in the UK. The applicant must be endorsed by an approved endorsing body and must have a key role in the business.
No. This is not an employer-sponsored route. Instead, the applicant needs endorsement from an approved endorsing body and must meet the route requirements.
There is no fixed £50,000 minimum investment requirement for every new application. However, the founder must show that the business is viable and that any required funding is available and properly explained. £50,000 investment can also be relevant as one of the possible settlement achievement criteria.
The current application fee is £1,357 per person outside the UK and £1,693 per person for an in-country extension or switch. The endorsement fee is £1,000, and successful applicants must attend at least two contact point meetings at £500 each. The Immigration Health Surcharge and other costs may also apply.
The visa is normally granted for 3 years. It can be extended for further 3-year periods if the applicant obtains a new endorsement and continues to meet the requirements.
You cannot switch in-country if you have or last had permission as a Visitor, Short-term Student, Parent of a Child Student, Seasonal Worker, Domestic Worker in a Private Household, or permission outside the Immigration Rules. Students must have completed their sponsored course (including the relevant Appendix Student exception), or completed at least 24 months of an eligible full-time PhD with a higher education provider with a track record of compliance. Other applicants must still meet all route and suitability requirements.
Yes, work outside the endorsed business is allowed if the work is in a role requiring at least RQF level 3 skill. Work as a professional sportsperson is not allowed.
A partner and dependent children can apply if they meet the relationship, age, care and financial requirements. Their permission is usually linked to the main applicant.
Yes, the main applicant may be able to apply for ILR after 3 years if they meet the settlement requirements, including endorsement, continuous residence, Life in the UK and business achievement requirements. Dependants usually need 5 years for ILR.
The settlement endorsement normally needs to confirm significant progress, active trading, sustainability, the founder’s active management role and at least two specified achievement tests, such as investment, customer growth, research and development, revenue, export revenue or job creation.
The visa can be at risk if the endorsing body withdraws support or if required progress is not shown. Early advice is important if endorsement support changes or a business pivot is being considered.
We can review route suitability, endorsement readiness, business plan evidence, financial evidence, documents, dependants, extension position and ILR strategy before the application is prepared.
These related pages support employers managing sponsor duties, compliance risk, licence applications, refusal issues and revocation risks.
Practical support for sponsor duties, reporting, records and Home Office compliance risk.
Understand refusal-letter review, error correction, cooling-off and reapplication strategy.
Review refusal reasons and plan a stronger response or fresh application strategy.
Speak to an Immigration Visa Expert adviser for advice on endorsement, business plan evidence, visa documents, dependants, extension and ILR planning.
