The Innovator Founder Visa enables overseas entrepreneurs to come to the UK to establish an innovative business.
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The Innovator founder visa enables overseas entrepreneurs to come to the UK to establish an innovative business. It is specifically intended for those who want to set up and run something that’s different from anything else on the market.
The Innovator Founder Visa was previously know as the "Innovator Visa", replaced the Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) Visa in March 2019. As of 13 April, 2023, the Innovator Founder Visa no longer requires a minimum investment of £50,000 GBP. However, if you plan to establish a new business, you will still need to demonstrate to the endorsing body that you have sufficient funding and a reliable source of funding.
This visa allows holders to remain for up to three years, at which point they can apply for a further three-year extension. One of the most attractive features of the Innovator founder visa is that after three years, they may be able to acquire permanent settlement in the UK; this is shorter than the normal five years required for indefinite leave to remain (ILR).
In order to make a successful application for a UK Innovator founder visa, applicants need to meet below requirements:
To gain endorsement (as explained below), you will need to carefully prepare a comprehensive business plan for your existing innovative business or new business idea.
The business plan with need to show that your idea is:
Perhaps the most important aspect of applying for an Innovator founder visa in the UK is that you must have your existing innovative business or new business idea endorsed by an approved endorsing body in the UK. Organisations that can issue endorsements for Innovator Founder Visas are:
When deciding whether to grant endorsement, the endorsing body might consider:
Endorsement is required before you can apply and ensures that only businesses that are likely to be successful are allowed to progress onto the next phase - the application. When you speak to your endorsing body, they will explain their endorsement process to you and provide the necessary resources to allow you to apply. If your application for endorsement is successful, you will receive a letter of endorsement which you can then use to process your Innovator founder visa application.
To make a successful Innovator founder visa application, you will need to show you meet the English Language requirements. This means you:
You will also need to show that you have enough money to support yourself in the UK (you will need to show you have £1,270 in your bank account 28 days before applying to satisfy this requirement)
The application stages for an Innovator founder visa are as follows:
Applications are typically processed within 3 weeks, however, if this will take longer, you will be informed. This may be the case if more evidence is needed, or you are asked to attend an interview.
If your Innovator founder visa is approved, you will be given up to 3 years leave to remain in the UK in order to start your intended business. At the end of this 3-year period, you will be able to apply for an extension if you plan to stay. There is also no limit on extensions.
You will have no problems extending your Innovator founder visa as long as:
To make an Innovator founder visa extension application, you will need to:
Innovator founder visa extension applications typically take around 8 weeks to process, however, you can continue running your business while you are waiting for a decision from the Home Office.
One of the main benefits of the Innovator founder visa is that it provides a clear pathway to settlement (Indefinite Leave to Remain - ILR) in the UK.
With ILR, you will be able to remain permanently in the UK without being subject to immigration control and after a further year, you will be able to apply for British citizenship.
To gain ILR with an Innovator founder visa, you will need to live and work in the UK for three years and you will need to meet the criteria attached to the route. These are based around the success of your innovative business. This helps to ensure that applicants are genuine and that they are running their businesses as described. The important points to bear in mind are as follows: