Table Of Contents:
- What is the UK Innovator Founder Visa
- Eligibility
- How to Apply
- How long can you stay
- Your Partner and Children
- Summary
Are you a non-UK resident and want to start up your business in the UK? If yes, you can do it with the UK Innovator Founder Visa. This visa allows non-UK residents to come to the UK to set up and run their own business. To be an eligible Innovator Founder visa applicant, you must prove that your business is new, innovative, viable, and scalable, and must also be endorsed by an authorised body.
The Innovator Founder visa, after having replaced the previous Innovator route and Start-up visa, is now the primary UK visa category for foreign entrepreneurs looking to set up and run a business in Britain.
What is the UK Innovator Founder Visa?
The UK innovator founder visa is a route for foreign entrepreneurs who want to set up and run an innovative (something different from anything else on the market) business in the UK. This visa has been designed specifically for individuals who have a new, innovative, viable, and scalable business idea that they intend to develop and establish in the UK and whose business or business idea has been endorsed by an approved UK body, also known as a UK endorsing body.
The Innovator Founder route, unlike other visas, specifically targets those entrepreneurial talents who have the potential to drive innovation in the UK and contribute to the country’s economy through their entrepreneurship.
Eligibility
You must be 18 or over on the date of application. Apart from this, you must be able to show the UKVI that your business idea is new, innovative, viable, and scalable. A UK endorsing body would be required to assess whether your business idea meets these parameters. You will also need to show proof of your knowledge of the English language and personal savings to support yourself in the UK.
1. Business Idea Requirement
Your business idea must be:
a. New – you cannot join any existing business
b. Innovative – Your business idea must be original, which is different from anything else on the market
c. Viable, with growth potentiald.
d. Scalable – You must provide evidence of business planning that includes creating jobs and growing into domestic and international markets.
2. Endorsement Requirement
An approved UK body, also known as an endorsing body, needs to have endorsed your business or business idea before you apply for the Innovator Founder Visa. They will give you an endorsement letter if your business is eligible.
Only an organisation that is included on the ‘Business Endorsing Bodies’ list can issue an endorsement for new initial Innovator Founder visa applications.
On the other hand, only endorsing Bodies included on the ‘Legacy Innovator Endorsing Bodies’ list may provide further endorsements for Innovator Founder applications where they have already previously endorsed the applicant’s business under the previous Innovator or Start-up visa routes before 13 April 2023.
3. Knowledge of English Language Requirement
Unless you are a national of one of the specified countries, you must be able to demonstrate that you can understand, read, write, and speak English to a CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) level B2. You’ll usually need to prove this at the time of application.
4. Fund and Personal Savings Requirement
Only if you want to set up a new business in the UK, you’ll need to prove to your endorsing body that you have enough funding and where you have obtained the funds from.
You need to show that you have had, for 28 consecutive days, £1,270 or more in your bank account before:
• You apply for an Innovator Founder visa; or
• You apply to switch to an Innovator Founder visa if you’ve been in the UK on another visa for less than 12 months
If you’re currently in the UK on a Student visa
One of the following must also apply:
• You’ve completed the course of study you were sponsored for
• You’re studying for a PhD full-time, and have been for at least 24 months
Who cannot switch to the UK Innovator Founder Visa?
You cannot switch to this visa if you are currently in the UK on one of the following:
• UK Parent of a Child Student visa
• UK seasonal worker visa
• UK domestic worker in a private household visa
• Immigration bail
• Permission to stay outside the immigration rules, for example, on compassionate grounds
How to Apply?
You must apply online, whether you apply from outside the UK or from within the UK. You will need to submit the following supporting documents.
• Endorsement letter from a UK endorsing body.
• A detailed business plan.
• Evidence of enough funding to set up a new business in the UK.
• Documents such as test results or a degree certificate as proof of your proficiency in the English language.
• Bank statement as proof of funds to support yourself in the UK.
• Passport and any previous UK immigration documentation.
Pay the Application Fee and Endorsement Fee
The UK innovator founder visa fee is £1,274 per person if you apply outside the UK and £1,590 per person if you apply to switch to this visa in the UK.
You’ll need to pay £1,000 to an approved endorsing body to get an endorsement. You need to pay the fee directly to your endorsing body.
Prove Your Identity
As part of your UK innovator founder visa, you will need to prove your identity. To do this, you can either:
• Use the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app to scan your identity document or
• Have your biometric information (fingerprints and facial photo) taken at a Visa Application Centre (if applying from outside the UK) or at a UKVCAS service point (if applying to switch from inside the UK).
Wait for a Decision
Once you’ve applied online, submitted your documents, and proved your identity, you’ll usually get a decision on your visa within 3 weeks, if you’re outside the UK, and 8 weeks, if you’re inside the UK.
How long can you stay?
If your innovator founder visa is successful, you will be granted a leave of 3 years.
You can extend your visa for another 3 years before your existing visa expires. You can apply to extend as many times as you want.
Once you’ve been in the UK for 3 years, you may be able to apply for settlement.
Your Partner and Children
Your partner and children, if they’re eligible, can also apply to join you or stay in the UK as your ‘dependants’.
A dependant partner or child is any of the following:
• Your spouse (husband, wife), civil partner, or unmarried partner.
• Your child aged under 18, including if they were born in the UK during your stay.
• Your child aged over 18 if they currently have leave to enter or leave to remain in the UK as your dependant.
When you apply, you’ll need to submit evidence of your relationship to your dependant.
If a child’s application is successful, their visa will usually end on the same date as yours. If a child’s parents have visas that will expire on different dates, the child’s visa will end on the earlier date.
Summary
The Innovator Founder visa allows non-UK individuals to establish and run a business in the UK. For this, they must have an endorsement from a UK-approved body.
One of the key considerations for applicants is that they must be actively involved in running their business. Also, visa holders can take on additional work outside of the Innovator Founder business, but are restricted in the type of additional work they can undertake.
There is also the potential risk with the UK innovator founder visa that the visa holder’s business fails or does not meet the progress criteria set by the endorsing body. This could negatively impact the entrepreneur’s visa status and their ability to remain in the UK.
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