1. What Is the Innovator Founder Visa Route?
The Innovator and Start-up routes first opened in Spring 2019, with the view of replacing the Tier 1 Entrepreneur route. The introduction of these routes took the decision making power regarding the viability of a business away from the Home Office, instead giving it to business experts in the form of Endorsing Bodies, an approved list of organisations as decided by the Home Office. These routes have not been without criticism, so the news received on 09 March 2023, that the routes are to be replaced with one single route – the Innovator Founder Visa route – did not come as a huge surprise.
The Innovator Founder route opened on 13 April 2023 and is now the current route for endorsed innovative business founders. The Start-up route is closed to all new applications.
This 2026 Innovator Founder visa application guide takes a look at the current Innovator Founder route, answers a number of frequently asked questions regarding the Innovator Founder route and examines the changes from the Innovator and Start-up routes.
Download our Innovator Founder Visa Guide
2. Do Innovator Founder Visa Applicants Still Need Endorsement?
Yes, Innovator Founder Visa applicants must obtain endorsement from an approved Endorsing Body or, where permitted by the Immigration Rules, a Legacy Endorsing Body. Under the Innovator and Start-up routes there were a number of Endorsing Bodies, but the current GOV.UK list comprises three Business Endorsing Bodies that can issue endorsements for Innovator Founder visas and Scale-up licences – UK Endorsing Services, Innovator International and Envestors Limited – plus the Global Entrepreneurs Programme GEP, which can issue Innovator Founder endorsements only for founders already invited to participate in that programme.
Previous approved Endorsing Bodies are known as ‘Legacy Endorsing Bodies’ and they may only provide further endorsements for Innovator Founder applications where they previously endorsed the applicant under the Innovator or Start-up routes before 13 April 2023, and where the relevant Immigration Rules requirements are met.
Any current Innovator Founder application must be supported by an endorsement letter issued no more than three months before the date of application, and that endorsement must not have been withdrawn. A pre-13 April 2023 endorsement letter will not, of itself, meet the current validity requirement for a new application made now.
If an applicant was previously endorsed by a Legacy Endorsing Body as a Start-up, they may be able to rely on endorsement from the same Legacy Endorsing Body under the new business criteria if they previously had permission under the Start-up route and the endorsing body for that previous permission is the same Legacy Endorsing Body supporting the current application.
For the same business criteria, endorsement from a Legacy Endorsing Body in support of an application under the same business criteria will only be accepted if:
- The applicant has or, in the 12 months immediately prior to the date of application, had permission as an Innovator Founder or permission under the Start-up route; and
- The Legacy Endorsing Body supporting the current application is the same as the Endorsing Body for that previous permission.
3. Do Innovator Founder Visa Applicants Still Need a Business Plan That Is Innovative, Viable and Scalable?
Yes, applicants still need to show that their business plan is innovative, viable, and scalable where the applicant is applying on the basis of the new business criteria. Applicants can apply on the basis of the same business criteria if they have or last had permission as an Innovator Founder, Innovator, Start-up or Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur, and are pursuing a business that was previously assessed by an Endorsing Body or Legacy Endorsing Body while they had that permission.
4. Do Innovator Founder Visa Applicants Still Need to Have at Least £50,000 to Invest?
No, the requirement for Innovators to show that they had access to at least £50,000 to invest into the business plan has been dispensed with as a mandatory initial application requirement. This is one reason why there is no longer a need for the Start-up route which had no minimum investment funds.
This will offer greater flexibility to applicants, however, some applicants, depending on their business plan may still need to show that they have sufficient funds to establish their business. This is because, as above, there is still a requirement to show that the business plan is viable. Where an applicant wants to set up a new business, they will need to prove to their endorsing body that they have enough funding to establish their business and the provenance of the funds. If the business idea is one which requires significant investment, then the Endorsing Body may wish to see evidence of how the applicant proposes to fund this.
5. Do Innovator Founder Visa Holders Need to Keep in Touch With Their Endorsing Body?
Under the Innovator route, Endorsing Bodies were required to contact Innovator applicants at the following checkpoints – 6, 12, and 24 months.
Under the Innovator Founder route, Endorsing Bodies only need to hold two contact point meetings at regular intervals during the period of permission and Home Office guidance expects these meetings to take place as close as practicably possible to 12 and 24 months after the grant of permission, or arrival in the UK following that grant. However, this is a minimum and the Endorsing Body may decide that more regular contact is required. This is, again, a more flexible approach as it allows for different businesses to develop at different rates.
6. Can Innovator Founder Visa Holders Undertake Additional Work?
Under the Innovator route, applicants are excluded from working for any other business other than the businesses that they have established, though this was permitted for Start-up migrants. The Innovator Founder route is much more flexible in that it allows employment outside of the applicant’s businesses. Innovator Founders can take up secondary employment provided that the employed role requires a skill level of not less than RQF Level 3, equivalent to A-levels.
However, working for the businesses the applicant has established does not include any apprenticeship or any work pursuant to a contract of service with another business. This means that successful applicants cannot fill a position, or hire their labour, to another business, even if the work is undertaken through contracting with their own business or through a recruitment or employment agency.
This is, of course, much more flexible and is another reason why the Start-up route is no longer required.
Study is also permitted, subject to the requirements of Appendix ATAS.
7. Do Innovator Founder Visa Applicants Need to Meet the English Language Requirement?
Yes, Innovator Founder Visa applicants must show that they meet the English language requirement at CEFR level B2 in all four components: reading, writing, speaking and listening.
8. Do Innovator Founder Visa Applicants Need to Meet a Financial Requirement?
Yes, Innovator Founder Visa applicants must show that they have either been in the UK with permission for 12 months or longer on the date of application, or that they have held at least £1,270 for a 28-day period as set out in Appendix Finance. Where the financial requirement applies to dependants, the current additional amounts are £285 for a dependent partner, £315 for the first dependent child and £200 for any other dependent child, in addition to any funds required for the Innovator Founder and any other dependants.
9. Other Changes Innovator Founder Visa Applicants Should Be Aware Of
Endorsing Bodies must confirm that:
- An applicant is a fit and proper person to receive endorsement; and
- They have no concerns over the legitimacy of sources of funds, or modes of transfer of funds invested by the applicant into their endorsed business; and
- They have identified no reason to believe that the applicant or their endorsed business may be the beneficiary of illicit or otherwise unsatisfactorily explained wealth.
In addition, an Innovator Founder application may be refused, and existing Innovator Founder entry clearance or permission may be cancelled, under the Innovator Founder fit and proper person grounds in Part Suitability.
It is possible that these changes have been made to account for previous criticisms of the Tier 1 Investor route, which closed to new initial applications on 17 February 2022.
10. Can Innovator Founder Visa Holders Settle in the UK?
Yes, the Innovator Founder Visa route is a route to settlement. Applicants can apply once they have completed at least three years in the UK with permission as an Innovator Founder. The Immigration Rules currently define ‘Innovator Founder’ as:
“‘Innovator Founder’ means a person who has, or had, permission under Appendix Innovator Founder, or as an Innovator under Appendix Innovator of the rules in force before 13 April 2023 or under Appendix W of the rules in force before 1 December 2020.”
Therefore, time spent in the UK as an Innovator counts towards the settlement period as an Innovator Founder. Time spent in the Start-up route does not count towards the three-year Innovator Founder settlement period.
In order to be eligible for settlement, applicants will need to show that they have a valid settlement endorsement, and that the continuous residence requirement and the Knowledge of Life in the UK requirement are met. The settlement endorsement must also confirm:
- Significant achievements judged against the business plan assessed in the applicant’s previous endorsement;
- The business is registered with Companies House and the Applicant is listed as a member or director of the business;
- The business remains active and trading;
- The business is sustainable for at least 12 months, based on its assets and expected income, weighed against its current and planned expenses; and
- That the business venture has met at least two of the Innovator Founder settlement success criteria.
11. Contact Our Immigration Barristers for Innovator Founder Visa Advice
For expert advice and assistance with an Innovator Founder visa application, endorsement issue or settlement application, contact Richmond Chambers’ immigration barristers in London on 0203 617 9173 or via our enquiry form.
12. Frequently Asked Questions: UK Innovator Founder Visa
Do Innovator Founder visa applicants need endorsement?
Yes. Innovator Founder Visa applicants must obtain endorsement from an approved Endorsing Body or, where permitted by the Immigration Rules, a Legacy Endorsing Body.
How recent must an Innovator Founder endorsement letter be?
A current Innovator Founder application must be supported by an endorsement letter issued no more than three months before the date of application, and the endorsement must not have been withdrawn.
Does an Innovator Founder business plan need to be innovative, viable and scalable?
Yes. Where an applicant is applying under the new business criteria, they must show that their business plan is innovative, viable and scalable.
Do Innovator Founder visa applicants need at least £50,000 to invest?
No. The previous mandatory initial application requirement for Innovators to show access to at least £50,000 has been removed, although applicants may still need to show sufficient funds to establish their business.
Can Innovator Founder visa holders work outside their business?
Yes. Innovator Founders can take up secondary employment, provided that the employed role requires a skill level of not less than RQF Level 3, equivalent to A-levels.
What English language level is required for the Innovator Founder visa?
Innovator Founder Visa applicants must meet the English language requirement at CEFR level B2 in reading, writing, speaking and listening.
What financial requirement applies to Innovator Founder visa applicants?
Applicants must show that they have either been in the UK with permission for 12 months or longer on the date of application, or that they have held at least £1,270 for a 28-day period as set out in Appendix Finance.
Can Innovator Founder visa holders apply for settlement in the UK?
Yes. The Innovator Founder Visa route is a route to settlement. Applicants can apply once they have completed at least three years in the UK with permission as an Innovator Founder.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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