Innovator Founder Visa Guidance 2025

Apply for an Innovator Founder visa if you’ve been endorsed for a business idea. Learn more about eligibility, documents, extending or switching, bringing your family.

The Innovator Founder Visa is the UK’s premier route for experienced entrepreneurs wanting to establish an innovative business in the UK. Replacing the older Innovator visa, this route is designed for founders with ambitious, scalable, and original business ideas.

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Table of Contents

What Is the Innovator Founder Visa?

• It’s a business visa for individuals who wish to set up or run an innovative business in the UK.
• The business must be endorsed by a Home Office-approved endorsing body.
• Once granted, visa holders can: run one or more businesses, be employed by their own business, bring dependants (partner/children), travel in and out of the UK, and after a period, apply for settlement (indefinite leave to remain).

Who is eligible for innovator founder visa?

You can only apply for the Innovator Founder visa once your business has been endorsed by a Home Office-authorised endorsing body. Although there is no fixed minimum investment requirement, you need to show that you have sufficient lawful funds to establish and operate the business in line with your endorsed plan.

Why Choose the UK Innovator Founder Visa?

• No job offer/sponsor needed: Unlike many work visas, this route is specifically for business founders.
• Potential for settlement: After 3 years, you may be eligible for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) if you meet certain criteria.
• Scalability: The visa supports businesses that are not just viable, but scalable — meaning growth, job creation, and potentially global expansion.
• Support from endorsing bodies: These agencies evaluate your business idea and provide mentorship, checkpoints, and oversight.

Key Eligibility Criteria (2025)

Here are the main requirements you must satisfy to apply:

1. Endorsement
   • You need a letter from a Home Office–approved endorsing body known as innovator founder visa endorsement.
   • The endorsing body must assess your business on innovation, viability, and scalability.
   • The endorsement letter must:
     • Be issued within 3 months of visa application.
     • Confirm you are a fit and proper person. Endorsing body must perform due diligence.
     • Confirm legitimacy of your funds / source of investment.
2. Business Criteria (Points-based)
   • Under the “New Business” route: you need 70 points in total.
   • Breakdown (some of the main ones):
     • Business plan = 30 points.
     • Innovative, viable & scalable business = 20 points.
     • English language (mandatory) = 10 points.
     • Financial requirement = 10 points.
   • If you apply through “same business” (i.e., you already hold an Innovator Founder / Innovator / Start-up visa and continue with the same business), the scoring is slightly different.
3. Genuine Founder Requirement
   • You must play a key role in day-to-day management and development of the business.
   • You must have a genuine, original business idea.
4. Business Plan Requirements
   • Must have a business plan that you significantly contributed to.
   • You need to commit to at least two contact-point meetings with your endorsing body (usually at 12 and 24 months).
   • You must be either the sole founder or a core founding team member.
5. Innovation, Viability & Scalability
   • Innovative: Your idea should be new or different to the market.
   • Viable: Realistic business model, backed by your skills, experience, and resources.
   • Scalable: Evidence of structured planning, job creation potential, and growth (national or international).
6. English Requirement
   • Must meet at least CEFR B2 in reading, writing, listening, speaking.
7. Financial Requirement (Maintenance Funds)
   • If applying from outside UK or if you’ve been in UK < 12 months: you must have at least £1,270 in your bank account for 28 consecutive days before applying.
   • For dependants: additional minimum funds apply (e.g., partner, children).
8. Suitability
   • You must not breach immigration laws.
   • Endorsement bodies must check “fit and proper” status (criminal, sanctions, source of wealth).

Application Process (Step-by-Step)

• Develop Your Business Plan
  • Write a strong, original, scalable business plan.
  • Highlight innovation, growth potential, job creation, and strategy.
• Choose & Approach an Endorsing Body
  • Research Home Office–approved endorsing bodies.
  • Submit your business plan, pitch, team details, funding info.
• Get Endorsement
  • If the endorsing body is satisfied, they issue an endorsement letter.
  • This letter must include specific data (name, passport number, content verifying business plan) per Immigration Rules.
• Prepare Visa Application
  • Complete the Innovator Founder visa application form.
  • Provide financial evidence (bank statements, proof of £1,270)
  • Show English language certificate.
  • Submit biometrics, proof of identity, endorsement letter.
  • Pay fees: visa fee + healthcare surcharge + endorsing body fees.
• Checkpoint Meetings
  • After visa approval, you’ll have 2 contact-point (checkpoint) meetings with your endorsing body (usually at ~12 and ~24 months).
  • At checkpoints, you’ll need to demonstrate progress: growth, customers, revenue, employment, etc.
• Extension or Settlement
  • After 3 years, you may apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR).
  • For ILR endorsement, your endorsing body must confirm your business is active, trading, sustainable.
  • Settlement endorsement requires meeting at least two success criteria (e.g., job creation, investment, revenue).
  • ILR application must be submitted within 3 months of getting the settlement endorsement.

Common Pitfalls & Tips

• Weak Business Plan: If your plan isn’t credible, “innovative”, or scalable, endorsing bodies may reject.
• Insufficient Funds: Make sure you maintain the minimum bank balance for the required 28 days before applying.
• Poor Evidence of Innovation: Use market research, competitor analysis, and projections to show originality.
• Lack of Founders’ Commitment: Be clear about your role, how often you interact with the endorsing body, and how you plan to drive the business.
• Checkpoint Risk: Failure to meet the milestones at 12/24 months could jeopardise your extension or settlement.
• ILR Timing: Be ready ahead of time. ILR has strict requirements—both in terms of business success and physical residence.
• Choose the Right Endorsing Body: Different bodies have different sector focus, experience, and processes. Do your research.

Innovator founder visa fees

How much you pay for an application depends on where you apply from.

It costs £1,274 per person if you apply outside the UK. It costs £1,590 per person if you apply to extend or switch your visa in the UK.

Recent Updates / 2025-Specific Notes

• The Innovator Founder visa replaced the older Innovator visa — so make sure you’re applying under the current rules.
• According to GOV.UK, endorsement must be no more than 3 months old at the time of visa application.
• The endorsing bodies have detailed guidance on how to monitor and assess business progress over time.
• For ILR, one of the key settlement criteria is job creation: e.g., creating 10 full-time jobs, or 5 with salary ≥ £25,000.
• Financial and due diligence checks by endorsing bodies are rigorous — they must verify the legitimacy of funds and source of wealth. GOV.UK

Who Is This Visa For?

• Serial entrepreneurs with business experience.
• Founders of innovative startups (tech, biotech, social enterprises) looking to scale in the UK or globally.
• Businesspeople who want to relocate to UK indefinitely (via ILR) through business success.
• Teams / co-founders: multiple founders can apply, but each needs their own endorsement. GOV.UK

How to Maximize Your Chances

1. Build a Strong, Thought-Through Business Plan
   • Clearly articulate what makes your idea innovative.
   • Show market opportunity, potential growth, and how you plan to scale.
2. Show Evidence of Commitment
   • Your role (founder) must be meaningful.
   • Prepare to commit time and resources.
3. Secure Credible Funding
   • Whether from personal savings, angel investors, grants — make sure it’s well documented.
   • Be ready to demonstrate source of funds to both endorsing body and Home Office.
4. Choose the Right Endorser
   • Research endorsing bodies to find one aligned with your sector, and with a good track record.
   • Prepare for their due diligence (financial, legal).
5. Prepare for Checkpoints
   • Set realistic KPIs (Key Performance Indicators).
   • Develop a monitoring plan aligned with endorsing body requirements.
   • Keep clear records of growth, jobs created, sales, investment.
6. Plan for ILR Early
   • Think about which “success criteria” you’ll aim to meet for settlement (jobs, revenue, investment, or other).
   • Keep track of your time in the UK — you need continuous residence.

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