The Home Office introduced the ‘Start-up visa UK’ effective from April 2019. In several respects, the start-up visa replaces the Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur visa.  The Start-up visa category is best suited for prospective entrepreneurs with no previous business experience. Applicants under this route do not require any funds to invest in their business at this stage.

In other words, it is a one-time visa granted for 2 years to explore and develop your business in the UK. On top of everything, you can also support yourselves by taking up employment in addition to working on your business.

The one major aspect of this visa category is the UK Start-up Visa endorsing bodies. The   UK endorsing bodies are typical support units that provide nurturing to entrepreneurs to get their businesses up and running. Endorsing bodies include leading higher education institutions, incubators, accelerators, government agencies, and business development organizations. These UK endorsing bodies also assist to procure UK Innovator Visa, as these UK Innovator Endorsing bodies are gateways for setting up a business in the UK.

Interesting read – How to obtain UK innovator visa endorsement?

While evaluating an application for a UK Innovator Visa and Start-up visa in the UK, there are certain pointers that the endorsing bodies look at before making a decision. These are not fixed norms, but the evaluation is on a similar line. The questions that an endorsing body will look for an answer before making a decision would include –

• Whether the candidate possesses a genuine, original business plan that meets new or existing market needs and/or creates a competitive advantage?
• Whether the business offering has more worth than merely competing with similar local traders?
• Is the idea of bringing something new to the pre-existing business for UK/global business market?
• Does the applicant have, or are they actively developing, the necessary skills, knowledge, and experience and market awareness to run the business successfully?
• Whether the business incorporates a long-term plan?
• Is there evidence of market research?
• Whether there is a portrayal of evidence of structured planning and potential for job creation and growth into national markets?
• Does the business carry a potential for growth?

Applicants who were in Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) category before it closed may need to be endorsed for their second year in the Start-up category. If are the same endorsing body as in their previous Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) application, you do not need to confirm that their business idea meets the criteria above. Instead, your endorsement must confirm that they continue to have a genuine and credible business venture (as required under the previous category).

Applicants who have completed two years on the start-up visa can then apply for Innovator visa if they are eligible or switch to other visa routes that they may have eligibility for.

If you are interested in starting a business in the UK or would like to ascertain your eligibility to apply for start-up visa you can contact our UK Start-Up Visa Immigration experts on: