Amendments introduced in the UK Innovator Founder Visa:

• The new UK Innovator Founder Visa aims to make the eligibility criteria more flexible so that those with a genuine proposal for an innovative business and who have sufficient funds to deliver it, are more readily available to enter the UK and establish their business.
• The new Innovator Founder Visa NO longer has the £50,000 funds requirement
  Applicants will NO longer have to demonstrate that they have a funding amount worth £50,000 in their bank account
• Applicants will be permitted to extend their visa under the UK Innovator Founder Visa
  Settlement in the UK might be possible after spending 3 continuous years residing in the UK under the Innovator Founder Visa

Overview of the UK Innovator Founder Visa

• As suggested by the name, this visa category aims to facilitate innovators, in any given industry, to establish a business in the UK – which is generally something that’s different from anything else on the market
• The business or business idea must be endorsed by an endorsing body that is on the Home Office list and the applicants must meet other eligibility criteria
• There can be more than one innovator in a team and everyone can be eligible to apply for this visa
  The business or business idea must be innovative, scalable, and viable
• This visa offers a pathway to accelerated settlement after 3 years
  Applicants can be joined by their dependents (spouse and children below the age of 18 years)

To know the Innovator Founder Visa properly and help you make a right decision, you need to understand the following:

What are the benefits of having an Innovator Founder Visa UK?

UK Innovator Founder Visa is a great option for obtaining UK citizenship if you have a unique innovative business or business idea that is innovative, viable, and scalable. Key benefits include:

• Less investment
• Pathway to accelerated settlement
• Opportunity to set up and grow a business with support from an endorsing body
• Can have more than 2 members in the innovator entrepreneurial team
• Quick processing time
• Allows dependents to join main applicant

What are the eligibility requirements for the UK Innovator Founder Visa?

To be eligible to apply for UK Innovator Founder Visa the applicant will:

• Require endorsement of the business or business idea from a UK endorsing body on the Home Office list
• Meet the English language requirement
• Have enough personal savings to support your stay in the UK – known as ‘maintenance funds requirement’

What is the UK Innovator Founder Visa endorsement?

Under the UK Innovator Founder Visa, an endorsement is a written approval given by a Home Office authorized body who is satisfied that you have a viable, innovative and scalable idea and the business experience and funds to support the same. Every endorsement has a unique reference number and details of the applicant along with the brief of the business venture they intend to do.

What are the documents required for a UK Innovator Founder Visa while applying?

Typically, applicants applying for this visa will be required to provide documents evidencing:

• Valid passport confirming the applicant’s identity and nationality.
• Endorsement letter from an endorsing body from the Home Office list
• Meeting English language requirements
• Availability of investment funds
• Meeting maintenance funds requirement e.g. Bank statement
• TB test result (where this is a requirement)

Additional documents may be required depending on the specific circumstances.

What is the ‘Knowledge of English Requirement’ for a UK Innovator Founder Visa?

Applicants who are required to meet the English language requirement must prove that they can read, write, speak and understand English to a level B2 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) scale. This requirement can be met by:

• passing Secure English Language Test (SELT) from an approved provider
• have an academic qualification from the UK, e.g. Bachelor degree or higher
• have studied in UK school below the age of 18 for GCSE, A level, Scottish National Qualification level 4 or 5, Scottish Higher or Advanced Higher in English
• having a degree-level academic qualification that was taught in English from outside the UK and having confirmation through UK NARIC that the qualification is equivalent to a UK bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or PhD

Despite this being a fairly new category of visa, we have studied the complete requirements, the basic of which are that:

• The founder/innovator applying under this category be from outside the EEA and Switzerland (the purpose must be to set up a business in the UK)
• The founder/innovator meets the other eligibility requirements as specified for this category.
• You may also be able to form an innovator team with other innovators

Applying for a UK visa under the Innovator category is a two stage process.

• Obtaining an endorsement from ‘Endorsing bodies’
• Applying for entry clearance as an innovator

An applicant would require an endorsement from the Home Office authorised endorsing body. Once the applicant is granted an endorsement letter, he can thereafter apply for an entry clearance application.

Applying for a UK visa under the Innovator category is a two stage process.

• Obtaining an endorsement from ‘Endorsing bodies’
• Applying for entry clearance as an innovator

How to apply for an Innovator Founder Visa UK from outside the UK?

The applicant would be required to complete an online application form post receiving an endorsement letter from an authorized endorsing body and submit the same at the local VFS centre along with their biometrics and supporting documents.

How to join an existing business as an Innovator Founder Visa UK holder?

An applicant can establish a new business in the UK. An innovative visa holder cannot join any existing business in the UK and in fact would require his own business idea to set up his own venture in the UK.

An applicant can continue their same business if they have been last granted permission to stay in the UK on the old/now closed down visa categories – Innovator Visa or Start-up Visa or Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur Visa and the applicant has been endorsed based on a business that was assessed by an endorsing body either for their previous endorsement or at a contact point meeting during their last period of permission.

How much maintenance funds are required for an Innovator Founder Visa UK?

• Applicants need to show £1,270 in savings in their bank account for 28 consecutive days before applying for the visa – this is the maintenance funds required to support your stay in the UK
• There are additional maintenance funds required to bring your dependent partner & children to the UK along with you
• You, your partner, or your child will require the following in addition to the £1,270
  • for your partner, £285
  • for one child, £315
  • £200 for every extra child

How to prove your identity for a UK Innovator Founder Visa?

Applicants will require a valid Passport to confirm their identity and nationality.

How to bring your partner & children with you as your ‘dependants’ on an Innovator Founder Visa UK?

The Innovator Founder Visa allows partners and children until the age of 18 to accompany the main applicant under the said visa category. The dependents would have to establish their relationship with the main applicant, along with demonstrating they have adequate maintenance funds to support them in the UK without recourse to public funds.

How long can you stay on the Innovator Founder Visa UK?

The permission for leave to enter under the Innovator Founder Visa category is granted for 3 years.

After 12 months and 24 months, you will need to meet with your endorsing body to demonstrate that your business is progressing. If your endorsement is revoked by the endorsing body, your visa may expire. Before your existing visa expires, you must reapply with a fresh endorsement if you want to stay longer.

How much does a UK Innovator Founder Visa application cost?

You are required to pay £1,036 as the visa application fees, plus the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) of £624 for each year granted to you on your UK Innovator Founder Visa

How to extend the UK Innovator Founder Visa?

If both of the following are true, you can submit an application to extend your Innovator Founder Visa:

• You meet the eligibility criteria for this visa
• You are currently operating a business in the UK or wish to start a new one

How to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) under the UK Innovator Founder Visa route?

• An applicant can apply for an Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) from within the UK. However, they are required to comply with the eligibility criteria
• Settlement in the UK might be possible after spending 3 continuous years residing in the UK under the Innovator Founder Visa
• You must not have combined absences from the UK exceeding 180 days in any consecutive 12-month period

How to apply to switch to an Innovator Founder Visa UK?

An applicant can apply for a switch only from within the UK, if they were not in the following categories on their last grant of permission:

• Visitor
• Short-term student
• Parent of a Child Student
• Seasonal Worker
• Domestic worker in a private household
• Outside the Immigration Rules

The applicant is required to provide an endorsement letter confirming the business plan, provide evidence that they are proficient in the English language and have adequate maintenance funds to support themselves.

The applicant is required to submit an online application form and relevant documents along with biometrics submission at centres located in the UK.

If an application for UK Innovator Founder Visa is refused, the reasons would be cited in the notice of refusal.

Most common refusals are either on the ground of genuineness criteria where the assessing officer has concerns about the applicant’s role in creating and implementing the business plan or if there are reasons to refuse under the general grounds of refusal or suitability requirements are not met completely.

In the event of refusal, the applicant gets a right to request for an administrative review online within 28 days at no cost if you are outside the UK and in 14 days if you are in the UK and pay £80.

You can cite the administrative errors made by the assessing officer. The applicant can expect a response in 28 calendar days.