What Is UK Innovator Founder Visa?
A UK Innovator Founder visa has replaced two UK business visas: a UK Innovator visa and a UK Start-up visa.
This immigration route is designed for overseas entrepreneurs who plan to set up and run their businesses in the United Kingdom.
A UK Innovator Founder visa is ideal for the following applicants:
- Business people with an innovative business idea who want to set up a UK company.
- Experienced entrepreneurs who have been running a business outside the United Kingdom for many years and wish to expand it to the UK.
Your business idea must be innovative. An endorsing body must confirm this as well as the viability and scalability of your business venture.
You can establish a company in the UK either alone or with a business partner. To obtain a UK Innovator Founder visa, you must invest in a new business which means it is not allowed to invest in an existing one.
A UK Innovator Founder visa allows you to apply for an Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) and UK citizenship. Once your business idea is endorsed, all you have to do is establish your business, take an active part in its development in the UK and other markets, ensure its growth, increase profits, and create jobs. It is crucial to follow your initial roadmap and meet the targets you declared in your first application for a UK Innovator Founder visa.
You will be eligible for a UK Innovator Founder visa if:
- Your business idea is innovative. In other words, you are going to produce, supply, or sell in the UK something considerably different from existing products;
- Your business idea is endorsed by a relevant body;
- As a potential innovator founder, you meet all the requirements;
- You can prove to an endorsing body that you have enough funds to implement your business idea, and they are legally sourced.
Advantages of UK Innovator Founder Visa
A UK Innovator Founder visa will give you access to the booming UK market. It is your chance to increase the number of customers worldwide, generate high profits, and contribute to the local economy by creating jobs. An initial visa is issued for three years and can be extended any number of times, and every time you can set up a new company. You can also apply for an Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), also called settlement, if you have stayed in the country for three years and achieved your targets.
What Can I Do On UK Innovator Founder Visa?
- Set up one or several businesses.
- Work to develop your UK business by being employed as a director, or self-employed as a partner in a business partnership.
- Work for another company if your occupation is from the eligible occupations list for the UK Skilled Worker visa or requires at least a level 3 qualification.
- Bring your spouse and children to the UK.
- Travel abroad and return to the UK without any restrictions.
- Apply for UK ILR in three years, provided your business has been developing ahead of plan.
Apart from this impressively wide range of opportunities you will have in the UK as an innovator founder, there are other advantages for the applicant and their family:
- As an innovator founder, you can relocate to a welcoming and safe European country with a stable political system and well-developed economy.
- The entire family will have access to the UK healthcare system with its cutting-edge technologies.
- Your children will be eligible to apply to universities and other educational institutions, which is a perfect way to ensure their future.
What Can I Not Do On UK Innovator Founder Visa?
- Work as a sports coach or a professional sportsperson, because there is a special visa category for this.
- Apply for public benefits.
- Start a business in UK
- Bring your family to the UK
- Get British Passport
Requirements For UK Innovator Founder Visa
All the requirements imposed by the Home Office can be divided into two categories: those concerning an applicant and those concerning their UK business.
The application process for a UK Innovator Founder visa consists of two stages:
- Getting an endorsement. You need to prepare the documents, develop a business plan, submit your application to an endorsing body, and pay an application fee. This stage takes two to three weeks.
- Applying for a UK Innovator Founder visa with an endorsement letter. Without an endorsement, it is impossible to apply for this immigration route.
Requirements For UK Innovator Founder Visa Applicants
Apart from the relevant education and experience in running a business, applicants must fulfil the following criteria:
- Be at least 18 years old;
- Have an endorsed business idea;
- Draft a valid business plan;
- Hold enough funds to invest in the business;
- Be able to support themselves and their dependants;
- Speak English to at the B2 level;
- Be of good health;
- Have clean criminal and immigration records.
Requirements For Businesses
1. Endorsement letter
Before applying for a UK Innovator Founder visa, you need to have your business idea endorsed by one of the relevant bodies authorised by the UK Home Office to evaluate the ideas of foreign entrepreneurs. There is an updated list of endorsing bodies on the official government website. Note that your endorsement letter must be issued not more than three months before you apply for a UK Innovator Founder visa.
To make the right choice, you must do your research or get the support of experienced immigration advisors. Imperial & Legal can help you choose an endorsing body, draft a business plan for your future company, and get an endorsement letter.
You have a very good chance of getting a UK Innovator Founder visa if your business idea meets the following criteria:
- New – You are not allowed to invest in an existing UK company.
- Innovative –It is all in the name; you cannot copy anything that already exists on the UK market. You must be able to offer a truly unique product or service that targets new or existing customers. And, of course, you must demonstrate your competitive advantage.
- Viable – You must show that you will be able to develop your idea into a real business that is robust and future-proof. To do this, you will need a relevant skill set, qualifications, and experience, combined with profound knowledge and a great understanding of the current market.
- Scalable – Your business must have growth potential. While it is developing, you must never stand still. Your business must be able to create jobs and expand both in the UK market and abroad.
2. Investment
You need to prove to your endorser authorised by the Home Office that you have enough funds to invest in your UKbusiness. Your funds will be evaluated against two criteria:
- Is the money legally sourced?
- How much money have you already spent or plan to spend on the development of your UK business?
You do not need to invest anything if:
- Your UK business is already established, and you are switching to the UK Innovator Founder visa from another visa category, for example, the UK Start-up, UK Innovator, or UK Graduate Entrepreneur visa routes, all of which have been closed.
- You have introduced innovations into your existing business and already have the approval of a relevant British endorsing body.
How To Apply For UK Innovator Founder Visa?
There are three ways to apply for a UK Innovator Founder visa:
- From outside the UK, followed by relocation to the country;
- From inside the UK, if you are switching from a different visa category;
- From inside the UK, if you are extending your current UK Innovator Founder visa.
The majority of overseas entrepreneurs apply for a UK Innovator Founder visa online from their home country using a special electronic form. However, to have your application approved, you will have to submit supporting documents and go to a visa application centre in person to have your fingerprints and photo taken for your biometric residence permit.
Documents Required To Apply For UK Innovator Founder Visa
- An endorsement letter proving that an endorsing body has approved your business idea;
- A valid passport with a blank page for your visa;
- A bank statement showing you have had at least £1,270 in savings in your bank account for at least 28 consecutive days before you apply; these are required to support you after you relocate;
- Proof that you can read, write, speak and understand English to level B2. As a rule, an applicant has to pass a special English language test or prove that they have a degree-level academic qualification that was taught in English at a university recognised in the UK;
- Proof that you have enough investment funds to set up a new business;
- A negative tuberculosis test results (for nationals of some countries).
All the documents mentioned must be in English or accompanied by a certified translation.
How Much Investment Is Required To Get UK Innovator Founder Visa?
To get your UK Innovator Founder visa, you will have to pay an application fee upon submission of the application, and the healthcare surcharge. The sum you pay before application depends on whether you apply for a UK Innovator Founder visa from within or outside the UK:
- If you apply from outside the UK for the first time, you and your family members will have to pay £1,036 per person;
- If you apply from within the UK (extending your current UK Innovator Founder visa or switching from another category), you and your family members will have to pay £1,292 per person.
The immigration healthcare surcharge depends on how long you are going to stay in the UK and the number of dependants: you will have to pay £624 per person per year.
To calculate precisely how much you will have to pay to apply for a UK Innovator Founder visa, get in touch with Imperial & Legal’s immigration advisors. Reliable legal assistance in this process is crucial because if your visa is refused, you will not get your money back.
How Long Does It Take Еo Get UK Innovator Founder Visa?
First of all, you need to get an endorsement of your business idea which usually takes from two to three weeks. Then, once you receive your endorsement letter and fulfil other requirements of the Home Office, to get your UK Innovator Founder visa, you will have to wait:
- Up to three weeks, if you applied from outside the UK.
- Up to eight weeks, if you applied from within the UK.
You can pay for the priority (collection within five working days) or super priority (next-day collection) visa service if the standard processing time does not work for you for some reason. If you apply for a UK Innovator Founder visa from within the UK, you will have to pay £500 for the priority service and £800 for the super priority service. The cost and availability of the services outside the UK depend on the country you apply from and whether there are visa centres in that country.
Validity and Extension of UK Innovator Founder Visa
A UK Innovator Founder visa gives you the right to stay in the UK, run a business, and be employed as a skilled worker (occupation from the Skilled Worker eligible occupation list or requiring at least a level 3 qualification) for up to three years. If for any reason, your endorsement letter has been withdrawn, you must get an endorsement letter from another approved body or leave the UK.
If three years later you still meet all the requirements, you can apply to extend your stay for another three years. Your dependants must apply for their residence permit extension together with you.
There is no limit on the number of times you can extend your UK Innovator Founder visa, but the majority of foreign nationals prefer to apply for ILR as soon as they are eligible to do so. If your business shows an outstanding growth rate, you will have the right to apply for ILR once you have been in the UK for three years.
Applying For Indefinite Leave To Remain
You can apply for ILR three years after the first entry on a UK Innovator Founder visa. Your application will have to be supported by your endorsing body. A foreign entrepreneur must submit a report to an endorsing body showcasing the development of their company after 12 and 24 months of the company’s being operational. If the Innovator Founder’s business meets two out of seven criteria, the approved body will issue an endorsement letter giving them the right to apply for ILR.
Endorsement Criteria
- In the last three years, you have spent at least £50,000 on developing the business;
- Your company is involved in science and technology research which resulted in patents (patent applications);
- You have doubled the number of customers in three years of operation of your company, and this number is higher than the average for similar businesses;
- You have made £500,000 in revenue in the last full year covered by accounts, with £100,000 of this from overseas exports;
- You have made at least £1 million in revenue in the last full year covered by accounts;
- You have created at least 10 jobs for UK citizens and settled people;
- You have created at least five jobs for UK citizens with a gross salary of £25,000 a year.
Other Criteria for ILR
- You have spent less than 180 days outside the UK in any 12 months since your first arrival to the UK on a UK Innovator Founder visa.
- If you are over 18 years old, you must pass a B2 level English language test as well as the Life in the UK test.
Your spouse, children under 18, and even children over 18, provided they came of age while staying in the UK, can apply for ILR with you.
UK Citizenship and British Passport
Your family members and you can apply for UK citizenship in 12 months after ILR is granted provided you have stayed in the UK for at least five years. It usually takes 4–6 weeks to get a decision on your application. All the applicants must meet the following criteria:
- In the five years before applying for citizenship, you have not spent more than 450 days outside the UK and more than 90 days in the last year;
- You must have clean criminal and immigration records;
- You must speak fluent English;
- You have passed the Life in the UK test.
Applying For UK Innovator Founder Visa With Imperial & Legal
Our immigration advisors have been successfully helping future British entrepreneurs for years. Legal support from Imperial & Legal will save you time and money, and our experienced immigration advisors will do their best to make sure you get your UK Innovator Founder visa. With Imperial & Legal, you are only four simple steps away from your UK Innovator Founder visa.