Key points at a glance
- At Reeds Solicitors LLP, our Immigration Law team can advise and represent you on Innovator Founder visa applications, from endorsement through to settlement.
- We can assess your eligibility, help you prepare a strong business plan for endorsement, and manage your application from start to finish.
- Our Immigration Solicitors are ranked highly in the Legal 500 2026 and Chambers and Partners 2026.
The Innovator Founder visa is the UK’s main route for entrepreneurs who want to set up and run an innovative business here. It replaced the earlier Innovator and Start-up visas, combining them into a single route that is open to both first-time founders and more experienced businesspeople. It’s one of the more attractive UK visa routes for founders, since it leads directly to settlement after three years and allows the visa holder to work on their business full time, without the salary or sponsorship requirements attached to work visas like the Skilled Worker route.
The trade-off is the application is not simply a paperwork exercise. Before you can apply for the visa itself, your business idea needs to be assessed and endorsed by an approved endorsing body, which will look closely at whether the idea is genuinely new, innovative, viable, and scalable. Getting this stage right is often the hardest part of the process, and it is where good advice makes the biggest difference.
Who can apply for an Innovator Founder visa?
You can apply for an Innovator Founder visa if you want to establish, take over, or play a significant role in the running of an innovative, viable, and scalable business in the UK, and your business idea has been endorsed by an approved endorsing body. There is no set minimum investment amount required under this route, unlike the previous Innovator visa, though you will need to show you have enough personal funds to support yourself.
You must be 18 or over at the time of application. You also need to meet an English language requirement at B2 level on the CEFR, either through a recognised test, a degree taught in English, or nationality from a majority English-speaking country.
You need to show you have at least £1,270 in personal savings, held for a consecutive 28-day period ending no more than 31 days before you apply, unless you are switching from certain other visa categories in the UK.
The endorsement process
Before applying for the visa, you must have your business idea endorsed by a Home Office approved endorsing body. Endorsing bodies are typically business organisations, investment funds, and university bodies with expertise in assessing new ventures. The endorsement stage assesses whether your business idea is new (you cannot join a business that is already trading), innovative (an original idea that differs from anything else on the market), viable (with a realistic prospect of success, supported by the skills and market knowledge of the founder), and scalable (with evidence of planning for job creation and growth into national and international markets).
The endorsing body will review your business plan and may interview you before deciding whether to endorse your application. There is a fee of £1,000 payable directly to the endorsing body for this service, and once endorsed, applicants must also pay £500 to the endorsing body at each of the mandatory contact points during their visa period. This means demonstrating ongoing progress against your original business plan.
If your endorsement application is unsuccessful, you can seek endorsement from a different body, but you should take the reasons for refusal seriously, as they often point to weaknesses in the underlying business case that need to be addressed.
Visa duration and route to settlement
The Innovator Founder visa is granted for three years at a time. Unlike most other work visa routes, it allows a direct route to Indefinite Leave to Remain after three years of continuous residence, rather than the five years required on most work routes.
To qualify for settlement, you will generally need to demonstrate ongoing engagement with your business, evidence of business growth against your original plan, and continued endorsement or confirmation from your endorsing body that you have met the requirements of the route. You will also need to meet the standard residence, English language, and good character requirements that apply to most settlement applications.
Visa holders can bring their partner and any children under 18 as dependents.
Application fees
The Home Office application fee for an Innovator Founder visa is £1,357 if you are applying from outside the UK, or £1,693 if you are applying to switch into the category from within the UK. In addition, you’ll need to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge, which is £1,035 per year of your visa, meaning £3,105 for the standard three-year grant.
These fees are on top of the £1,000 initial endorsement fee and the £500 fee due at each mandatory contact point, both payable directly to your endorsing body rather than the Home Office.
Contact:
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How Reeds Solicitors Can Help
The most common reason Innovator Founder applications fail is not the visa application itself, but the endorsement stage. Endorsing bodies see many applications and are looking for genuine evidence that a business idea is new, well thought through, and capable of growth. A weak or generic business plan is unlikely to succeed, however good the underlying idea might be.
At Reeds Solicitors, we work with you to present your business idea in the strongest possible light before approaching an endorsing body, and then manage the visa application itself once endorsement has been secured.
We assess whether the Innovator Founder route is right for your circumstances, including whether your business idea and your personal position meet the underlying requirements of the route.
We advise on how to present your business idea to meet the innovative, viable, and scalable criteria that endorsing bodies apply, and help you prepare a business plan that addresses these criteria clearly. We can also advise on selecting the right endorsing body for your sector and business stage.
Once your endorsement is secured, we prepare the visa application itself, including the financial evidence, English language evidence, and all supporting documentation, and manage the submission process.
We advise on the requirements at each mandatory contact point with your endorsing body during the three-year visa period, helping you demonstrate the progress needed to maintain your endorsement and protect your route to settlement.
When you approach the end of your three-year visa, we advise on and prepare your application for Indefinite Leave to Remain, including gathering the evidence of business progress that the Home Office will expect to see.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Innovator Founder visa is a UK visa route for people who want to set up, take over, or play a significant role in running an innovative, viable, and scalable business in the UK. It replaced the earlier Innovator and Start-up visa categories and is open to both first-time and experienced entrepreneurs.
No. Unlike the earlier Innovator visa, there is no set minimum investment requirement for the Innovator Founder visa. However, you do need to show you have at least £1,270 in personal savings to support yourself, and your business plan needs to demonstrate a credible and viable path to growth.
An endorsing body assesses whether your business idea is new (not an existing trading business), innovative (an original idea distinct from what is already on the market), viable (realistic, supported by relevant skills and market knowledge), and scalable (with evidence of planning for job creation and growth into national and international markets).
The Home Office application fee is £1,357 from outside the UK or £1,693 to switch from within the UK. The Immigration Health Surcharge is £1,035 per year, totaling £3,105 for the standard three-year visa. You will also pay £1,000 to your endorsing body for the initial endorsement and £500 at each mandatory contact point.
The visa is granted for three years. It leads directly to Indefinite Leave to Remain after three years of continuous residence, provided the relevant requirements are met, which is a shorter qualifying period than most other work visa routes.
If you are not yet eligible for settlement after three years, you can apply to extend your Innovator Founder visa, provided you continue to meet the requirements of the route and obtain a fresh endorsement. There is no limit on the number of extensions available.
Yes. Your partner and any children under the age of 18 can apply as your dependents.
You can apply to a different endorsing body if your first application is unsuccessful. It’s worth carefully considering the reasons for the refusal, as they may point to weaknesses in the business plan itself that should be addressed before making a further attempt.
You need to demonstrate English language ability at B2 level on the CEFR, which can be shown through an approved test, a degree taught in English, or nationality from a majority English-speaking country.
The Innovator Founder route is available both to applicants overseas and to many individuals already in the UK under another immigration category. Subject to meeting the relevant requirements, it may be possible to switch into the Innovator Founder route from within the UK rather than applying from abroad.
Building a successful Innovator Founder application starts well before the visa form itself, with a business plan that can withstand scrutiny from an endorsing body. Our immigration team at Reeds Solicitors supports founders through the whole process, from endorsement to settlement.
You can contact us through the Reeds Solicitors contact page on our website, by calling 0333 240 7373, or by emailing [email protected].
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