| Who it is for | Founders with a new, innovative, viable and scalable business idea |
| Gateway | Endorsement from an approved endorsing body |
| Visa fee | £1,357 from outside the UK, £1,693 inside the UK |
| Endorsement | £1,000, plus £500 for each checkpoint meeting |
| Length | 3 years, extendable by 3 years at a time with no overall limit |
| Settlement | possible after 3 years |
What the Home Office means by innovative
Your business has to tick four boxes. It must be new: you cannot join a business that is already trading. It must be innovative, meaning different from what is already on the market. It must be viable, with room to grow. And it must be scalable, with a credible plan for jobs and for national and international markets.
The Home Office does not judge that alone. An approved endorsing body reviews your business plan, your funding and you as a founder, and issues an endorsement letter. GOV.UK sets no fixed minimum investment for a new business, but you do have to show the endorsing body that you have enough money and where it comes from.
If you run an established company and want to bring it to the UK, this is usually the wrong door. That case is what the UK Expansion Worker is for. The Innovator Founder route is for a genuinely new venture.
English, savings and a side job
You need English at level B2, shown through an approved test or a degree taught in English. You also need £1,270 in your account for at least 28 days in a row, separate from the money you are putting into the business.
Alongside your own business you may work in jobs that require at least an RQF level 3 qualification. That is a real improvement on the older founder visas and helps while the business finds its feet.
From business plan to settlement
- 1
Business plan and funding
The plan, the numbers, where the money comes from, the company form. This is where our work starts, because structure and tax shape the plan.
- 2
Endorsement
Apply to an approved endorsing body. The fee is £1,000.
- 3
Visa application
Online, with the endorsement letter, proof of English and bank statements. The fee is £1,357 from outside the UK, plus the Immigration Health Surcharge.
- 4
Checkpoint meetings
After 12 and 24 months you meet the endorsing body, £500 per meeting. If it withdraws the endorsement, your visa can be cut short.
- 5
Settlement after 3 years
Indefinite leave to remain, once the business meets two of the success criteria and an endorsing body confirms it.
Success criteria for settlement
For indefinite leave to remain your business has to meet at least two criteria. A selection from the GOV.UK list:
| Criterion | Threshold |
|---|---|
| Investment | £50,000 invested and spent on developing the business |
| Revenue | £1 million in the last full financial year |
| Revenue with exports | £500,000, of which £100,000 from exports |
| Jobs | 5 full-time jobs, filled for 12 months, average salary £25,000 |
| Customers | Customer base doubled within 3 years and above the average of comparable businesses |
GOV.UK, Indefinite leave to remain with an Innovator Founder visa
Settlement after three years, and what may change
Today you can apply for indefinite leave to remain after 3 years on the Innovator Founder visa. The Life in the UK Test applies, and so does the limit of 180 days outside the UK in any 12-month period. From 26 March 2027 the Home Office will require English at B2 for settlement on this route.
Under the government's earned settlement proposal, Innovator Founders would keep their fast track: a reduction of up to seven years would apply after three years. That is a proposal, not yet a rule. Where it stands is on our earned settlement page.
Company, tax and residence
The visa is tied to a business, and the business needs a legal form, usually a private limited company. Our UK Company Setup covers the formation. Just as important is what happens to your income and assets back home once you move to the UK. The FIG regime is the place to start.
What the visa lets you do
You work for your own business, including as an employed director or as a member of a partnership. Jobs that need at least an RQF level 3 qualification are allowed on the side. Your partner and children can join you as dependants. You can switch into Innovator Founder from many other visas without leaving the UK, which helps if you are already here on a work visa and now want to start something of your own.
What you cannot do is join a business that is already running and present it as your new idea. The endorsing body checks that the idea is new, and at the checkpoint meetings it checks that you are actually building it.
Where applications usually fall down
Twenty years of working with founders heading for the UK point to the same weak spots:
- The idea is good but not new: a proven model from your home market, copied one to one into the UK.
- The plan shows no route to jobs and markets beyond the first city.
- The source of funds is not cleanly documented, or business funds and personal savings are mixed up.
- The company form and its tax residence have not been thought through, and the plan later contradicts reality.
- The checkpoints at 12 and 24 months are underestimated. Without measurable progress the endorsement is at risk.
Sources: GOV.UK: Innovator Founder visa; GOV.UK: Indefinite leave to remain with an Innovator Founder visa; GOV.UK: Statement of changes HC 1691, explanatory memorandum; GOV.UK: Earned settlement (consultation); GOV.UK: Pay for UK healthcare as part of your immigration application
