With the amendment of the Innovator Founder announced on April 13, 2023, entrepreneurs with a Start-up visa have become very confused if they want to switch their visa to an Innovator Founder. Find out what conditions are required to switch to the Innovator Founder visa.

General Requirement

• Applicant's age: 18 years of age or older as of the date of application
• Endorsement Letter: You must have an endorsement letter issued by an endorsing body.
• English requirements: CEFR level B2 (e.g. IELTS 5.5), which must be met in speaking, listening, reading and writing.
• Maintenance requirements: If you have been in the UK for less than 12 months, you must have at least £1,270 for yourself, £285 for your dependent partner, £315 for the first child and £200 for each additional child.
• General Ground Refusal: Must not fall for the refusal

Endorsement Letter

To be eligible for an Innovator Founder visa, the applicant’s proposed business must be assessed as innovative, viable and salable by an endorsing body that is either a UK higher education institution or a business organisation with a history of supporting entrepreneurs.

The business idea must be something that is different from anything else on the market in the UK, with the potential for growth. The business must also be a new idea, where the applicant cannot join a business that is already trading. As the number of approval bodies is reduced to four, applicants applying for a new Innovator Founder visa must obtain a business guarantee from the new approval authority.

Endorsing bodies which previously issued endorsements were classified as legacy endorsing bodies.

The applicants holding a Start-up visa must submit an endorsement letter issued by a Legacy Endorsing Body to switch to an Innovator Founder in relation to the same business they were originally endorsed for in the Innovator visa. A letter of endorsement from a Legacy Endorsing Body in support of an application under the same business criteria. The letter must confirm that:

• Their business is active, trading and sustainable; 
• Their same business is registered with Companies House and the Applicant is listed as a director or member of that business;
• The Applicant has an active day-to-day role in the management and development of that business.

The issued letter is only valid for 3 months, so you must submit your application before it expires. Additional requirements must also be met if the applicant obtains a letter of endorsement from Legacy Endorsing Bodies.

• Demonstrating that the applicant’s business is a business previously assessed by an Endorsing Body or Legacy Endorsing Body while the applicant had permission on the Start-up route; 
• Confirmation of each of the same business criteria identified further above e.g. registration with Companies House, being met. 

Innovative entrepreneur visa General Ground for Refusal added

Applicants must meet the suitability requirement to apply for UK visas. The general ground refusal rules are added to assess the genuine innovators.

Applications for permission to stay in the UK as an Innovator Founder may now be refused if a decision maker has reason to believe that an applicant: 

• is the subject of any serious civil or criminal proceeding or investigation that relates to corruption, financial misconduct or other financial crime; or 
• is or has been the subject of sanctions of a non-criminal nature, which include being disbarred from acting as a director or conducting regulated financial activities in any country.

Applying for settlement as a Start-up Entrepreneur

The time spent on the Start-up route will not count as a continuous residence requirement for settlement. Applicants will be eligible to apply for settlement after spending 3 years switching from a Start-up visa to an Innovator Founder visa and meeting the requirements for settlement.

If you need expert advice and support on the requirements for switching from a Start-up visa to an Innovator Founder, please leave us a message or contact us at 020 3865 5219.