The Innovator Founder Visa: what we know so far
The new Innovator Founder visa was launched on 13 April 2023, replacing the Start-Up and Innovator visa categories which are now closed for new applicants. This change was intended to improve UK visa accessibility for entrepreneurs hoping to start a new business in the UK, as there has been a huge drop off in applicants since the introduction of the previous Start-Up and Innovator categories (which in turn replaced the Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) route).
What are the requirements for the new route?
This visa category is intended for individuals who want to set up and run an innovative business in the UK. As a brief summary, applicants must be able to show that their business idea is:
New – applicants cannot join a business that is already trading;
Innovative – according to the Home Office, the business must be ‘something that’s different from anything else on the market’. This immediately excludes business owners hoping to expand into the UK but whose businesses may not be sufficiently ‘innovative’ to qualify – such applicants must work with another visa category e.g. the UK Expansion Worker visa;
Viable – the business plan must be achievable (including sufficient funding) and the applicant must have the necessary skills and experience to make the business plan a success;
Scalable – this includes plans to create jobs and grow into national and international markets.
Other standard visa requirements (English language, financial maintenance, and TB testing) are also required. The applicant must apply to a government-approved Endorsing Body then, once their endorsement has been obtained, they must apply for the visa within three months. The first stage of the process (the application to the Endorsing Body) is generally more document intensive and time-consuming, and involves an interview/pitch process with considerable scrutiny – it is important to prepare intensively with an experienced UK visa advisor, and potentially other service providers (e.g. accountants, business advisors, etc).
Once obtained, the Innovator Founder visa will be valid for up to three years and can lead to settlement (permanent residence). The applicant can also bring direct family members on dependant visas. One important update is that the visa-holder will be permitted to take a job outside the business as long as it is ‘skilled’ work – meaning secondary sources of income will be possible while the business gets off the ground.
How does this compare to the previous visa route?
The headline change is that the requirement to show at least £50,000 available in investment funds has been removed. That said, practically speaking the Endorsing Body is likely to want to see access to sufficient funds to achieve the business plan included in the application as part of the ‘viability’ requirement – so some level of investment funds will almost definitely be required.
Arguably, removing investment barriers does not go far enough to improving accessibility to this visa category. Indeed, we have been here before: the Innovator route lowered the investment requirement to £50,000 from the £200,000 investment level required under Tier 1 (Entrepreneur), however the number of applicants still fell drastically compared to Tier 1 (Entrepreneur). This goes to show that investment level is unlikely to be the main deterring factor for applicants – indeed most UK immigration lawyers believe the endorsement requirement to be the so-called ‘troublemaker’. So how has the new Innovator Founder visa improved on this issue?
The requirement for an endorsement to be obtained before the applicant can apply for a visa still exists and is likely to continue to act as a deterrent, but it does appear that some improvements have been made. Currently, the list of government-approved Endorsing Bodies is much shorter – there are only four Endorsing Bodies for the Innovator Founder visa compared to the dozens of Endorsing Bodies under the old Start-Up and Innovator categories. This will make it much easier for the applicant to research the four available bodies and choose where to lodge their endorsement application. Further, there is more transparency surrounding the costs of an endorsement as the fee for endorsement has been set at £1,000 for all four Endorsing Bodies and, crucially, endorsement appears not to be contingent on applying for one of the additional programs offered by the Endorsing Body. Previously, the Endorsing Bodies under Start-Up and Innovator often made their endorsement dependent on other factors, such has having attended one of their courses or signing up to an incubator/accelerator program (for an additional fee).
Finally, each Endorsing Body has its own internal guidelines for what they are looking for which creates a lack of transparency and consistency. This is compounded by the fact that the Home Office will review the application against the endorsement criteria at the visa application stage to ensure the endorsement has been correctly issued (i.e. that the business is indeed innovative, scalable and viable) – a duplication of work which makes the endorsement requirement seem entirely redundant.
Key Takeaways
While the above improvements should be helpful in encouraging applicants to make use of this new visa route, the continued requirement to apply to an Endorsing Body before applying for the visa still presents an unnecessary barrier to applicants. It is important to work with a trusted UK immigration lawyer who can advise you carefully on both stages of the visa process, as it is important to submit well-supported application documents and to prepare fully for the pitch process.
Get in touch with our team today – we have an extensive history working with entrepreneurs and business owners to successfully obtain a UK visa, and we can help you decide whether the Innovator Founder visa is the right fit for you and your business.