Innovator Founder visa
Start a new business with an endorsed plan. No minimum investment, settlement after three years.
Rules and fees checked against gov.uk on 8 November 2026. Page updated 8 November 2026. How we check our guides.
- Who it is for
- People starting an innovative, viable, scalable business in the UK
- Minimum investment
- None since April 2023 (was £50,000)
- Fee
- £1,274 plus the endorsing body's fee and the health surcharge
- Leads to settlement
- Yes, after 3 years
The Innovator Founder visa replaced the Innovator and Start-up visas in April 2023. It is for founders of new businesses that an approved endorsing body judges to be innovative, viable and scalable. It is one of the few routes to settlement in three years, but the endorsement process is demanding and the costs are high.
The three tests your business must pass
- Innovation: an original business idea that meets new or existing market needs or creates a competitive advantage. A new restaurant or consultancy will not qualify; a new product, process or model might.
- Viability: a realistic plan based on your resources, with evidence that you have, or are actively developing, the skills and market knowledge to run it.
- Scalability: structured planning and potential for job creation and growth into national or international markets.
You can be a founder or co-founder, and more than one founder of the same business can apply, but each must make a significant contribution and each needs their own endorsement.
Endorsement
Four endorsing bodies were appointed in 2023: Envestors, Innovator International, UK Endorsing Services and The Global Entrepreneurs Programme (run by the Department for Business and Trade for established founders relocating to the UK). They charge their own fees, typically around £1,000 plus VAT for the initial assessment and further fees for the contact-point meetings. You submit a business plan and are usually interviewed. The body must be satisfied you will spend most of your working time on the business, though you may take other skilled work (RQF 3 or above) alongside it.
Contact-point meetings
After endorsement you must have at least two checkpoint meetings with your endorsing body at 12 and 24 months. If the body is not satisfied you are making reasonable progress it withdraws the endorsement, and the Home Office then curtails the visa. This makes the route different from any other: your right to be in the UK depends on an ongoing relationship with a private body, so choose one whose published process you can live with.
Requirements and costs
- English at B2.
- Maintenance funds of £1,270 for 28 days (no longer any investment requirement).
- Application fee of £1,274 from inside or outside the UK, plus the health surcharge of £1,035 a year for a three-year grant.
Partners and children can join you and work freely. Decisions take about three weeks from abroad and eight weeks inside the UK.
Settlement after three years
You can apply for ILR after three years if your endorsing body confirms the business is active and sustainable and that you meet at least two of seven success criteria: £50,000 invested and spent, doubling of customers, significant R&D with IP, £1 million turnover, £500,000 turnover with £100,000 from exports, ten full-time jobs created, or five full-time jobs averaging £25,000. Plus the Life in the UK test, B1 English and the 180-day absence rule. If you do not meet the criteria you can extend for another three years instead.