Innovator Visa UK

To apply for the UK Innovator visa, applicants must meet the following criteria:

• You are at least 18 years old;
• You have at least £50,000 available to invest in your UK business or have already invested £50,000 in your UK business (this requirement is waived if switching from the Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur or Start-up category to pursue the same business venture or extending as an existing Innovator to follow the same business venture and, in both cases, you have shown significant achievements judged against your business plan);
• If applying to set up a new business venture, you have been endorsed by an approved UK supporting body that has positively assessed your business idea for innovation, viability and scalability and is satisfied that you will spend your entire working time in the UK on developing your business venture;
• You have an endorsement letter that must be issued no more than three months before the date of your Innovator visa application;
• You genuinely intend to undertake, and are capable of undertaking, any work or business activity in the UK stated in your application;
• You are competent in the English language to at least CEFR Level B2 (equivalent to IELTS 5.5 in reading, writing, listening and speaking);
• If you are outside the UK or have been in the UK for less than 12 months, then you have at least £1270 to support yourself, plus £285 for a dependent partner, £315 for a first child and £200 for each additional child.

You will usually need to have at least £50,000 available to invest in your UK business or have already invested £50,000 in your UK business. You may rely on money of your own or funding provided by your endorsing body.

The requirement to have a ‘viable’ and ‘scalable’ business idea means that, in practice, you may need to have more than £50,000 available to invest. Some endorsing bodies require an additional level of funding as a condition of endorsement.

The investment funds required for an Innovator visa are waived for applicants switching from the Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur or Start-up category to pursue the same business venture or extend as an existing Innovator to follow the same business venture. However, applicants will need to demonstrate that their business is financially sustainable and that they have made significant achievements judged against their business plan.

There is also an initial application fee of £1,036 if applying from outside the UK, or £1,292 if applying to switch into the category from within the UK. You’ll also need to prove that you have enough money (known as ‘maintenance funds’) to support yourself and any dependent family members while in the UK. For the Innovator visa, you’ll need to demonstrate that you have £1,270 available for this purpose.

The time it takes for a decision to be made on your application depends on several factors, including where you made the application from, where any information is outstanding and whether you have purchased a priority service.

When applying from within the UK, you will usually receive a response within a shorter period of time than from outside the UK. Response times vary from a few weeks to months, and since you must first receive endorsement from an endorsing body, the process can take longer. The response time can be sped up by applying for a priority service, which is available to customers in many countries.

With a UK Innovator visa, you can stay in the UK for three years, with no limit on its extension.

As outlined above, the Innovator Visa also allows you to bring dependent family members with you to the UK — meaning that they can also benefit from local amenities such as healthcare and education. This could be a spouse, a civil partner or unmarried partner, a child under 18 (or over 18 if they’re currently in the UK as your dependent).

If you’re applying with your partner as a dependent, you and your partner must be able to provide evidence of a civil partnership or marriage that’s recognised in the UK.

If applying with a child aged 16 or over, they must live with you unless in full-time education at a boarding school, college or university. They cannot be married, in a civil partnership or have children, and you must financially support them. You will also need to provide documents confirming their address if they live with you.

In some cases, UK Innovator Visa holders will be eligible to apply for an Indefinite Leave to Remain status after three years of running their business in the UK, provided that they meet the requirements Indefinite leave to remain is how you settle in the UK. It gives you the right to live, work and study here for as long as you like, and apply for benefits if you’re eligible. You can use it to apply for British citizenship.

To obtain this after three years of residency, all of the following conditions must be met:

• The applicant has shown significant achievements, judged against the business plan assessed in their previous endorsement;
• The applicant’s business is registered with Companies House and the applicant is listed as a director or member of that business;
• The business is active and trading;
• The business appears to be sustainable for at least the following 12 months, based on its assets and expected income, weighed against its current and planned expenses;
• The applicant has demonstrated an active key role in the day-to-day management and development of the business.

In addition to the above, at least two of the following criteria must be met:

• At least £50,000 has been invested into the business and actively spent furthering the business plan assessed in the applicant’s previous endorsement;
• The number of the business’s customers has at least doubled within the most recent 3 years and is currently higher than the mean number of customers for other UK businesses offering comparable main products or services;
• The business has engaged in significant research and development activity and has applied for intellectual property protection in the UK;
• The business has generated a minimum annual gross revenue of £1 million in the last full year covered by its accounts;
• The business is generating a minimum annual gross revenue of £500,000 in the last full year covered by its accounts, with at least £100,000 from exporting overseas;
• The business has created the equivalent of at least 10 full-time jobs for settled workers;
• The business has created the equivalent of at least 5 full-time jobs for settled workers, which have an average salary of at least £25,000 a year (gross pay, excluding any expenses).

After 12 months of holding an Indefinite Leave to Remain, you can apply for British Citizenship.

There are, however, some conditions attached to the Innovator Visa. As an Innovator Visa holder, you must work on your business full-time and are forbidden to take on outside employment.

This means another company cannot employ you. You also cannot work as a doctor or dentist in training, work as a professional sportsperson, or receive public funds such as benefits and housing assistance.

For your business proposal to be endorsed, you will need to receive a letter of endorsement from a UK Government-approved endorsing body. Endorsing bodies are selected UK higher education institutions or business organisations with a history of supporting UK entrepreneurs. An approved endorsing body will need to be satisfied that your business idea meets all of the following criteria:

• Innovation: You have a genuine, original business plan that meets new or existing market needs and/or creates a competitive advantage;
• Viability: You have the necessary skills, knowledge, experience and market awareness to run the business successfully;
• Scalability: Your business plan shows structured planning and potential for job creation and growth in national and international markets.

The endorsing body will need to be satisfied that you will spend your entire working time in the UK on developing business ventures.

Our multi-lingual business consultancy team is highly experienced in helping international businesspersons and entrepreneurs to develop Innovator visa-compliant business plans that meet the criteria of being innovative, viable and scalable and are highly optimised for the UK market.

In addition, our visa consultancy team can help you with all the necessary documentation to apply to a range of suitable endorsing bodies and assist in the process of making a visa application to the UK Home Office.

Our team has helped many entrepreneurs successfully obtain Innovator or Start-up visa endorsement and Entry Clearance into the UK.

InvestUK has a 5-step process to help you apply with peace of mind. Our team will support you in areas such as;

• Assessing your needs and evaluating your ideas against the required criteria;
• Assisting with optimising your business ideas for the UK market;
• Helping you plan and prepare for the later steps of the application process;
• Confirming your successful application and supporting you with the formation and opening of bank accounts;
• Continued support for you and your new business even after you have received your Innovator visa.

InvestUK will support you with more than simply an Innovator visa application: our Innovator Advance Programme also provides optional business support services for your business once you have obtained a visa.

As well as a business mentoring service, InvestUK can provide you with lifestyle planning services during your time in the UK including wealth, tax management and education consultancy services.