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Pathway

UK Innovator Founder Visa

United Kingdom Residency
Pathway overview

At a glance

The UK Innovator Founder visa is for founders setting up and running an innovative, viable, and scalable business in the UK. It generally requires endorsement by an approved endorsing body, English ability, support funds, and continued business progress.

Business requirements
An original, viable business with growth potential and endorsement from an approved organization
Personal requirements
Age 18+, the required English ability, and separate living funds

Summary

The UK Innovator Founder route is for an actively involved founder whose business an approved endorsing organization accepts as innovative, viable, and capable of growth. Explain the applicant's active role and provide the required personal, language, and support evidence. Available investment funds alone do not replace the endorsement or establish a qualifying business idea.

Endorsement continues after the initial visa
  1. Before applying Secure an eligible endorsement Present an innovative, viable, scalable business and show the funding and central operating role needed for the plan.
  2. Around months 12 and 24 Run the endorsed business Keep evidence of genuine progress and attend the required contact-point meetings.
  3. At the 3-year stage Seek extension or assess settlement Obtain the required further endorsement and prove the criteria for the outcome sought.

Initial endorsement does not guarantee a visa or later settlement. Settlement requires its own business achievements and other conditions; it is not automatic after three years. Time under the former Start-up route does not count toward this settlement period.

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Eligibility

An approved endorsing body must issue a letter no more than three months before application. The applicant must be at least 18, have a central day-to-day role, meet B2 English and normally hold £1,270 for 28 days unless exempt after 12 months with UK permission. The venture must be genuinely original or meaningfully innovative, realistically deliverable and capable of structured growth. A repackaged ordinary local business is not enough.

Policy watch 2 developments we’re tracking
Innovator Founder settlement will require B2 English
Enacted — not yet in effect

Innovator Founder settlement will require B2 English

Current official stage: Immigration Rules laid with a deferred commencement date

An Innovator Founder applying for settlement from 26 March 2027 must meet B2 English unless exempt. Endorsement, business-achievement and residence requirements remain separate.

Timing: The B2 settlement requirement takes effect on 26 March 2027. Applications made before that date remain subject to the rules then in force; applicants planning to file on or after it should prepare for B2 unless an exemption applies.

Last checked
References
Read the full briefing
The three-year settlement route may be retained
Consultation — not currently law

The three-year settlement route may be retained

Current official stage: Consultation closed; government analyzing feedback

The consultation proposes a reduction intended to preserve three-year settlement for many Innovator Founder holders. The treatment of dependents and the final mandatory requirements remain subject to the government's response and later Immigration Rules.

Timing: The consultation ran from 20 November 2025 to 12 February 2026. GOV.UK currently says the government is analyzing feedback. No general implementation date has been announced, and current settlement rules remain in force unless and until Immigration Rules changes take effect.

Last checked
References
Read the full briefing

What This Route Allows

Permission lasts three years, with mandatory contact-point meetings around 12 and 24 months. Three-year extensions are unlimited if re-endorsed. The holder may operate one or more endorsed businesses and take outside work requiring skills at level 3 or above, roughly A-level standard, but not work as a professional sportsperson. Eligible dependents can join and generally work. From 8 April 2026 the visa fee is £1,357 outside or £1,693 inside the UK, per person, plus the immigration health surcharge (IHS) and endorsement charges.

Settlement is available after three years spent only as Innovator Founder or legacy Innovator, no more than 180 days outside in any 12 months, Life in the UK and a fresh endorsement. The main applicant already met B2 English for permission. The business must be active, trading, sustainable and meet at least two listed success measures, such as investment spent, customer growth, intellectual property, revenue/export or qualifying job creation. A dependent partner normally needs five years and, unless exempt, B1 speaking and listening before 26 March 2027 or B2 from that date.

What This Route Is Not

An endorsement is not a guarantee of a visa, funding or settlement and can be withdrawn. Start-up time does not count toward the three-year settlement period. The route normally bars public funds and requires IHS.

Next Steps

  1. Verify the endorsing body on the current official list and its permitted applicant type.
  2. Explain what makes the business different, who its customers are, how it will earn money, and how you will fund and run it.
  3. Budget £1,000 for endorsement and £500 for each required contact meeting, plus visa and IHS charges.
  4. Track progress against at least two settlement measures from the start and keep company, financial, intellectual-property, customer and employment records.

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Sources