To successfully apply for a UK Innovator Founder visa, applicants must meet the following requirements:
✅ Be at least 18 years old
✅ Intend to establish and run an innovative business in the UK
✅ Obtain endorsement for their business or business idea
✅ Meet English language proficiency requirements
✅ Have sufficient funds to support themselves while in the UK
Business Plan
To secure endorsement (as explained below), you must prepare a detailed and carefully thought-out business plan for your existing innovative business or new business idea.
Your business plan must demonstrate:
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Innovation: You must provide a genuine and original business plan that clearly and comprehensively shows how it meets a new or existing market need and/or provides a competitive advantage.
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Viability: The plan should prove you have a realistic chance of success, supported by relevant experience, market knowledge, and business skills.
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Scalability: Your plan must show the potential for growth, job creation, and expansion into national and international markets.
Business Endorsement
One of the most critical aspects of applying for an Innovator Founder visa is obtaining endorsement from an approved endorsing body in the UK for your business or business idea.
The following organisations are authorised to issue endorsements:
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Innovator International
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UK Endorsing Services
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The Global Entrepreneurs Programme (GEP)
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Envestors Limited
When assessing your application, an endorsing body may consider:
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Is there a need for the business in the UK?
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Does it bring something new to the market?
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Has the applicant conducted sufficient market research?
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Are there realistic and sustainable product goals?
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Is there a long-term plan for the venture?
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Will the business gain sufficient traction in the market?
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Does it have growth potential within the UK?
Endorsement is mandatory to proceed to the visa application stage. Only businesses with a high likelihood of success are endorsed. Once approved, you will receive an endorsement letter that can be used to support your Innovator Founder visa application.
English Language Requirements
To apply successfully, you must demonstrate that you meet the English language requirement. This means you must:
✅ Be able to read, write, speak, and understand English to at least B2 level on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) scale, proven by an approved English language test; or
✅ Hold a degree taught in English; or
✅ Be a national of an exempt country (such as Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Malta, New Zealand, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, or the USA).
Sufficient Maintenance Funds
You must also prove you have enough money to support yourself in the UK. Specifically, you need to show you have at least £1,270 in your bank account for 28 consecutive days before applying.