The UK’s new Innovator Founder Visa route (formerly known as just “innovator visa”) is designed to attract foreign start-up entrepreneurs and innovators to the UK. To be eligible, the visa applicant must present an innovative, viable and scalable Innovator Founder Visa business plan.
The UK’s top business visa, previously called the Innovator visa, is now known as the Innovator Founder visa since April 13, 2023, in addition to introducing slight changes to the visa rules. Innovator Founder visa route allows holders to stay in the UK for three years, after which they can either apply for the next three-year extension or apply for the ILR (indefinite leave to remain). The Home Office has made some positive improvements in the new visa route, including removing the £50,000 capital requirement, allowing holders to take up full-time employment and reducing the endorsement fee which is now capped at £1,000 per year.
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Innovator Founder Visa Eligiblity Requirements
While there are several eligibility requirements set by Home Office.The visa success will mainly depend upon fulfilling the following criteria:
- Business Idea: The visa applicant has a genuinely innovative, viable and expendable business idea.
- Business Plan: The visa applicant has developed a well-structured business plan for innovator founder visa that effectively demonstrates the business model and its market potential. A third-party professional consulting firm, such as Aceplans, can be engaged to help you develop your Innovator Founder Visa business plan.
- Visa Endorsement: Apply to secure the endorsement letter from one of the approved endorsing bodies in the UK.
- Other: Prove your proficiency in English and submit evidence of the availability of funds.
Business Idea for new Innovator Founder Visa route
The Innovator Founder visa route is for entrepreneurs seeking to set up a company based on an innovative, viable and scalable business idea.
What is innovation?
The Home Office defines innovation as offering something either “completely new” or “significantly better” than available alternatives, creating a strong competitive advantage to meet the new or existing market demand.
What is viability?
Under viability, you need two validations – i.e. market viability and personal viability. Market viability means you shall prove your product or service has ample demand by focusing on direct consumer research. Personal viability means you must prove that your background and skill set complement the proposed new business, making you a suitable candidate to lead it in the UK.
What is scalability?
The proposed business venture should be scalable, meaning it can be grown to a national or an international level over the period. You may start small with limited investment and human resources but must show a structured growth plan for your company to captivate the interest of an endorsing body.
What to include in the UK Innovator Founder Visa business plan?
A business plan is a formal document that demonstrates your business strategies and objectives. The Innovator Founder Visa business plan shall include:
- Market opportunity: Present the market opportunity that you intend to capitalize on with the launch of your proposed business venture.
- Innovation summary: Focus on explaining what’s new and different in your product; how will you develop it; what are the expected intellectual properties; and what are the salient features of your product.
- Problems and solutions: Identify key problems and how your proposed offerings will solve them.
- Business model: As an integral part of your business strategy, the business model shall explain your target market, revenue sources, value proposition and cost composition.
- Market analysis: Provide market research analysis and prove there is ample demand and market size for your products or service.
- Competitive analysis: Analyze at least 4-5 major competitors and see how your company stacks up against them.
- Go-to-market strategy: Your go-to-market strategy shall provide a roadmap to develop and launch your product as well as the first cohort of buyers, promotional and advertising strategies and a growth plan.
- Operational plan: Explain the physical necessities of your company, such as office location, facilities, equipment, regulatory and compliance and human resource, among others.
- Financial forecast: A minimum of a three-year financial forecast is required, with a detailed view (quarterly or monthly) of the first 12 months. The mandatory financial statements include profit and loss, cash flow and balance sheet.
Innovator Founder Visa Business Plan Sample
The following is a curated collection of Innovator Founder Visa Business Plan Samples, provided to help aspiring entrepreneurs better understand our approach, strategies and plan structure of a winning business plan for innovator founder visa:
The above business plan samples for innovator founder visa shall be used to assess our writing approach and plan quality, whereas the final content and organisation of your plan may vary depending upon your business type and current status of the business idea.
Further, these sample business plans were prepared at a certain time and not updated since then. The plan’s content, structure and content organization may also be impacted by periodic changes in the visa guidelines announced by the Home Office. Therefore, it is always recommended to get professional help to create your business plan.
What are the approved endorsing bodies for the new Innovator Founder route in the UK?
While there were over 50 endorsing bodies on the innovator visa, the new route has 4 approved endorsing bodies. These are listed below:
- Envestors Limited
- UK Endorsing Services
- Innovator International
- The Global Entrepreneurs Programme (GEP)
The first three endorsing bodies are private sector organizations. Whereas the fourth endorsing body is a government programme run by the Department for Business and Trade. Further, UK Endorsing Services is a group consisting of at least six previous endorsing bodies for the now obsolete innovator visa.
Innovator Founder Visa Requirements
The other notable requirements for the UK Innovator Founder Visa Plan are as follows:
Investment funds requirement for Innovator Founder Visa
Unlike the preceding innovator visa, the new Innovator Founder route does not require minimum capital. However, you still need to prove access to funds that are needed to set up your new business. These could vary from £10,000 to as much as £100,000 or more, depending upon the type of business you intend to set up.
Investment funds requirement for Innovator Founder Visa
You need to prove your proficiency in English to level B2 either through completing one of the approved English language tests (e.g., IELTS) or through verifying academic qualification through Ecctis. You may claim an exemption from proving your understanding of English if you are from certain English-speaking countries.
For a complete list of requirements, please read the official Home Office guidance for the Innovator Founder Visa category.
Suitability of the Innovator Founder Visa
The Innovator Founder Visa is suitable for entrepreneurs who have innovative, viable and scalable business plans. The Innovator Founder visa applicants can be eligible either as a sole founder or together as part of a founding team on the same business plan. There is no cap on the founding team size. So, you can add as many co-founders as needed to launch, manage and grow the new business in the UK.
If you want to join an established business that meets the innovation, viability, and scalability criteria. You may still apply for innovative founder visa. It is prudent to ensure that the business has not started trading yet. You can join an incorporated company. But, joining a trading/operational business is not allowed under the new route. This visa is only granted to entrepreneurs, who would start a new business.
Innovator Founder visa applicants will also be required to prove their active involvement in the day-to-day management of the proposed business to qualify for the visa. The Innovator Founder visa applicants cannot be sleeping partners in any business.
Procedure for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) as an Innovator Founder
To be eligible for the indefinite leave to remain. You shall fulfill the following mandatory criteria:
- An authorized UK endorsing body has verified that you have made satisfactory progress based on the business plan that was evaluated in your previous endorsement application. At the time of making the ILR application, you must be registered with Companies House as either a Director or a Member of your business. Your business is functioning, trading, and appears to be viable for the next 12 months. You shall also prove your active involvement in the day-to-day management and growth of the business.
The following are optional requirements. You have to fulfill any two of them:
- At least £50,000 has been invested into the business and used to help it grow.
- The company has employed a minimum of 5 full-time workers with an average annual salary of no less than £25,000.
- The company has employed a minimum of 10 full-time workers with no minimum salary requirement. However, the prevailing national minimum wage shall be complied with.
- The number of 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 company has carried out extensive research and development work and has applied for intellectual property rights in the United Kingdom.
- The company has grossed at least £1 million in total income in the last year.
- The company has grossed at least £500,000 in the last year with at least £100,000 contributed by overseas sales/exports.
How to get started with the Innovator Founder Visa application process?
We offer a five-step process to make your Innovator Founder visa application
Step 1: Send us an inquiry
Fill out our inquiry form and send us your basic information. Our consultant will get in touch with you to schedule an initial consultation to understand your case.
Step 2: Get your business idea assessment
The next step will be to assess your business idea and verify whether it fulfills the endorsing body’s criteria for endorsement. It is an impartial assessment carried out by our experienced business research analyst to validate innovation, viability and scalability.
The assessment will identify how your product compares with the rivals and whether you have a strong competitive advantage. It will also help you understand the main strengths and weaknesses of your business idea along with practical suggestions to improve it.
Step 3: Build a strong Innovator Founder Visa business plan
After finalizing the business idea, the next step will be to commence the business plan development. A detailed business plan consisting of ~40 pages will be created with an active collaboration with you. We will also help you understand the business plan and answer any questions that you may have.
Step 4: Submit visa endorsement application
Our partnered immigration lawyers can review your business plan to ensure it is 100% Home Office-compliant and ready for endorsement. Further, they will submit your business plan to an appropriate endorsing body for review and communicate with it on your behalf. They will also handle any feedback that may be provided by the endorsing body on the business plan and relay it to us to process amendments. Eventually, they will secure you the visa endorsement letter that can be used to make your visa application.
Step 5: Make a visa application
After the endorsement letter is obtained from an approved body, the final step is to make your visa application. Our immigration lawyers will also help you to make the visa application for yourself and any dependents who will be traveling with you to the UK.
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