Innovator

You will need to demonstrate that your business or business idea is innovative, viable and scalable, in other words, your proposal must demonstrate prosects of sustained success in the UK on a financial and commercial perspective. For new businesses, you will need to prepare a detailed business plan which reflects your business proposal.

You can also join a business after it has been registered with Companies House provided that the business has not already commenced trading. You would need to demonstrate you made a significant contribution to the business plan.

You will also need to obtain approval from an endorsing body and below you can find access to all of the current endorsing bodies:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/endorsing-bodies-innovator/innovator-endorsing-bodies

You will need to demonstrate access to at least £50,000 to invest in your business. Your endorsement body may provide you with funding of £50,000.

Eligibility requirements

• You must be at least 18 years old
• You have at least £50,000 available to invest
  • You do not need any investment funds if either:
    • Your business is already established and has been endorsed for an earlier visa
    • You’ve changed your business which has been agreed with the endorsing body.
• You have received endorsement by an approved UK endorsing body
  • your endorsement letter must be issued within 3 months of submitting your application.
• You meet the English language to at least B2 level on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
  • You can prove your knowledge of English by
    • Passing a Secure English Language Test (SELT)
    • Having a GCSE, A Level Scottish National Qualification level 4 or 5, Scottish Higher or Advanced Higher in English gained through study at a UK school that you began when you were under 18
    • having a degree-level academic qualification that was taught in English – if you studied abroad, you’ll need to apply for confirmation by way of UK NARIC that your qualification is equivalent to a UK bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or PhD
• You have at least £1,270 to support yourself plus £285 for a dependant partner, £315 for a first child and £200 for additional children.
  • You must have held these funds for at least 28 days before submitting your application.

Switching to this visa

You can switch into the Innovator visa within the UK provided you were NOT last granted a visa in relation to the following categories:

• Visitor
• Short-term student
• Parent of a Child Student
• Seasonal Worker
• Domestic worker in a private household
• Outside the Immigration rules

Validity period

Your visa will be valid for a period of up to 3 years. You can extend this for a further 3 years.

You could apply for settlement once you’ve been in the UK for 3 years 

Fees

• Applications outside of the UK is £1,021
• Applications for switching in the UK is £1,277
• You will also have to pay the Immigration healthcare surcharge

Point scoring requirement

You will need to score 70 points under either the new business or same business requirement. You cannot combine elements of these 2 sets of requirements. 

Applying for a Innovator Visa?

We are considered as one of the leading Immigration law firms in the UK with a significantly high success rate in securing visas for our clients. Our team of solicitors and our business analyst can help you secure an Innovator visa by working closely with you to ensure that your business proposal is successful. We can prepare your business plan in accordance with the market that you seek to establish yourself in and deal with all related matters such as applying to the relevant endorsement body and submitting your application to the Home Office.  

You can speak directly with our solicitors to arrange a free consultation on 020 3815 8440.