UK Innovator Visa Overview and Eligibility
The UK Innovator Visa is a UK visa category usually for experienced businesspeople to set up an innovative business. The investment requirement is £50,000 and you need to be endorsed by an endorsing body. Because of the endorsement requirement, this visa may be difficult to come under at the moment.
You’re eligible for this visa if:
- You are not a national of the European Economic Area EEA and Switzerland.
- You want to set up or run a business in the UK*. To set up or run a business in Britain your business or business idea must be endorsed by an approved body.
*If you want to set up a business in the UK, you must have access to £50,000 (reduced from the £200,000 usually needed for a UK Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa) in investment funds. If you already have a business established in Britain and you have been endorsed for an existing UK visa, no minimum investment funds are required.
The UK Innovator Visa replaces the Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa category, which closed on 29 March, 2019.
UK immigration rules published on 7 March, 2019 describe the Innovator Visa as:
“A route for more experienced businesspeople looking to establish a business in the UK. Applicants will have an innovative, viable and scalable business idea which is supported by an endorsing body. With some exceptions, applicants will have funding to invest in their business. This category may lead to settlement in the UK.”
Innovator Visa Requirements
UK immigration rules specify the following requirements to be eligible for the Innovator Visa:
- Innovation – Proof of a genuine, original business plan that meets new or existing market needs and/or creates a competitive advantage.
- Viability – Applicants must be able to demonstrate the necessary skills, knowledge and experience, plus market awareness, to run a business competently.
- Scalability – Evidence of structured planning and the potential for job creation and growth into national and international markets.
For more information about the requirements you need to meet to apply for an Innovator Visa, contact Workpermit.com
Your stay in the UK
You can stay for three years if you enter the UK on an Innovator Visa or if you switch to the visa from another valid UK visa.
You can apply to extend your visa for another three years when it is due to expire. There is no limit on the number of times you can extend.
After five years, you could be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain (UK settlement).
Applying for an Innovator Visa UK
You can only apply for the Innovator Visa, online**. In addition, you will need to have your fingerprints and a photograph taken at a UK visa application centre in the country from which you are applying. You must do this to get a biometric residence permit, which is needed as part of your Innovator Visa UK application.
**If you live in North Korea, you cannot apply online. Contact Workpermit.com for more information on how to apply for the Innovator Visa.
The earliest you can apply for an Innovator Visa is 3 months before you travel. It can take a minimum of three weeks to receive a decision on your visa application.
To support your application, you must provide a business plan and supporting documents for endorsement. A business sponsor from the following approved bodies will endorse your business plan and Innovator Visa application:
| • The Bakery • Bethnal Green Ventures • Blue Orchid • Capital Enterprise • CyLon • Deep Science Ventures • DRS Business Solutions • Emerge Education • Emsworth Corporate Planning (ECP) • First Corporate Finance • Fortunis Capital Ltd • Founders Factory | • Ignite • Innovate Britain • Innovator International (powered by Geminus) • International Innovation Hub Ltd • Invest Northern Ireland • Kollider • Level 39 • MDR LAB • MedCity • NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator • The Royal Society of Edinburgh • Royal Bank of Scotland Entrepreneur Accelerator | • Scottish EDGE • Seedcamp • SeedHaus • SETsquared Bristol • Startup Funding Club • Tech Nation • Techstars London • Tech X • Ulster Bank Entrepreneur Accelerator • Wayra • Zinc |
Those endorsing your Innovator Visa application must be ‘reasonably satisfied that you will spend much of your working time in Britain developing business ventures,’ in accordance with UK immigration rules.
UK Immigration Health Surcharge
When you apply for an Innovator Visa, you will have to pay a UK Immigration Health Surcharge. You have to pay £624 a year payable in advance for the duration of the UK visa.
Further information, help, and advice
Workpermit.com's team of specialists has over thirty years of experience in international visa services, and have helped thousands of people to study and work in the UK. We work in conjunction with OISC registered advisers who can submit your UK sponsor licence application and visa application to UK Visas and Immigration at the Home Office.
For more information and advice on UK immigration law and UK visa applications please contact us on 0344 991 9222 or at london@workpermit.com
