Call us on +44 20 3384 3075

English
Chinese
Russian

18 Apr Endorsing bodies for the new Innovator Founder Visa?

Posted on April 18, 2023 in Other Visas by
0 Likes

The new “Innovator Founder visa” announced by Home Office has come into force on 13 April 2023 and replaced the Innovator visa and Start-up visa schemes. This route is aimed at entrepreneurs and experienced businesspersons seeking to establish an innovative business in the UK.

Most of the eligibility criteria remain the same. In brief, you must be:

  • at least 18 years old;
  • be granted an endorsement letter issued by an approved UK endorsing body, dated no more than 3 months prior to the application;
  • English fluency at CEFR Level B2 (equivalent to IELTS 5.5 in reading, writing, listening and speaking);
  • If you are outside the UK or have been in the UK for less than 12 months, maintain funds of £1270 to support yourself, plus £285 for a dependent partner, £315 for a first child and £200 for each additional child;
  • For entry clearance application, provide a TB test certificate, if applicable.

 

However, there are two significant changes to the requirements which we would like to bring to your attention.

Firstly, the applicant is no longer required to evidence a specific amount of investment funds (unlike the Innovator visa whereby the threshold was set at £50000). The new route provides a more flexible approach, namely to evidence funds proportionate to the needs of your business.

In brief, the new requirements are focusing on the genuine nature of an innovative business as well as its viability and scalability. In addition to avoid the abuses, the number of qualified endorsement bodies has been significantly reduced to FOUR:

  • Envestors Limited
  • UK Endorsing Services
  • Innovator International
  • The Global Entrepreneurs Programme (GEP)

 

Please note that the Global Entrepreneurs Programme (GEP) is a government programme run by the Department for Business and Trade for internationally mobile, tech-based entrepreneurs and helps them scale and internationalise their innovation rich companies from a UK global HQ. As a result, GEP only provides visa endorsements for founders that have already been invited to participate on their programme. So there are only 3 endorsing bodies which are accessible to  individual applicants.

If you have been granted an innovator visa, you may still use the prior endorsement body (known as legacy Innovator endorsing bodies) for further endorsement for an ILR application. You can see the full list at UKVI website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/endorsing-bodies-innovator-founder-and-scale-up-visas/innovator-founder-and-scale-up-visas-endorsing-bodies#legacy-innovator-endorsing-bodies

However, a Start-up visa holder cannot switch to the Innovator Founder Visa without getting a new endorsement letter from one of four approved bodies.

The legacy organisations a are still in charge of maintaining and monitoring the existing endorsed migrants.

 

Contact Our Immigration Team

For expert advice regarding any aspect of the UK visa application, please contact our immigration team on 0203 384 3075

The content of this article is for general use and information only. Since each case should be prepared on its own merit and in light of the constant amendments to the Immigration Rules, it is important to note that the information provided must not be relied upon unless Migra & Co has either given written consent or has been officially engaged in relation to a specific immigration matter. As a result, Migra & Co will take no responsibility for any damage, cost or loss resulting from relying on the information contained in this article, blog and website.