Innovator Founder
The Innovator Founder endorsement is for overseas businesspeople seeking to establish an innovative, viable and scalable business in the UK.
This Visa is a revision of the former Innovator / Start Up Visas and provides a single route to build your business in the UK. As with the previous routes, all applications must demonstrate that their projects are Innovative, Viable and Scalable. We are not able to provide any advice on whether a project is suitable prior to your formal assessment.
The fee for your assessment is £1k (+vat where applicable). If successful, you will also be required to pay a monitoring fee of £1k (+vat) after 12 months, and a final assessment fee of £1k (+ vat) should you choose to apply for ILR or another (same) Innovator Visa. There are no other mandatory costs.
For further details on this Visa route, download our application pack.
Through INSIGHTPRO we closely monitor your pre-determined targets to ensure you're on track to achieve everything you want and need
AM I ELIGIBLE?
Ask yourself the following questions. If you can answer positively to each of them, then you're definitely on the right path.
- Viable
Can you demonstrate that you have the necessary skills, knowledge, experience, market awareness and financial capacity to successfully run your business idea?
- Innovative
Do you have a genuine, original business idea which meets new or existing market needs and creates a competitive advantage against your competitors?
- Scalable
Does your business idea provide a structured plan for the creation of new jobs, along with a plan for growth into national markets and international markets?
How we assess applications
We recognise that every person and every plan is individual. We assess your application against the following criteria using our Maturity Matrix© assessment methodologies:
Innovation
Is your business sufficiently different to what else is available?
VIABILITY
Is there a market for your proposition and can you deliver to that market?
SCALABILITY
Will your project grow to national and international markets?
MARKET ASSESSMENT
Does the plan address the market maturity, geography and competitors?
PRODUCT FIT
Does your solution clearly solve a problem, and can be developed within your resources?
MARKETING & SALES
Is there a clear and achievable route to market without major risk points?
PEOPLE & SKILLS
Do you, and the business, have the skills needed to make this a success?
OPERATIONAL PLANNING
Is there a project plan detailing what, how and when things happen?
FINANCIAL PLANNING
Is there a realistic financial plan which meets the requirements of the business?
SETTLEMENT TARGETS
Is your business likely to meet the required targets for your settlement?
Your Next Steps
If you want to join our community of international entrepreneurs, click here to send us your details
