UK Innovator Founder Visa

The Innovator Founder visa is the UK route for people who want to set up and run an innovative business in the UK (GOV.UK). It isn't a remote-work visa: the holder must build a new UK business that an approved endorsing body has backed.

• Status: active
• Visa fee: £1,357 from outside the UK or £1,693 inside it, since April 8, 2026
• Endorsement: £1,000, plus £500 for each contact point meeting
• Personal funds: £1,270 held for 28 consecutive days
• Investment: No fixed minimum: the endorsing body must be satisfied the business has enough funding and where it comes from.
• Length: 3 years, renewable
• Settlement: Indefinite leave to remain after 3 years in the UK, if an endorsing body confirms the business meets the settlement criteria.

The UK country guide sets this route beside the other long-stay options.

GOV.UK sets these conditions (eligibility page):

• Age: at least 18
• Business: a new business idea that is innovative, viable with potential for growth and able to expand into wider markets. Joining a business that is already trading doesn't qualify.
• Endorsement: an approved endorsing body must assess and endorse the idea before the visa application. Online on GOV.UK after getting an endorsement letter from an approved endorsing body.
• English: at least B2 on the CEFR scale, shown by a UK school qualification, a degree taught in English or an approved test, unless the applicant's nationality is exempt (GOV.UK)
• Funds: £1,270 in a bank account for 28 consecutive days before applying, unless already in the UK for 12 months or more

For a new business, the applicant must also show the endorsing body enough funding and where it comes from. There is no fixed investment minimum.

• A valid passport or travel document
• The endorsement letter from an approved endorsing body
• Proof of English at B2 level, unless exempt
• Bank evidence of the £1,270 maintenance funds, held for 28 consecutive days
• Tuberculosis test results for residents of countries on the UK TB testing list
• Certified translations of documents not in English or Welsh

Dependents: a partner and children can apply to join the holder. They need £285 for a partner, £315 for one child and £200 for each additional child, held for at least 28 days before applying, unless applying from inside the UK after 1 year or more there (GOV.UK).

• Visa fee: £1,357 per person from outside the UK, or £1,693 to switch or extend inside the UK (April 8, 2026 fee table)
• Endorsement fee: £1,000, paid to the endorsing body
• Contact point meetings: £500 each, with at least two meetings
• Immigration health surcharge: £1,035 a year per adult for each year of the visa, paid up front (GOV.UK); a lower rate applies to children under 18
• Dependents: each pays the visa fee and the surcharge

Maintenance funds are not a fee, but the money must sit in the account for the required period.

1. Endorsement: submit the business plan to an approved endorsing body and pay the £1,000 fee.
2. Visa application: apply online on GOV.UK with the endorsement letter, pay the visa fee and the immigration health surcharge, and prove identity.
3. Decision: usually within 3 weeks from outside the UK and 8 weeks from inside it (GOV.UK).
4. Contact points: after arrival the holder meets the endorsing body after 12 months and 24 months to show progress.

• First grant: 3 years
• Extensions: Extendable for another 3 years at a time, with no limit on the number of extensions, if an endorsing body re-endorses the business.
• Settlement: Indefinite leave to remain after 3 years in the UK, if an endorsing body confirms the business meets the settlement criteria.

Settlement rules are under review: the Home Office earned settlement consultation closed Feb. 12, 2026 and no outcome had been published by Oct. 1, 2026, so these periods could change.

Holders become UK tax residents under the Statutory Residence Test, usually after 183 days or more in the UK in a tax year (GOV.UK).

On foreign income, HMRC helpsheet HS266 sets out the position: No route-specific tax regime. Since April 6, 2025, new UK tax residents with at least 10 consecutive prior tax years of non-residence can claim 100% relief on foreign income and gains for their first 4 years of UK residence (the FIG regime), which replaced the remittance basis.

A UK company pays corporation tax on its profits, and founders paid by it pay income tax and National Insurance under the normal rules. HMRC or a tax adviser can confirm how a specific setup is taxed.