In the latest Statement of Changes to the UK Immigration Rules, the Government published changes to the Start Up and Innovator routes. From 13 April 2023, these routes will close and be replaced by a single ‘Innovator Founder’ route. Benefiting from increased flexibility, potential Start Up and Innovator applicants may want to wait for the new route to open and current Start Up visa holders should consider switching into this new category.
Start Up and Innovator visa
The existing route was introduced in 2019 and in turn replaced the Entrepreneur visa. The Start Up and Innovator route was aimed at entrepreneurs looking to establish a business in the UK. Applicants needed an ‘innovative, viable and scalable’ business idea which had been endorsed by a Home Office-approved endorsing body.
If an applicant was successful, a Start Up visa would be granted for two years. During this period, work for other employers is permitted while establishing the business in the UK. An applicant would then need £50,000 to invest into the business to switch into the Innovator route and meet various other criteria for a further three years. Innovators are generally unable to undertake additional employment. After three years in the UK as an Innovator, an applicant could then apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK. Experienced entrepreneurs with the required investment funds could skip the initial Start Up visa and go straight into the Innovator route. The Start Up visa is not in itself a route to settlement.
The route has been beset by issues throughout, including a limited pool of endorsing bodies with variable endorsement criteria and a high threshold to meet to extend the visa and settle in the UK. In 2022, only 299 Innovator and 377 Start Up visas were issued.
Innovator Founder visa
In brief, the requirements and key differences are:
- An endorsement by a Home Office approved endorsing body is still required
- A £50,000 investment is no longer required
- There is no longer a distinction between Start Up applicants and Innovator applicants
- The route to settlement will be three years for all applicants
- Applicants will be able to engage in employment beyond their business, provided that the secondary employment is ‘skilled’ (at least RQF Level 3)
- The applicant must still have a ‘key role in day-to-day management and development of the business’
This means that those currently in the UK with a Start Up visa should be looking to potentially switch to the Innovator Founder route to benefit from new flexibility on (i) the £50,000 investment; (ii) being able to continue with additional employment alongside their business if desired; and (iii) a route to settlement in three years.
New applicants may wish to delay their applications until the new route is introduced on 13 April 2023 to benefit from the above.
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