There are several UK professional visas that you can choose to apply for depending on your professional status and your employer's rights. However, if you want to live in the UK as an entrepreneur, you should look into applying for an Innovator Founder visa.
Good to know:
As of April 2023, the Innovator Founder visa replaced the Start-up and Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visas.
Innovator Founder visa in the UK
Suppose you are 18 years old or above and have an original and innovative business idea. You want to materialise your vision in the UK because there's a market for it in the country, and it is something different from anything that already exists in the UK in this particular sector. In that case, if you manage to have your business idea endorsed by an approved body, you can apply for an Innovator Founder visa. Other eligibility criteria you should take into consideration before proceeding with your application are good proven knowledge of English and the funds (£1,036) to cover your cost of living for at least the first month of your stay in the UK. In addition, you will need to prove to your endorsing body that you have enough funding and where it is from.
Another thing you have to organise along with your Innovator visa application is the Immigration Healthcare Surcharge (IHS). This scheme acts as health insurance while you are in the UK and secures access to the UK's health services. When you have met all requirements and submitted your application and the accompanying documents, you should wait for no more than three weeks to receive the visa decision.
Once you obtain the Innovator Founder visa, you can stay in the UK for at least three years. There's the opportunity to extend your Innovator visa from inside the UK for three more years. The good news is that you can apply to extend your Innovator visa as many times as you wish. However, after the first three years of your stay in the UK, you are eligible to apply for settlement status. For more information, read Expat.com's article on settlement in the UK. Note that when you are on an Innovator Founder visa in the UK, you cannot be employed outside your business and cannot apply for benefits or the State Pension.
The endorsing body of your business has the right to withdraw their endorsement at any stage of your stay in the UK. In that case, you must find a new endorsing body and re-apply for the Innovator Founder visa before your original visa expires.
You can bring your dependent and children under the Innovator Founder visa. The additional cost is £1,036 for each person.
Good to know:
To be granted the Innovator founder visa, you must be awarded 70 points in total, of which 50 must be under the new or same business criteria, but not both. The remaining 20 points will be awarded for meeting an English language and a financial requirement. The English requirements are reading, writing, speaking, and understanding English to at least a level B2.
Tip:
You may have a great business idea, which may not, however, have growth potential. Hence, think carefully about how your idea may evolve in the future before you jump into the application process because this is an element that the Home Office will assess.
Useful link:
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