How to get an endorsement
for the Innovator Founder
and Scale-up routes

4 October 2023

The UK’s points-based immigration system offers various work routes which have been designed to attract promising entrepreneurs and highly skilled workers, as well as making it easier for fast-growing businesses to access the talent they need from overseas.

The Innovator Founder visa and the Scale-up Worker visa are both examples of such routes. Launched in April 2023 and August 2022 respectively, both categories have strict eligibility criteria for the applicants and businesses seeking to use these routes to work or sponsor workers in the UK.

Under both routes, the Home Office utilises an endorsement process using external organisations known as ‘endorsing bodies’ to verify that visa applicants or sponsors can meet the requirements of the route they are applying under. Endorsements can only be issued by a select list of Home Office approved endorsing bodies.

Innovator Founder endorsement process

The Innovator Founder visa is for foreign nationals who want to set up and run an innovative business in the UK.

Before you can apply for an Innovator Founder visa, you will need to have your business or business idea assessed by an approved endorsing body to check that it meets the requirements of the route. As part of the endorsement process, the endorsing body will check that your business is:

  • New – you cannot join a business that is already trading.
  • Innovative – you must have an original business idea which is different from anything else on the market.
  • Viable, with potential for growth.
  • Scalable – you must give evidence of planning that includes creating jobs and growing into national and international markets.

You will also need to prove to your endorsing body that you have enough funding to set up your new business and where it’s from.

Once you have successfully obtained an endorsement and subsequently been granted an Innovator Founder visa, you will need to meet with your endorsing body after 12 months and 24 months to show that you are making progress with your business. Your visa may be cut short if your endorsement is withdrawn by the endorsing body. If you want to stay longer, you must re-apply with a new endorsement before your current visa expires.

Scale-up Worker endorsement process

The Scale-Up Worker visa is for foreign nationals who want to come to the UK to do an eligible job for a fast-growing UK business (sometimes called a ‘scale-up business’).

Under this route, the endorsement process applies to the sponsoring employer rather than the visa applicant. Employers must meet specific eligibility criteria to sponsor Scale-up Workers, and must prove that their business fits the Home Office’s definition of a qualifying Scale-up employer.

There are two ways you can meet the definition of a ‘qualifying Scale-up sponsor’:

  • The standard pathway (where the Home Office will automatically assess your employment growth and/or turnover growth, based on information you have submitted to HMRC)
  • The endorsing body pathway (where an approved endorsing body confirms your eligibility to apply for a sponsor licence).

The endorsing body pathway is for organisations who are unable to qualify under the standard pathway because their HMRC history is not long enough. To be eligible, you must first obtain an endorsement from a Home Office-approved endorsing body. You will have to pay an additional fee to the endorsing body to obtain this endorsement.

As part of the process, the endorsing body will conduct several checks on your business to check that it is legally registered, solvent and trading in the UK with sufficient finance and a potential growth rate consistent with the requirements of the Scale-up route.

Once you have successfully obtained your endorsement, you must apply for your sponsor licence within three months.

List of approved endorsing bodies

The following organisations are currently approved by the Home Office to issue endorsements for Innovator Founder visas and for Scale-up sponsor licences:

The Global Entrepreneurs Programme (GEP) is a government run programme for internationally mobile, tech-based entrepreneurs. GEP can only provide visa endorsements for founders that have already been invited to participate on their programme. For further information about the eligibility criteria for GEP, please contact global.entrepreneurs@trade.gov.uk.

Legacy endorsing bodies

As well as the above approved endorsing bodies, the Home Office also keeps a list of over 60 ‘legacy’ endorsing bodies which are no longer accepting new Start-up/Innovator applications but are authorised to continue maintaining and monitoring their existing endorsed migrants.

Endorsing Bodies included on the ‘Legacy Innovator Endorsing Bodies’ list may only provide further endorsements for Innovator Founder applications where they have already previously endorsed the applicant under either the Innovator or Start- up visa routes prior to 13 April 2023.

Immigration application support

If you have successfully obtained an endorsement from one of the approved endorsing bodies listed above, and require support with the next steps in your application, Smith Stone Walters can help.

To speak to a qualified immigration advisor, please contact us today.

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