Start Up Visa

Start Up Visa

UK Immigration: Start-up Visa

The Start-Up visa was introduced in March 2019. It offers a route into the UK for entrepreneurs from
abroad who wish to set up a new business here for the first time. Applicants don’t need to be
graduates or to have secured any funding. What they do need is an innovative, viable, scalable
commercial idea which has gained the approval of a Home Office-approved endorsing body.

Switching from another Visa

In addition to new applicants, the Start-Up visa scheme also accommodates people who have already
applied for a visa under a different process but now wish to switch their application to the Start-Up
programme. This is possible except for people who fall into the following categories:
(a) Visitor
(b) Short-term Student
(c) Parent of a Child Student
(d) Seasonal Worker
(e) domestic worker in a private household
(f) holder of leave outside the Immigration Rules.

Eligibility

There are four fundamental requirements for an application. You must show evidence that:

• • You have not previously operated a business in the UK
  • Your business idea has been endorsed by a designated body
  • You can understand, speak and write English to the required level
  • You must have the minimum level of funds required
    No Established Business
    The scheme expands on the first of these requirements by exempting any business that started
    trading during the life of your previous Start-Up visa, Graduate Entrepreneur visa, or during your time
    as a student as part of the doctorate extension scheme visa.
    Endorsement
    The Home Office lists bodies whose endorsements are acceptable for the Start-Up visa scheme.
    There are currently some 50 organisations, including businesses, investment firms and universities.
    To support your application, you need to produce a letter of endorsement from one of these bodies
    dated no earlier than three months before your application.
    Proposal for New Business
    The requirement for your idea to be innovative, viable and scalable breaks down thus:
  • The plan must be genuinely original to meet a new or existing market need or represent a
    competitive advantage
  • The plan must be achievable in the context of the applicant’s available resources
  • The applicant must possess or be developing the skills and market awareness required to run
    the business effectively
  • The plan must be adequately structured and demonstrate job creation and growth potential.
    Endorsing Bodies

The Home Office website carries a full list of endorsing bodies. They are either UK institutions of
higher education or business organisations with a track record supporting UK entrepreneurship,
including incubators, accelerators and government agencies.
After you have obtained the endorsement, the endorsing body will assess the progress of your
business after six and 12 months. If progress is not deemed satisfactory, the endorsement can be
revoked, and the visa will be withdrawn.
The Global Entrepreneurs Programme (GEP)
The purpose of the GEP is to support the internationalisation of companies founded by tech-based
entrepreneurs headquartered in the UK. For your application for endorsement to be considered, you
need to have been accepted into membership of the GEP.

English Language Requirement

If you are a national of a country where English is the majority language, or you hold a degree which
you took in English, then you need do nothing further to satisfy this requirement.
If not, you will have to produce evidence of facility in reading, writing, speaking and listening in the
English language to at least Level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for
Languages.

Financial requirement

If you are applying for a Start-Up visa from abroad or have been in the UK for under 12 months on the
date of your application, you must show that you have at least £1,270 of funding for the 28 days
before the date of application. This requirement is also satisfied if your endorsing body confirms an
award of at least £1,270.
If you have lived here with permission for more than 12 months before applying and are seeking
further permission to stay rather than enter the UK, the requirement is waived.

Team Applications

If you intend to find your new UK business in collaboration with partners, each individual must obtain
their endorsement.

Conditions of Stay

The following restrictions apply once you have been granted a Start-Up visa:

• • You will have no access to public funds
  • You may work in any field or capacity except in the sporting industry
  • You may study only under permitted conditions
  • You may have to register with the police
    Visa Extensions
    A Start-Up visa is valid for two years from the date it is granted. Extensions on the same terms and
    with the same status are not normally given, so you will need to apply instead for an Innovator visa.
    Provisions were put in place to extend the duration of Start-Up visas when the Coronavirus delayed
    the establishment of the new business. These provisions expired on 30th September 2022.
    Innovator Visa

If you are granted a Start-Up visa, when it expires after two years, then as long as you are still
engaged in the business for which your original application was made, you may switch to the
Innovator visa scheme. This normally requires you to prove you have access to £50,000 of
investment, but if you are switching from a Start-Up visa, this requirement does not apply.
Nevertheless, your endorsing body must confirm that the business remains viable for at least 12
months.

Dependents

If you are granted a Start-Up visa, you are permitted to bring a dependent partner and any dependent
children when you enter the UK. If this is your first visa, or you have been living here for less than 12
months, you must prove you have the following levels of funds in addition to any other financial
requirements:
At least £285 for a dependent partner
At least £315 for the first child
At least £200 for each additional child
As with the main financial requirement, you must have held these funds for at least 28 days before
you apply.
However, if you have been living in the UK with permission for more than 12 months and are applying
to stay longer, the financial requirements for dependents are waived.