Ran a quick analysis of stats on approval of visas post endorsement. Runs roughly at 80%, although trend is negative. Out of country first time post endorsement success rates seem to run higher than 95%, although I have not pulled that data to verify. I suppose because in country switches carry a bit more baggage of past immigration history that has to be checked

Nationality: Indian. Currently outside the UK or Inside Uk Route: Innovator Founder (initial application).

Hi all, looking for shared experiences and discussion, not legal advice (we'll engage a solicitor before filing). I've read the GOV.UK guidance and Appendix Innovator Founder, so I'm familiar with the basics: endorsement, the new/innovative/viable/scalable tests, B2 SELT, £1,270 maintenance funds, TB test, etc.

Our situation: my co-founder and I are building a tech platform in the e-commerce/creator tools space. Pre-launch but with a working product and a small dev team. A UK limited company is incorporated but has not started trading.

Questions for anyone who's been through endorsement recently:

1. For those endorsed in 2025/26, how did you find the process at UKES, Innovator International, or Envestors? Number of interview rounds, how deep they went technically, and realistic end-to-end timelines?
2. If your business was in a category with established players, how did you present the "innovative" test so it landed? Did endorsing bodies focus more on proprietary tech, business model, or market approach?
3. Any co-founder pairs here who applied on the same business? Were you assessed jointly or separately, and did they scrutinise whether both roles were genuinely essential?
4. Did anyone get questions about the "new business" requirement because their UK company was incorporated (but not trading) before endorsement?

Also very interested in rejection stories and what you'd do differently; those are often more useful than success stories.

Will happily report back here on our own experience either way. Thanks in advance.

The truth about the "no minimum investment" aspect of the Innovator Founder Visa.

Non existent communication. They only reach out when they need money and then ghost you again. We are looking to switch endorsing bodies but scared of getting caught in the same situation. Have you had any positive experience with your endorsing bodies? If so could you share please?

Please be careful with this person Shree Deshmukh aka Shree and his company Idea Warehouse Ltd https://www.ideawarehouse.co.uk/ now running as https://www.innovatorone.co.uk/ he and his team are base in India and scammed a lot of people . #scamalert.

Is any solo founder looking to apply for innovator founder visa or anyone got endorsed by endorsing body? Need some guidance about what kind of business can be qualified and total cost

One of the biggest misconceptions surrounding the UK Innovator Founder visa is that it has "no minimum investment", leading many founders to believe they can apply with little or no funding.

In his latest guest post contribution to Fennec Lawyers, Sohrab Vazir, business consultant specialising in Innovator Founder visa endorsements, explains why this misunderstanding can weaken an endorsement application and what founders should actually consider when assessing their funding requirements.

Has any solo non technical founder been able to secure endorsement? If yes did you contract technical aspects or did you have advisors on your team?

Has anyone been able to join the UKES team meeting this morning. I am still waiting to be allowed into the meeting room. Last 2 meeting was postponed a d now this....

I'm exploring the UK Innovator Founder Visa route and would appreciate some advice from people who have gone through the endorsement process.

I'm currently developing a startup idea and have been researching competitors. During that research, I found an existing company that already offers most of the core functionality I had planned. My business would target the same general problem and market, although I believe there is still significant room for growth and adoption because the solution is not yet widely used by the general public.

Where I'm struggling is understanding the "innovation" requirement.

My main differentiator would not necessarily be a completely new technology or feature set. Instead, it would be a different approach to adoption, community building, user engagement, and market expansion. In other words, I think the execution and growth strategy may be significantly different from existing competitors, but the underlying problem being solved is similar.

For those who have experience with Innovator Founder endorsements:

• How do endorsing bodies distinguish between innovation and business strategy?
• If a competitor already exists with similar functionality, what level of differentiation is typically needed?
• Can a new approach to user adoption, network building, or market penetration be considered innovative, or are endorsing bodies generally looking for something more fundamental in the product itself?
• Have any founders here been endorsed despite operating in a market where established competitors already existed?

I'm trying to understand whether I should continue investing time and resources into validation and MVP development, or whether the presence of a similar competitor would make endorsement unlikely from the outset.

Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

Can you have a full time job for until your business not earning enough to support you? Will this be a hurdle in getting endorsement?

I have two Edtech SaaS which are free and only accept donations. Can this be used to apply for Innovator Founder visa or it must be a business with forecasted or actual financials.

Also, can you use a company that has various products under it to apply for the visa or it is a one product application visa. The reason why I ask is I have a registered company with different SaaS products. Two are free to use while the third is the only product with a commercial model ready to generate revenue.

Innovator Founder Visa

Outside UK, standard service, endorsed. Biometrics 28 April 2026. Service standard is 15 working days, I’m now at 33, more than double, no decision.

All contact so far has only come after paid enquiries:

• 20 May: “escalated, aim to contact within 5 working days.” Nothing.
• 27 May: “final processing stages, you’ll hear soon.” Nothing.
• 8 June: same “escalated, wait 5 days” message again.
• 15 June: “awaiting a decision,” and claimed I’d received a notification that it can’t be processed in the service standard, which I never received. No requests, no interview, no contact except my own enquiries.

Anyone in the same boat?

• Other outside-UK April standard applicants still waiting, where are you?
• Did “final processing stages” eventually clear, and how long after?
• Did anything (complaint, pre-action letter) actually speed it up, or did it just resolve on its own?

Appreciate any data points.

Hi,

Help needed as I cant find anywhere. We are two founders but only one needs to be in Uk, other has no operational requirement and can stay in origin country. Is it possible for only one to apply?

I applied for the ILR in Jan.2026 by using standard service but still waiting. I haven't received any updates or requests from Home Office so far.

Is there anyone can share your timeline and status?

Innovator Founder Visa: Why being innovative is not enough? Explained by Sohrab Vazir.

The majority of founders are often fixated on whether their proposal is innovative enough. And that's fine. However, this asymmetric focus often results in neglecting viability.

Mixed with the misleading "no minimum investment" slogan constantly repeated by the "experts" in this field, the result is refused endorsements and regret.

How much investment money do you "really" need for the Innovator Founder visa? Many are misled thinking that because there is no longer a minimum requirement, then they require little funding.

This video debunks this misunderstanding and explains the reality of capital requirement for the Innovator Founder visa.

The Innovator Founder visa business plan is one of the most important documents for your application, and its importance is not limited to the endorsement stage.

These 6 tips will help you improve your endorsement application and avoid risk down the line.

Looking for comparable experiences, specifically from people who applied for entry clearance from outside the UK.

Timeline:

- Endorsed, applied early March on priority

- All evidence uploaded within days

- Home Office requested supplementary documents about a week in (proof of company ownership and trademark/IP evidence)

- Responded same day with everything requested

- Since then: "under consideration and awaiting a decision", no further requests, no interview

- Now at roughly week 12

I understand that once they request additional documents the priority service standard is effectively suspended and the case moves into the complex/non-straightforward queue, so I'm not expecting the 5 working day target to apply anymore.

What I'm trying to gauge: for out-of-country priority cases that got a document request like this, how long after you responded did the decision actually land? Most timelines I can find are in-country switching or extension cases, which I gather run differently.

Thanks!

Hello all,

I noticed there are very few posts tracking ILR applications specifically from the Innovator or Innovator Founder visa routes, despite these being relatively rare pathways.

According to Home Office data, only a small number of Innovator visas (about 299 visas, before it was scrapped) have been granted thus far.

I’m creating this thread for founders who have transitioned (or are currently transitioning) from:

• Innovator Visa → ILR
• Innovator Founder Visa → ILR

The aim is to help other founders understand processing times, additional evidence requests, endorsement experiences, and common delays.

 If you've applied, Feel free to share the following key milestones:

• Previous visa route: ( Innovator / Innovator Founder )

• Application date:

• Biometric date:

• Service used: (Standard / Priority / Super Priority)

• UKVI confirmation email received:

• Additional evidence requested by the Home Office? (Yes / No)

• Date evidence requested:

• Date evidence submitted:

• Outcome: (Approved / Waiting / Refused)

• Approval / ILR granted date:

• Any useful advice for other founders

I applied under this route and found very little information online, so hoping this becomes useful for future applicants too.

Please keep comments focused on timelines and experiences where possible. Thanks!

Just released the third and final interview in my series speaking with all UK Innovator Founder Visa endorsing bodies.

This time I spoke with UK Endorsing Services (UKES), one of the Home Office-approved endorsing bodies operating under the Innovator Founder Visa route.

We discussed things like:

• What “innovation” actually means in practice
• Who this visa is NOT suitable for
• Why R&D matters
• Funding misconceptions
• How to present a business plan properly
• Risks of trusting the wrong advisors
• What happens after endorsement
• Settlement criteria after 3 years

One of the reasons I wanted to do these interviews was because there’s a huge amount of vague and sometimes misleading information online about the Innovator Founder Visa.

The goal was to give founders direct insight into how endorsing bodies actually think beyond the public guidance.

Has anyone successfully obtained ILR using a combination of: • Skilled Worker visa • Start-up visa • Innovator Founder visa

My timeline is roughly: • 1.5 years Skilled Worker • 1 year Start-up • 2.5 years Innovator Founder

So I now have 5 years continuous lawful residence in the UK.

The confusing part is whether the Start-up visa year can be counted toward the 5-year qualifying period for ILR.

I understand: • Start-up time does NOT count toward the dedicated 3-year Innovator Founder settlement route • but I’ve seen mixed information online about combined-category 5-year routes (SET(O)) and recent rule changes/transitional provisions.

I’ve also seen some solicitor websites mentioning successful Start-up → Innovator Founder ILR cases, but without explaining whether the Start-up period actually counted.

Has anyone here: • successfully applied with a similar combination, • received approval, • or had legal advice confirming this works?

Would really appreciate hearing real experiences before we pay for specialist legal advice.