In brief
- You must normally attend at least two contact point meetings with your endorsing body, usually after about 12 and 24 months.
- Missing meetings, showing no progress or changing direction without telling your endorsing body can put your endorsement at risk.
- Several legacy endorsing bodies were removed from the Home Office list during 2026, so check your body is still approved.
- Settlement applications on this route have needed a fresh endorsement and evidence that the business meets at least two of seven criteria.
- Wider settlement reforms have been proposed, so check the current Immigration Rules and GOV.UK before planning around any settlement timeline.
Getting the visa is the start of the process, not the end. An Innovator Founder visa depends on an endorsement from an approved endorsing body (an organisation authorised by the Home Office to assess and support innovative businesses). This guide explains what you need to do to keep that endorsement on track. It reflects the position as at 5 November 2026.
The basic structure
The first visa is granted for 3 years. It can be extended for 3 years at a time, and each extension needs a fresh endorsement. There is no overall maximum period on the route. Settlement is covered separately below.
Contact point meetings
The main ongoing duty is to attend contact point meetings with your endorsing body. These are check-ins on how your business is progressing. You are expected to attend at least two during your permission. The endorsing body sets the timetable, but the meetings normally fall after about 12 months and about 24 months.
Contact point meetings carry a fee. Check the current amount with your endorsing body and on GOV.UK before you book. The initial endorsement fee was £1,000, excluding VAT.
Attendance matters for two reasons:
- Your endorsement may be withdrawn if you miss a required meeting.
- If you later apply for an extension in the same business, you must show that you attended at least two meetings, or similar checkpoints with a legacy endorsing body, during your permission.
What can put your endorsement at risk
An endorsing body can withdraw its support if you no longer meet the requirements of the route. Examples of situations that can cause concern include:
- missing a meeting or failing to provide information the endorsing body asks for;
- showing little or no progress against your business plan;
- changing your business direction significantly without telling the endorsing body;
- the business ceasing to trade.
Home Office guidance for endorsing bodies, in its April 2023 version, says they must tell the Home Office if a founder is no longer pursuing their business ideas or is missing a checkpoint. It also says they are not expected to monitor founders continually. That guidance may have been updated since, so check the current version. The Home Office, not the endorsing body, decides whether to curtail (shorten or cancel) your permission.
It is sensible to keep your endorsing body informed of major developments, such as a new line of business, an investment round or a change in ownership. This is good practice rather than a stated rule, but it helps to avoid misunderstandings.
Dependants
Your partner and children's permission depends on yours. If your endorsement is withdrawn and your visa is curtailed, their permission to stay is normally affected too.
Check that your endorsing body is still approved
The list of endorsing bodies changes. In 2026 the Home Office removed several bodies from its list of legacy endorsing bodies (those that can only endorse founders they had already endorsed before 13 April 2023):
- Community and Business Partners, on 17 February 2026;
- Innovate Britain, on 20 April 2026;
- MedCity and NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator, on 5 August 2026;
- SFC Capital, on 7 August 2026.
Removal of a body does not automatically end an existing visa. However, an endorsement cannot be accepted if the body that issued it has lost its status by the date the Home Office decides your application. This can matter if you have an extension or settlement application pending.
If your endorsing body is removed, or withdraws support, the Home Office has guidance for its caseworkers on how to handle the case. The time you have to find a new endorsement depends on the circumstances, and there is no single standard period that can be confirmed here. Read any letter you receive carefully and act quickly. The usual steps are to obtain a new endorsement from another approved body and to respond to any curtailment notice within the time allowed.
Preparing for settlement
Settlement (indefinite leave to remain) is the long-term goal for many founders on this route. Time on the Innovator Founder route, or the former Innovator route, has counted towards settlement. Time on the old Start-up route has not. Check this against the current Immigration Rules before you plan.
Wider reforms to settlement have been proposed, and the qualifying period and requirements may differ from earlier guidance. Check the current Immigration Rules and GOV.UK for the position that applies to the Innovator Founder route before you plan around any timeline. If timing matters to you, take advice.
Settlement applications on this route have needed a fresh settlement endorsement. In summary, you have had to show that:
- you have made significant progress against the business plan assessed in your previous endorsement;
- the business is registered at Companies House, with you as a director or member;
- the business is active and trading; and
- the business meets at least two of the seven specified achievement criteria.
Examples of those criteria include at least £50,000 invested and spent on the business plan, customer numbers at least doubling over the most recent 3 years, annual revenue of £1 million, or the equivalent of 10 full-time jobs for settled workers. Where several team members apply, they cannot rely on the same achievement. If two founders each rely on 10 jobs, 20 jobs must have been created in total.
You do not generally have to use the same endorsing body that endorsed you originally. You will also need to meet the general settlement requirements, including continuous residence (no more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12-month period) and the Life in the UK test, which costs £50. The Home Office application fee for indefinite leave to remain is currently £3,226. An extension in the UK costs £1,693.
After settlement, you may be able to apply for British citizenship, subject to residence and good character requirements.
A practical checklist
- Diary the 12-month and 24-month meetings from the date your visa was granted, and start preparing evidence beforehand.
- Keep organised records of spending, jobs, customers, revenue and intellectual property. The settlement criteria are evidence-based.
- Tell your endorsing body promptly about material changes, and take advice before any major change of direction.
- Check on GOV.UK that your endorsing body is still approved, especially if it is a legacy body.
- Plan travel so you stay within the 180-day limit.
- If your endorsement is withdrawn or your body is removed, get advice straight away.
How Garth Coates Solicitors can help
We advise founders on keeping their endorsement in good order, on extensions and on settlement applications. If you are unsure about a meeting, a change in your business or a problem with your endorsing body, please request a consultation.
This article is general information and was correct on 5 November 2026. It is not legal advice on your circumstances; immigration rules and fees change often. For advice on your case, request a consultation.
