Successful Sponsor Licence Application
Efficient and helpful. Amer and his Team are quick to respond to queries, even over the weekends and at night. Sponsor Licence granted after only 4 weeks. Thanks.
Daniel Johnson
No Win No Fee UK Innovator Founder Visa
If you want to ensure the success of your application for an Innovator Founder visa for the UK, contact Cranbrook Legal’s skilled and experienced immigration lawyers. We have an excellent UK Innovator Founder visa success rate, and provide a highly responsive, fixed-fee service.
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When you are looking to apply for the Tier 1 Innovator Founder visa for the UK, don’t look further than Cranbrook Legal.
The Innovator Founder visa is a highly sought-after visa route, and for good reason. Aimed at experienced business people who wish to set up a business in the UK, this visa enables you to stay in the UK for up to three years, although this can be extended an unlimited number of times, subject to you meeting the eligibility requirements. It may also provide a route to you settling permanently in the UK.
However, in order to obtain an Innovation Founder visa for the UK, you must satisfy stringent criteria, including obtaining an endorsement for your business idea from an approved Endorsing Body.
Our central London-based solicitors have a 100% success rate in helping our clients to obtain the Innovator Founder visa. We are no less than the UK’s leading Innovator Founder visa law firm, and specialise in assisting tech firms to establish themselves in the UK.
We also work closely with Endorsing Bodies to ensure the Innovator Founder visa endorsement, and have access to business ideas that are ready for endorsement. Furthermore, our fixed-free service helps ensure all of your costs are self-contained, thereby giving you important financial certainty when you come to apply for a UK Innovator visa.
There’s simply no need to look anywhere else for the highest standard of Innovator Founder visa guidance, advice and assistance. Feel free to call our solicitors now on 0208 215 0053.
Recent Innovator Founder Visa Success Stories
As a firm with more than 25 years’ experience in the UK immigration sector, Cranbrook Legal is well-placed to assist you in your efforts to successfully apply for a Tier 1 Innovator Founder visa.
Based in central London, our UK Innovator Founder visa solicitors have successfully helped a number of innovative businesses from around the world to establish a presence in the UK. We are particularly at the forefront of the advancement of tech-based businesses in the UK.
When you approach us about helping you to secure an Innovator Founder visa for the UK, we will work closely with you, project-managing your case from start to finish to help deliver a positive outcome. Indeed, we have a 100% UK Innovator Founder visa success rate – a firm sign of how thorough and comprehensive our service is for candidates for this visa.
Our ‘no win no fee’ Innovator Founder visa application service works much like it sounds; we are so confident that we will be successful in helping you to obtain the Endorsement, that if we fail, you will not need to pay us a fee for this service.
Our UK Innovator Founder visa lawyers will agree a fixed fee with you at the outset of your case to give you crucial financial certainty. This fee will then only become payable if you are successful in obtaining an Endorsement being approved for the Tier 1 Innovator Founder visa with our help.
With our 100% success rate in helping applicants to secure the Innovator Founder visa, you can be confident that as our client, you will obtain this sought-after visa and be able to establish your business in the UK.
The Innovator Founder visa for the UK is a category of visa aimed at experienced businesspeople interested in setting up a business in the UK. It was introduced in April 2019, as a replacement for the Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa.
Applicants for the Innovator Founder visa must be able to show that their business idea is new, which means they are not permitted to join a business that is already trading. It is also expected by the Home Office that the applicant’s business idea will be original and innovative, not resembling anything else on the market. Furthermore, the business idea must be viable, with genuine growth potential.
Those who are successful in being approved for an Innovator Founder visa have the right to stay in the UK for three years. This is also the case for those who switch to this visa from another visa while already in the UK. Holders of the UK Innovator Founder visa are also entitled to extend their stay for a further two years when it is due to expire. There is no limit to how many times this visa can be extended.
Another potential benefit of obtaining an Innovation Founder visa for the UK is that you may be able to apply to settle in the country after you have been in the UK for three years.
As a holder of the Innovator Founder visa, you will be entitled to do the following:
In order to apply for an Innovation Founder visa for the UK, you must satisfy the following requirements:
You are required to have an Endorsing Body assess your business or business idea before you apply. If your business is eligible, the Endorsing Body will provide you with an endorsement letter.
The UK Innovator Founder visa requirements also require you to:
If you wish to set up a new business in your application for the UK Innovator visa, you must also:
You will not require any investment funds if either of the following conditions apply:
There is also a need to show that you will be able to support yourself as a holder of this visa.
Candidates for Innovation visas for the UK must also have had a minimum of £1,270 in their bank account for 28 days before they apply. Those wishing to apply to extend their Innovator visa, or switch to this category of visa, are also subject to this requirement if they have been in the UK for less than a year.
The funds that you use to support yourself on a UK Innovator Founder visa cannot come from your investment funds or from money earned due to working in the UK illegally.
Would-be holders of the Innovation Founder visa for the UK are entitled to form a team with other applicants. However, they are not allowed to share the same investment funds. A team of Innovator visa applicants are required to prove the source of their funding.
Why Customers Love Us ?
Successful Sponsor Licence Application
Efficient and helpful. Amer and his Team are quick to respond to queries, even over the weekends and at night. Sponsor Licence granted after only 4 weeks. Thanks.
Daniel Johnson
Care Home Sponsor Licence Application!
We used Cranbrook Legal for the processing of a Sponsor Licence Application. We are a Health Care provider and have faced huge difficulties in recruiting for our Care Homes. Amer and his team were quick to identify the documents needed for our specific case and they were able to prepare a really strong application. I have no doubt that the really good Cover Letter convinced the Home Office to approve our Application. Thanks again, superb work!
Sophie Barton
ILR Application
Thanks to Amer and team for all help given to me my indefinite visa and British citizenship : so many solicitor tell me that British Nationality is impossible for me but Amer looked at my file and took care and fight with Home Office and in the end they give up and give me British Nationality .thank you for Amer and Cranbrook team
Hossan Ali
You will not be permitted to apply for an Innovator Founder visa until you have first had your business or business idea assessed and endorsed by an entity known as an Endorsing Body.
Endorsing Bodies are organisations that are authorised to endorse applications for Innovation Founder visas in the UK. An organisation is only allowed to issue an endorsement if it is on the Home Office’s approved list.
Once you have been issued with an endorsement letter from an Endorsing Body, this will remain valid for three months to give you an opportunity to lodge your visa application.
Here at Cranbrook Legal, we have an excellent reputation for assisting individuals with the process of obtaining an Innovator Founder visa. Indeed, we have a 100% success rate of doing so, and this is partly thanks to the strong relationships we have long maintained with UK Innovator visa Endorsing Bodies.
Our Innovator Founder visa UK lawyers work closely with Endorsing Bodies to help ensure our clients achieve endorsement. Our solicitors take the time to understand each and every client’s business plan, so that we can present it to a relevant Endorsing Body in a way that helps produce a positive outcome.
We also have access to business ideas that are ready for endorsement. So, you don’t even necessarily need to have a business idea already in mind when you approach our UK Innovator Founder visa solicitors and tech specialists.
Why Choose Us For Your Innovator Founder Visa UK?
Once an Endorsing Body has issued you with an endorsement letter for your business or business idea, this will remain valid for three months, and you will be expected to apply for your Tier 1 Innovator Founder visa in that timeframe.
If you are unable to submit your Innovator visa application within these three months, you will need to be issued with a new endorsement – using a new secure reference number –before you can apply.
After an Endorsing Body has endorsed you, it is expected that you will maintain contact checkpoints with the Endorsing Body, so that you can benefit from its continued support. These contact checkpoints do not have to be face-to-face; they can also be arranged via telephone or videoconference.
When you apply for your Innovator visa after being endorsed by an Endorsing Body, you will be required to provide the endorsement letter, which should contain all of the below details:
The Home Office will not accept your endorsement if:
As well as the above, the endorsement letter must include confirmation from the Endorsing Body that according to its assessment, you satisfy the individual requirements of either the ‘new business’ or ‘same business’ criteria.
Please note that if, once you have been approved for the Innovator Founder visa, the Endorsing Body withdraws your endorsement, this may result in your visa being cut short. This could mean that if you wish to stay in the UK for longer, you will be required to reapply with a new endorsement prior to the expiry of your current visa.
You may be at risk of having your endorsement withdrawn by the Endorsing Body if any of the below circumstances apply:
Among the UK Innovator Founder visa requirements for applicants is the provision of a business idea that is new, innovative and viable.
Even before you are permitted to apply for the Tier 1 Innovator visa, you will need to convince an Endorsing Body that your business idea meets its requirements for innovation, viability and scalability. The Endorsing Body will also need to be satisfied that you will spend all of your working time in the UK on the development of your business venture.
However, you don’t necessarily need to have your own business plan already prepared in order to achieve endorsement. That’s because our own Tier 1 Innovator Founder visa solicitors have access to business ideas that are already ‘endorsement-ready’.
As for if you have your own business idea already, our specialists can help you develop this and present it to an Endorsing Body in a manner that will maximise the likelihood of a successful outcome.
The close relationships we have long maintained with leading Endorsing Bodies for the Innovator Founder visa in the UK – especially in the tech field – have helped us achieve a 100% success rate in securing this visa for our clients.
In order to apply for an Innovation Founder visa for the UK, you will be required to supply an ‘endorsement letter’ showing that an Endorsing Body has assessed your business or business idea.
Other documents that must be provided as part of the UK Innovator Founder visa requirements include:
A certified translation will also be needed of any documents of yours that are not in English or Welsh.
Furthermore, you will require a blank page in your passport for your visa if you’re from:
It may be necessary for you to supply further documents, depending on your circumstances.
Prospective candidates for the Innovator Founder visa for the UK are required to apply online. Exactly how they apply depends on whether they’re:
Your partner and children can be included in your application to stay in the UK, if they are eligible.
You will also need to pay the Home Office’s fee for the UK Innovator Founder visa application. The amount you are charged will depend on your circumstances and where you apply from, as detailed below:
| Who you’re applying for | Apply (outside the UK) | Extend or switch (in the UK) |
|---|---|---|
| You | £1,036 | £1,292 |
| Your partner and children | £1,036 each person | £1,292 each person |
The visa fee must be paid for each person that applies at the same time as you, or that applies later to join you in the UK.
Please note that when you apply for an Innovator Founder visa for the UK, you will also be required to pay the healthcare surcharge. The GOV.UK website enables you to calculate how much you will need to pay in advance of your application.
Your application fee will be £55 lower than the above if you are from one of the following countries:
This discount applies solely to your visa application; your partner and children will still be required to pay the full application fee.
In addition, applicants to extend or switch to an Innovator Founder visa in the UK may be required to pay £100 to £200, so that they can have their biometric information – including fingerprints and a photograph – taken.
You will be required to prove your identity and supply your documents as part of the Innovator Founder visa application process. An appointment may be required in order to do this, in which case, you’ll need to allow for the extra time.
You’ll be told whether you need to arrange an appointment when you begin your application. If you do need to attend an appointment, it may be possible to pay for a quicker decision.
Once you have submitted your online application, proved your identity and supplied the necessary documents, you can normally expect a decision within the following timeframes:
If your application for an Innovation visa for the UK is approved, you will be given a biometric resident permit (BRP). The Home Office will also give you a 30-day visa to allow you to collect your BRP after your arrival in the UK.
In the event of your Innovator Founder visa application being rejected, you will unfortunately not have the right to appeal against this decision. However, if you believe the Home Office has made an error in its consideration of your application, you are entitled to apply for an administrative review.
On your arrival in the UK as a successful applicant for an Innovator Founder visa, the Home Office must be satisfied that you have valid entry clearance. There must also be no reason for the authorities to believe you provided false information in order to obtain the entry clearance, or that your circumstances have altered since the Home Office made its decision to grant you this visa.
Please note that with effect from 6 April 2022, holders of the Innovator Founder visa can now be granted further permission to stay by the Secretary of State if they do not qualify to settle in the UK;Â previously, Innovator Founder visa holders who applied unsuccessfully for settlement were simply refused.
In order to be granted further permission to stay in these circumstances, applicants will still be expected to meet the suitability and eligibility criteria for ‘Leave to Remain as an Innovator’.
In the event of further leave to remain being granted, you will not need to pay any additional application fee, but the Home Office will not refund your settlement application fee. If applicable, the Secretary of State will write to you to let you know of this variation, and if needed, they will ask that you pay the necessary Immigration Health Charge.Â
What Our Customers Say About Us
Excellent service from Cranbrook Legal! They were incredibly patient, thorough, and detailed with my endorsement application. Their support and guidance throughout the entire process were invaluable.
Paing Phyo Thiha
Very good experience, despite never even meeting or seeing the lawyers (phone/zoom/email). They were very meticulous in checking all our documents were complete, and my VISA
Auri
The British spousal visa process is a horrendous ordeal full of incomplete and misleading information, traps and pitfalls designed to make only the smartest (or richest)
Tom Dennehy
Excellent experience with Cranbrook and Bilal - acquired our visa sponsorship license and then sponsored a candidate with their assistance. Whole process was very smooth and
Ben Anderson
Was super impressed with Cranbrook Legal. They were efficient and friendly, and most importantly really explained the process properly and simply. We secured our sponsor licence
Annabel Fox
The UK officially left the European Union (EU) on 31 January 2020. A transition period agreed between the UK and the EU – during which the UK ceased to be a member of the EU, but still adhered to EU rules –continued until the end of 2020.
The UK Government launched the free EU Settlement Scheme to enable EU, non-EU European Economic Area (EEA) and Swiss citizens living in the UK prior to the conclusion of the transition period to protect their residence in the UK.
Prospective applicants for the Tier 1 Innovator Founder visa who are from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein may be interested in applying to the EU Settlement Scheme if they or their family member began living in the UK by 31 December 2020.
For most people, the deadline to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme was 30 June 2021. However, you may still be able to apply to the scheme if either of the below conditions apply:
You can check on the GOV.UK website whether you can still apply to the EU Settlement Scheme. If you are not eligible to apply, you would require a visa in order to work in the UK.
Please note that if you are an Irish citizen, there is no need for you to apply for a visa or to the EU Settlement Scheme.
UK employers are typically required to obtain a sponsor licence if they wish to employ someone from outside the UK to work for them. Included in this are citizens of the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland who arrived in the UK after 31 December 2020.
Not all businesses are necessarily eligible for a sponsor licence, and there are certain groups for which you will not require a sponsor licence if you wish to employ them. These include:
Innovator visa holders, having established a business in the UK, can apply for a sponsor licence. For more information and advice in relation to applying for a sponsor licence and in what circumstances sponsorship may or may not be needed, please contact our experienced UK Innovator Founder visa solicitors. You can give them a call on 0208 215 0053.
Multiple people are permitted to apply with one business idea for an Innovator Founder visa. If you take this path, all applicants sharing the business idea must be endorsed in their own right.
For all new business applications, each innovator will also be required to be able to demonstrate that they can prove the source of thier funding
Teams of two or more can apply for a Tier 1 Innovator Founder visa on the basis of the same business idea. However, when applications are being lodged for members of an innovator team, extra legal submissions will be required, so that the Home Office can assess what each applicant will bring to the business.
You do not necessarily already need to have a business idea in mind, in order to obtain a UK Innovator Founder visa with our help. We already have access to business ideas that are ready for endorsement.
We particularly specialise in assisting tech businesses to establish themselves in the UK, and work closely with Endorsing Bodies for the Innovator Founder visa in the UK. This helps explain why we have such a strong track record of success when it comes to getting our clients accepted for this visa.
We have never failed in getting our clients accepted for this visa, which reflects our highly client-focused, informed and dynamic service. Our talented immigration solicitors treat every case with care, dignity and total transparency, and will also be highly communicative with you, answering any question you may have.
This combination of qualities, along with our particular expertise in helping technology firms to set up in the UK, has helped make us one of the most trusted names in Innovation visas in the UK. This includes when it comes to devising and developing business ideas that you can be sure will meet with approval from Endorsing Bodies.
When you are seeking out Endorsing Bodies to endorse your business as a candidate for the Innovator Founder visa, you will need to be mindful of any fees a given Endorsing Body might charge.
UK Innovator Founder visa Endorsing Bodies can vary widely in the structure and nature of the fees they charge. You can expect a particular Endorsing Body to either charge you no fee at all, a specific fee, or a significant equity stake in your business as an alternative to a fee.
Our Innovator Founder visa UK lawyers can advise and guide you through every aspect of an application for this visa, including the fees that Endorsing Bodies may charge. We are committed to helping ensure you make only the most informed and suitable decisions for you and your business.
When you come to apply for an Innovator Founder visa, the Home Office will expect you to have a genuine and original business plan, with evidence of structured planning. It will also be expected that your business will have the potential to create jobs and grow into national and international markets.
For more detailed advice about hiring workers as a holder of the Tier 1 Innovator Founder visa, please contact our highly experienced immigration solicitors today.
It is now usually necessary for businesses that wish to employ workers from outside the UK to first obtain a sponsor licence from the Home Office; this also applies if the workers you wish to hire are citizens of the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland who came to the UK after 31 December 2020.
A sponsor licence is not needed in order to employ Irish citizens, those with settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, and those with indefinite leave to remain in the UK.
Although an Innovator Founder visa entitles you to set up one or multiple businesses, you are not allowed to do any work outside your own business, such as work that would involve you being employed by another business.
Holders of the UK Innovator Founder visa are required to devote themselves entirely to working on their business ventures, and are not permitted to take on other employment away from their business. This includes anything that effectively constitutes employment – for example, hiring out their labour to another employer through their own business.Â
Innovator Founder visa holders are also not allowed to work as a professional sportsperson – such as a sports coach. They are also forbidden from applying for most UK benefits, or the State Pension. Study is, however, allowed on this visa.
As a candidate for the Tier 1 Innovator Founder visa, you are not required to be the sole founder of the business detailed in your application. You are permitted to be a member of an entrepreneurial team, and to share the same business idea and business plan as someone else in this innovator team.
However, each member of the innovator team is required to be issued with their own individual endorsement, and to satisfy all of the UK Innovator Founder visa requirements in their own right.
If you are making a new business application with a co-investor with a view to obtaining an Innovator Founder visa, each applicant must be able to prove the source of thier funding
For further information about our complete service in relation to the Innovator Founder visa, please call our innovator founder visa lawyers on 0208 215 0053 today.
There is no minimum amount of investment required for this route now. Instead, the level of investment required depends on the business idea itself. For most innovative businesses in the UK, this is typically between £50,000 - £75,000.
Yes we can assist with your idea and help develop using the information provided depending on the suitability of the idea to be accepted for this route.
Yes we can offer a bespoke package to either include a review or for one of our writers to do the business plan entirely with the clients assistance
Yes the endorsing bodies charge a yearly fee outline with each endorsing body
You can stay for 3 years on the initial visa and then extend for a further 2 years. You may be able to apply for settlement (known as ‘indefinite leave to remain’) after three years if you meet the fast track requirements, otherwise, you may be able to qualify once you have been in the UK for 5 years.
The role of Authorising Officer must be undertaken by someone with one of the following immigration status: British citizen Indefinite leave to remain Settled Status under the EU Settlement Scheme Innovator Visa Sole Representative Visa Global Talent Visa
100 % over the past 12 months.
For Something to be deemed Innovative it must be an invention or a creation of sorts,
Generally Ideas that target niece markets and gaps in the market are not deemed eligible
No , you need to show suitability for the idea as whatever idea you intend to do you should be able execute it that idea
Eligibility
You must have:
You must be able to demonstrate you have an active key role in the day-to-day management and development of your business.
Your business must be:
Your business must have done at least 2 of the following:
You cannot spend more than 180 days outside of the UK in any given year. You must continue to work on developing your business in the UK even
Yes, you can work in another job within the same sector or set up other businesses in the UK.
Applicants must show English language ability on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages in all 4 components (reading, writing, speaking and listening) of at least level B2.
It is a two-step application process. First step is to apply for endorsement with one of the four endorsing bodies.
Upon acquiring the endorsement, the Second step is to apply for the Innovator Founder visa.
Once submitted, the endorsement application can take between 4 to 8 weeks.
The preparation of the endorsement application can take between 6 to 12 weeks, depending on the nature of the business idea, and the level of support you require from us.
If applying from within the UK, the visa application will typically be processed within 8 weeks of providing your biometrics. If applying from outside of the UK, the visa application will typically be processed within 3 weeks of providing your biometrics.
The endorsing bodies typically conduct an interview with the applicant to have a better assessment of the proposed idea and the applicant’s competency and understanding of their proposal. Home Office can also sometimes conduct an interview to ensure that the idea belongs to the applicant and that they have the relevant competency to be able to successfully launch this idea in the UK.
Obtain Endorsement: Secure an endorsement from an approved endorsing body.
Prepare Application: Gather necessary documentation, including proof of endorsement, financial evidence, and English language proficiency.
Submit Application: Apply online and pay the application fee.
Biometric Information: Attend an appointment to provide biometric information (fingerprints and a photo).
Decision: Wait for a decision from UK Visas and Immigration.
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