There Is No Investor Visa, and the Route That Replaced It Asks for 1,270 Pounds
The United Kingdom has no investment route. The Tier 1 (Investor) category, which admitted people who placed two million pounds in qualifying investments, is still printed in Part 6A of the Immigration Rules and the paragraph that describes it says in terms that the route is now closed to new applicants; what remains there serves only people who already hold that leave. Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) says the same of itself and points readers at Innovator Founder, which is the only business route open. Innovator Founder is not an investment route either, and this is the fact most likely to surprise a reader: it sets no minimum investment at all. The financial requirement is 1,270 pounds of maintenance funds, held for 28 days, and nothing more. What it asks for instead is an endorsement letter from an approved Endorsing Body confirming a genuine, original, innovative, viable and scalable business, English at CEFR B2 in all four components, and that the applicant plays an active day-to-day role. Permission runs for a maximum of three years, and settlement comes after three years in the country on the route - but only where the endorsing body confirms the business has met at least two of seven achievement criteria, of which fifty thousand pounds invested and actively spent is one option among seven rather than a condition.
At a glance
- Investment route for passive capital
- None open. Part 6A paragraph 245E states that the Tier 1 (Investor) route is now closed to new applicants
The paragraph survives in the Rules only so that existing holders can extend or settle.
- Entrepreneur route
- None open under that name. Part 6A paragraph 245D(a)(i) states the Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) category is now closed to new applicants and directs other migrants to Innovator Founder
Paragraph 245D(a)(iii) of Part 6A names the replacement in terms.
- Minimum investment to enter on the Innovator Founder route
- None in Appendix Innovator Founder. The only financial requirement is funds of at least 1,270 pounds
INNF 12.2 sets the figure as a sum in pounds sterling and no provision of the Appendix sets an investment floor for entry clearance or permission to stay.
- How long the funds must be held
- A 28-day period
INNF 12.3 of Appendix Innovator Founder, read with Appendix Finance.
- Applicants who need show no funds
- Someone applying for permission to stay who has been in the UK with permission for 12 months or longer
INNF 12.1 of Appendix Innovator Founder.
- English language standard
- CEFR B2 in all 4 components - reading, writing, speaking and listening
INNF 11.1 of Appendix Innovator Founder. This is the degree-level standard, higher than the A1 Appendix FM asks of a partner.
- Period of grant
- A maximum period of 3 years
INNF 14.1 of Appendix Innovator Founder.
- Qualifying period for settlement
- At least 3 years in the UK with permission as an Innovator Founder
INNF 18.1 of Appendix Innovator Founder. The same three years as the grant, so settlement follows the first grant rather than a second one.
- Work permitted alongside the business
- Working for the business, and other employment only in a role requiring a skill level of not less than RQF Level 3
INNF 14.2(b) of Appendix Innovator Founder. INNF 14.3 excludes apprenticeships and hiring out your labour to another business, including through your own company.
- Investment required by the time of settlement
- At least 50,000 pounds invested and actively spent is one of seven criteria at INNF 17.1(f), of which two must be met
The figure appears as a sum in pounds sterling at INNF 17.1(f)(i). The other six criteria are customer growth, research and development with a UK intellectual property application, annual gross revenue, revenue with an export component, ten full-time jobs, or five full-time jobs at a stated mean salary.
- Counting the same thing twice
- Not permitted: investing 100,000 pounds is one criterion met, not two
INNF 17.2 of Appendix Innovator Founder gives that exact example in the rule itself.
Requirements
- An endorsement letter from an Endorsing Body or Legacy Endorsing Body, dated no earlier than 3 months before the application
- A genuine, original business plan for an innovative, viable and scalable venture
- English at CEFR B2 in all 4 components
- Funds of at least 1,270 pounds held for a 28-day period, unless you have already been in the UK with permission for 12 months or longer
- An active key role in the day-to-day management and development of the business
In detail
The investor visa is gone and the Rules still describe it
Paragraph 245E of Part 6A opens by saying the route is for high net worth individuals making a substantial financial investment, and the next paragraph says it is now closed to new applicants. Both sentences are printed, which tells a reader something about how these Rules are maintained: a closed category is not deleted but hollowed out, and Part 6A is full of paragraphs that now read only DELETED. That matters for anyone searching the Rules rather than reading them, because the words "Tier 1 (Investor)" still appear, with requirements, periods of grant and settlement provisions, all of them addressed exclusively to people who already hold that leave.
What replaced it asks for judgement, not capital
Innovator Founder moves the gate from a bank balance to an endorsing body. The applicant needs a letter from an approved body confirming the business is innovative, viable and scalable, that the applicant is a fit and proper person, and that the body has no concern about the legitimacy of the funds invested. The Home Office then checks suitability, English and 1,270 pounds of maintenance. Nothing in the Appendix requires the applicant to put a penny into the business before arriving. The capital test has not disappeared so much as moved to the end: at settlement the endorsing body must confirm at least two of seven achievements, and only the first of those seven is an investment figure.
Three years, and then a decision by someone who is not the government
The grant is for a maximum of three years and the settlement qualifying period is three years, so the route is designed to be traversed once. The endorsing body is in the decision at both ends: it endorses the business plan on entry and it certifies the achievements at settlement, judging significant achievements against the plan it assessed before. A reader comparing this with the investment routes elsewhere in this corpus is comparing two different kinds of risk. There, the money is the requirement and the outcome is reasonably certain. Here there is no money requirement and the outcome depends on a private body's view of whether a business did well enough.
Exceptions by origin
No exceptions recorded
Nothing we have read treats any nationality differently for this topic. The rule above applies to everyone.
What the law says
«This route is for high net worth individuals making a substantial financial investment to the UK. This route is now closed to new applicants. Individuals who already have entry clearance, leave to enter or remain as a Tier 1 (Investor) Migrant may apply under these rules to extend their stay or for indefinite leave to remain.»The closure of the investor route, stated by the Rules themselves rather than by a press notice. The purpose paragraph is left standing above the sentence that cancels it.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The department that lays the Immigration Rules before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and publishes them on gov.uk. The Rules - HC 395 as amended - are the operative law of almost every immigration route: the Acts set the framework and delegate, and what a person must actually satisfy is in an appendix. The consolidated appendices are served one per page under gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules, with an index page listing every Part and Appendix with a one-line description of each, which is the only published closed list of the routes that exist. Changes are made by a statement of changes laid before Parliament, and those are collected at gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: No appendix page carries a version date or an in-force date on its face. The only way to date the text is the statement of changes collection, which gives the most recent statement laid but not which appendix it touched, so a citation to an appendix can be dated only to "the consolidation current at or after HC <n> of <date>". The Rules are not enacted: Parliament may disapprove a statement but does not pass it, so this is a department publishing its own rules and the site is both the issuer and the only publisher of the consolidated text - there is no independent consolidation to check it against. A closed route is hollowed rather than removed: the headings for Tier 1 (Investor), Tier 1 (General) and retired persons of independent means still stand above paragraphs reading DELETED, so the presence of a heading proves nothing. It is not a source for departmental guidance, for fees, for sponsor licensing decisions or for the lists of endorsing bodies, approved tests and designated institutions that the Rules make load-bearing and publish elsewhere.
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«(a)(i) This category is now closed to new applicants. 1. (ii) Individuals who have entry clearance, leave to enter or leave to remain as a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) Migrant having previously had leave as a Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) Migrant may apply under these rules for indefinite leave to remain. 2. (iii) Other migrants who wish to establish one or more businesses in the UK may apply under the rules for Innovator Founder.»The entrepreneur route closed and redirected in the same paragraph, which is how a reader can be sure Innovator Founder is the successor rather than a parallel scheme.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The department that lays the Immigration Rules before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and publishes them on gov.uk. The Rules - HC 395 as amended - are the operative law of almost every immigration route: the Acts set the framework and delegate, and what a person must actually satisfy is in an appendix. The consolidated appendices are served one per page under gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules, with an index page listing every Part and Appendix with a one-line description of each, which is the only published closed list of the routes that exist. Changes are made by a statement of changes laid before Parliament, and those are collected at gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: No appendix page carries a version date or an in-force date on its face. The only way to date the text is the statement of changes collection, which gives the most recent statement laid but not which appendix it touched, so a citation to an appendix can be dated only to "the consolidation current at or after HC <n> of <date>". The Rules are not enacted: Parliament may disapprove a statement but does not pass it, so this is a department publishing its own rules and the site is both the issuer and the only publisher of the consolidated text - there is no independent consolidation to check it against. A closed route is hollowed rather than removed: the headings for Tier 1 (Investor), Tier 1 (General) and retired persons of independent means still stand above paragraphs reading DELETED, so the presence of a heading proves nothing. It is not a source for departmental guidance, for fees, for sponsor licensing decisions or for the lists of endorsing bodies, approved tests and designated institutions that the Rules make load-bearing and publish elsewhere.
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«INNF 6.1. The application must be supported by an endorsement letter from an Endorsing Body or Legacy Endorsing Body which must contain the following information: 1. (a) the name of the Endorsing Body or Legacy Endorsing Body; and 2. (b) their endorsement reference number; and 3. (c) the date of issue, which must be no earlier than 3 months before the date of application; and 4. (d) the applicant’s name, date of birth, nationality and passport number; and 5. (e) the name and contact details (telephone number, email and workplace address of an individual at the Endorsing Body or Legacy Endorsing Body who will verify the contents of the letter to the Home Office if requested. INNF 6.2. An endorsement letter from a Legacy Endorsing Body must meet the requirements set out in INNF 7.1. and INNF 7.2. 1. INNF 6.3. An endorsement letter from an Endorsing Body must confirm that: 1. (a) the applicant is considered a fit and proper person to receive endorsement under the rules and guidance of the Innovator Founder route; and 2. (b) the endorsing body has no concerns over the legitimacy of sources of funds or modes of transfer of funds invested by the applicant into their endorsed business; and 3. (c) the endorsing body has identified no reason to believe that the applicant or their endorsed business may be the beneficiary of illicit or otherwise unsatisfactorily explained wealth.»The gate on this route is a private body's letter, not a sum of money. The endorsing body is required to form a view on the legitimacy of the applicant's funds, which is where the money question actually sits.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The department that lays the Immigration Rules before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and publishes them on gov.uk. The Rules - HC 395 as amended - are the operative law of almost every immigration route: the Acts set the framework and delegate, and what a person must actually satisfy is in an appendix. The consolidated appendices are served one per page under gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules, with an index page listing every Part and Appendix with a one-line description of each, which is the only published closed list of the routes that exist. Changes are made by a statement of changes laid before Parliament, and those are collected at gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: No appendix page carries a version date or an in-force date on its face. The only way to date the text is the statement of changes collection, which gives the most recent statement laid but not which appendix it touched, so a citation to an appendix can be dated only to "the consolidation current at or after HC <n> of <date>". The Rules are not enacted: Parliament may disapprove a statement but does not pass it, so this is a department publishing its own rules and the site is both the issuer and the only publisher of the consolidated text - there is no independent consolidation to check it against. A closed route is hollowed rather than removed: the headings for Tier 1 (Investor), Tier 1 (General) and retired persons of independent means still stand above paragraphs reading DELETED, so the presence of a heading proves nothing. It is not a source for departmental guidance, for fees, for sponsor licensing decisions or for the lists of endorsing bodies, approved tests and designated institutions that the Rules make load-bearing and publish elsewhere.
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«INNF 8.3. The applicant must have an innovative, viable and scalable business venture and they must meet all the following requirements: 1. (a) the applicant must have a genuine, original business plan that meets new or existing market needs and/or creates a competitive advantage; and 2. (b) the applicant’s business plan must be realistic and achievable based on the applicant’s available resources; and 3. (c) the applicant must have, or be actively developing, the necessary skills, knowledge, experience and market awareness to successfully run the business; and 4. (d) there must be evidence of structured planning and of potential for job creation and growth into national and international markets.»Four tests of the business and none of them is capital. Originality, realism against the applicant's own resources, the applicant's own skills, and evidence of structured planning.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The department that lays the Immigration Rules before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and publishes them on gov.uk. The Rules - HC 395 as amended - are the operative law of almost every immigration route: the Acts set the framework and delegate, and what a person must actually satisfy is in an appendix. The consolidated appendices are served one per page under gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules, with an index page listing every Part and Appendix with a one-line description of each, which is the only published closed list of the routes that exist. Changes are made by a statement of changes laid before Parliament, and those are collected at gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: No appendix page carries a version date or an in-force date on its face. The only way to date the text is the statement of changes collection, which gives the most recent statement laid but not which appendix it touched, so a citation to an appendix can be dated only to "the consolidation current at or after HC <n> of <date>". The Rules are not enacted: Parliament may disapprove a statement but does not pass it, so this is a department publishing its own rules and the site is both the issuer and the only publisher of the consolidated text - there is no independent consolidation to check it against. A closed route is hollowed rather than removed: the headings for Tier 1 (Investor), Tier 1 (General) and retired persons of independent means still stand above paragraphs reading DELETED, so the presence of a heading proves nothing. It is not a source for departmental guidance, for fees, for sponsor licensing decisions or for the lists of endorsing bodies, approved tests and designated institutions that the Rules make load-bearing and publish elsewhere.
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«INNF 11.1. Unless an exemption applies, the applicant 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.»B2 across four components. A reader comparing routes should note that this is the same standard Appendix Student sets for a degree course and four levels above what Appendix FM asks of a partner.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The department that lays the Immigration Rules before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and publishes them on gov.uk. The Rules - HC 395 as amended - are the operative law of almost every immigration route: the Acts set the framework and delegate, and what a person must actually satisfy is in an appendix. The consolidated appendices are served one per page under gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules, with an index page listing every Part and Appendix with a one-line description of each, which is the only published closed list of the routes that exist. Changes are made by a statement of changes laid before Parliament, and those are collected at gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: No appendix page carries a version date or an in-force date on its face. The only way to date the text is the statement of changes collection, which gives the most recent statement laid but not which appendix it touched, so a citation to an appendix can be dated only to "the consolidation current at or after HC <n> of <date>". The Rules are not enacted: Parliament may disapprove a statement but does not pass it, so this is a department publishing its own rules and the site is both the issuer and the only publisher of the consolidated text - there is no independent consolidation to check it against. A closed route is hollowed rather than removed: the headings for Tier 1 (Investor), Tier 1 (General) and retired persons of independent means still stand above paragraphs reading DELETED, so the presence of a heading proves nothing. It is not a source for departmental guidance, for fees, for sponsor licensing decisions or for the lists of endorsing bodies, approved tests and designated institutions that the Rules make load-bearing and publish elsewhere.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source
«INNF 12.1. If the applicant is applying for permission to stay and has been in the UK with permission for 12 months or longer on the date of application, they will meet the financial requirement and do not need to show funds. INNF 12.2. An applicant who is applying for entry clearance, or who is applying for permission to stay and has been in the UK for less than 12 months at the date of application, must have funds of at least £1,270. INNF 12.3. The applicant must show that they have held the required level of funds for a 28- day period and as set out in Appendix Finance.»The entire financial requirement of the United Kingdom's only open business route. The hyphen inside "28- day" is the publisher's and is left as printed.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The department that lays the Immigration Rules before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and publishes them on gov.uk. The Rules - HC 395 as amended - are the operative law of almost every immigration route: the Acts set the framework and delegate, and what a person must actually satisfy is in an appendix. The consolidated appendices are served one per page under gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules, with an index page listing every Part and Appendix with a one-line description of each, which is the only published closed list of the routes that exist. Changes are made by a statement of changes laid before Parliament, and those are collected at gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: No appendix page carries a version date or an in-force date on its face. The only way to date the text is the statement of changes collection, which gives the most recent statement laid but not which appendix it touched, so a citation to an appendix can be dated only to "the consolidation current at or after HC <n> of <date>". The Rules are not enacted: Parliament may disapprove a statement but does not pass it, so this is a department publishing its own rules and the site is both the issuer and the only publisher of the consolidated text - there is no independent consolidation to check it against. A closed route is hollowed rather than removed: the headings for Tier 1 (Investor), Tier 1 (General) and retired persons of independent means still stand above paragraphs reading DELETED, so the presence of a heading proves nothing. It is not a source for departmental guidance, for fees, for sponsor licensing decisions or for the lists of endorsing bodies, approved tests and designated institutions that the Rules make load-bearing and publish elsewhere.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source
«INNF 14.1. The applicant will be granted permission for a maximum period of 3 years. ### Conditions of grant for an Innovator Founder 1. INNF 14.2. The grant will be subject to the following conditions: 1. (a) no access to public funds; and 2. (b) no work, other than working for the business(es) the applicant has established or other employment, where that other employment is in a role that requires a skill level of not less than RQF Level 3; and 3. (c) study is permitted, subject to the ATAS condition in Appendix ATAS.»Three years, no public funds, and a narrow permission to take other work only at RQF Level 3 or above.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The department that lays the Immigration Rules before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and publishes them on gov.uk. The Rules - HC 395 as amended - are the operative law of almost every immigration route: the Acts set the framework and delegate, and what a person must actually satisfy is in an appendix. The consolidated appendices are served one per page under gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules, with an index page listing every Part and Appendix with a one-line description of each, which is the only published closed list of the routes that exist. Changes are made by a statement of changes laid before Parliament, and those are collected at gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: No appendix page carries a version date or an in-force date on its face. The only way to date the text is the statement of changes collection, which gives the most recent statement laid but not which appendix it touched, so a citation to an appendix can be dated only to "the consolidation current at or after HC <n> of <date>". The Rules are not enacted: Parliament may disapprove a statement but does not pass it, so this is a department publishing its own rules and the site is both the issuer and the only publisher of the consolidated text - there is no independent consolidation to check it against. A closed route is hollowed rather than removed: the headings for Tier 1 (Investor), Tier 1 (General) and retired persons of independent means still stand above paragraphs reading DELETED, so the presence of a heading proves nothing. It is not a source for departmental guidance, for fees, for sponsor licensing decisions or for the lists of endorsing bodies, approved tests and designated institutions that the Rules make load-bearing and publish elsewhere.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source
«INNF 14.3. In INNF 14.2.(b), working for the business(es) does not include any apprenticeship or any work pursuant to a contract of service, whether express or implied and whether oral or written, with another business, (which means successful applicants cannot fill a position or hire their labour to another business, even if the work is undertaken through contracting with the applicant’s own business or through a recruitment or employment agency).»The anti-contracting rule, and the reason this route does not work as a vehicle for freelance consultancy. The parenthesis is the Rules' own explanation of their effect.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The department that lays the Immigration Rules before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and publishes them on gov.uk. The Rules - HC 395 as amended - are the operative law of almost every immigration route: the Acts set the framework and delegate, and what a person must actually satisfy is in an appendix. The consolidated appendices are served one per page under gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules, with an index page listing every Part and Appendix with a one-line description of each, which is the only published closed list of the routes that exist. Changes are made by a statement of changes laid before Parliament, and those are collected at gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: No appendix page carries a version date or an in-force date on its face. The only way to date the text is the statement of changes collection, which gives the most recent statement laid but not which appendix it touched, so a citation to an appendix can be dated only to "the consolidation current at or after HC <n> of <date>". The Rules are not enacted: Parliament may disapprove a statement but does not pass it, so this is a department publishing its own rules and the site is both the issuer and the only publisher of the consolidated text - there is no independent consolidation to check it against. A closed route is hollowed rather than removed: the headings for Tier 1 (Investor), Tier 1 (General) and retired persons of independent means still stand above paragraphs reading DELETED, so the presence of a heading proves nothing. It is not a source for departmental guidance, for fees, for sponsor licensing decisions or for the lists of endorsing bodies, approved tests and designated institutions that the Rules make load-bearing and publish elsewhere.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source
«confirmation the applicant’s business venture has met at least two of the following requirements: 1. (i) at least £50,000 has been invested into the business and actively spent furthering the business; or 2. (ii) the number of the business’s customers has at least doubled within the most recent 3 years and is currently higher than the mean number of customers for other UK businesses offering comparable main products or services; or 3. (iii) the business has engaged in significant research and development activity and has applied for intellectual property protection in the UK; or 4. (iv) the business has generated a minimum annual gross revenue of £1million in the last full year covered by its accounts; or 5. (v) the business is generating a minimum annual gross revenue of £500,000 in the last full year covered by its accounts, with at least £100,000 from exporting overseas; or 6. (vi) the business has created the equivalent of at least 10 full-time jobs for settled workers; or 7. (vii) the business has created the equivalent of at least 5 full-time jobs for settled workers, each of which has a mean salary of at least £25,000 a year (gross pay, excluding any allowances).»Where the money appears, and when: at settlement, as one of seven alternatives, confirmed by the endorsing body rather than evidenced to the Home Office.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The department that lays the Immigration Rules before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and publishes them on gov.uk. The Rules - HC 395 as amended - are the operative law of almost every immigration route: the Acts set the framework and delegate, and what a person must actually satisfy is in an appendix. The consolidated appendices are served one per page under gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules, with an index page listing every Part and Appendix with a one-line description of each, which is the only published closed list of the routes that exist. Changes are made by a statement of changes laid before Parliament, and those are collected at gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: No appendix page carries a version date or an in-force date on its face. The only way to date the text is the statement of changes collection, which gives the most recent statement laid but not which appendix it touched, so a citation to an appendix can be dated only to "the consolidation current at or after HC <n> of <date>". The Rules are not enacted: Parliament may disapprove a statement but does not pass it, so this is a department publishing its own rules and the site is both the issuer and the only publisher of the consolidated text - there is no independent consolidation to check it against. A closed route is hollowed rather than removed: the headings for Tier 1 (Investor), Tier 1 (General) and retired persons of independent means still stand above paragraphs reading DELETED, so the presence of a heading proves nothing. It is not a source for departmental guidance, for fees, for sponsor licensing decisions or for the lists of endorsing bodies, approved tests and designated institutions that the Rules make load-bearing and publish elsewhere.
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«INNF 17.2. An applicant cannot meet the requirements at INNF 17.1 by relying on the same criterion twice (for example, an applicant who has invested £100,000 (2 x £50,000) in their business venture, or who has applied for intellectual property protection in respect of more than one innovation, will be considered to have met one criterion, not two).»Doubling one achievement does not buy the second criterion. An applicant who invests heavily and does nothing else does not settle on this route.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The department that lays the Immigration Rules before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and publishes them on gov.uk. The Rules - HC 395 as amended - are the operative law of almost every immigration route: the Acts set the framework and delegate, and what a person must actually satisfy is in an appendix. The consolidated appendices are served one per page under gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules, with an index page listing every Part and Appendix with a one-line description of each, which is the only published closed list of the routes that exist. Changes are made by a statement of changes laid before Parliament, and those are collected at gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: No appendix page carries a version date or an in-force date on its face. The only way to date the text is the statement of changes collection, which gives the most recent statement laid but not which appendix it touched, so a citation to an appendix can be dated only to "the consolidation current at or after HC <n> of <date>". The Rules are not enacted: Parliament may disapprove a statement but does not pass it, so this is a department publishing its own rules and the site is both the issuer and the only publisher of the consolidated text - there is no independent consolidation to check it against. A closed route is hollowed rather than removed: the headings for Tier 1 (Investor), Tier 1 (General) and retired persons of independent means still stand above paragraphs reading DELETED, so the presence of a heading proves nothing. It is not a source for departmental guidance, for fees, for sponsor licensing decisions or for the lists of endorsing bodies, approved tests and designated institutions that the Rules make load-bearing and publish elsewhere.
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«INNF 18.1. The applicant must have spent at least 3 years in the UK with permission as an Innovator Founder. ### Continuous requirement for settlement by an Innovator Founder INNF 19.1. The applicant must prove that they have met the continuous residence requirement as set out in Appendix Continuous Residence for the qualifying period in INNF 18.1. ### Knowledge of life in the UK requirement for settlement by an Innovator Founder INNF 20.1. The applicant must meet the Knowledge of Life in the UK requirement as set out in Appendix KOL UK. ### Decision on an application for settlement as an Innovator Founder INNF 21.1. If the decision maker is satisfied all the suitability and eligibility requirements are met the applicant will be granted settlement, otherwise the application will be refused. 1. INNF 21.2. If the requirements for settlement are not met, but the decision maker believes the applicant is likely to meet all the suitability and eligibility requirements for permission to stay as an Innovator Founder, the application will be varied by the Secretary of State and instead be considered as an application for permission to stay on the Innovator Founder route. Where this happens: 1. (a) no additional application fee for permission to stay will be required and the settlement application fee will not be refunded; and 2. (b) the Secretary of State will write to the applicant informing them of this variation, and, if required, will request the applicant pay the Immigration Health Charge, and if the applicant does not pay the requested Immigration Health Charge, the application for permission to stay will be rejected as invalid. INNF 21.4. Where an applicant is granted permission to stay, they will be granted for the period in INNF 14.1. subject to the conditions at INNF 14.2. INNF 21.5. If the decision maker is not satisfied that the applicant meets all the suitability and eligibility requirements for settlement or permission to stay, the application for settlement will be refused. INNF 21.6. If the application is refused the person may apply for an Administrative Review under Appendix AR: Administrative Review. ## Dependants of an Innovator Founder, Show ### Validity requirements for a partner or dependent child (“child”) on the Innovator Founder route INNF 22.1. An application as a partner or child on the Innovator Founder route must be made online on the gov.uk website on the specified form as follows: | Applicant | Specified form | | --- | --- | | EEA national with a chipped passport | Either (as applicable):<br> • Dependent partner or dependent child using the UK Immigration: ID Check app; or<br> • the forms listed below for dependent applicants outside or inside the UK as relevant. | | Applicants outside the UK | Dependent partner visa<br> Dependent child visa | | Applicants inside the UK | If the dependant is applying at the same time as the Innovator, they can be included in the form “Start-Up or Innovator permission to stay” where the form allows dependants to be added. <br>Otherwise:<br> \- Dependent partner<br> \- Dependent child | 1. INNF 22.2. An application for entry clearance or permission to stay as a partner or child on the Innovator Founder route must meet all the following requirements: 1. (a) any fee and Immigration Health Charge must have been paid; and 2. (b) the applicant must have provided biometrics when required; and 3. (c) the applicant must have provided a passport or other travel document which satisfactorily establishes their identity and nationality; and 4. (d) the applicant must be applying as partner or child of a person (P) who: 1. (i) has made a valid application for entry clearance or permission to stay on the Innovator Founder route that has not been decided; or 2. (ii) has entry clearance or permission to stay on the Innovator Founder route; or 3. (iii) is settled or has become a British citizen, providing that P had permission on the Innovator Founder route when they settled and the applicant either had permission as their partner or child at that time, or the applicant is applying as a child of P and the applicant was born in the UK before P settled. INNF 22.3. A person applying as a partner must be aged 18 or over on the date of application. 1. INNF 22.4. If applying for permission to stay, the applicant must be in the UK on the date of application. 2. INNF 22.4ZA. If applying for permission to stay, the applicant must not have, or have last been granted, permission: 1. (a) as a Visitor; or 2. (b) as a Short-term Student; or 3. (c) as a Parent of a Child Student; or 4. (d) as a Seasonal Worker; or 5. (e) as a Domestic Worker in a Private Household; or 6. (f) outside the Immigration Rules. 1. INNF 22.4A. An applicant who is applying for permission to stay and has, or last had, permission as a Student, must fulfil one of the Conditions A or B below on the date of application: 1. (a) Condition A: the applicant must have completed the course of study for which the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies was assigned (or a course to which ST 27.3 of Appendix Student applies); or 2. (b) Condition B: the applicant must: 1. (i) be studying a full-time course of study leading to the award of a PhD with a higher education provider which has a track record of compliance; and 2. (ii) have completed at least 24 months of study on that course. INNF 22.5. An application which does not meet all the validity requirements as a partner or child of an Innovator Founder may be rejected as invalid and not considered. ### Suitability requirements for partner and child on the Innovator Founder route INNF 23.1. The applicant must not fall for refusal under Part Suitability. 1. INNF 23.2. If applying for permission to stay the applicant must not be: 1. (a) in breach of immigration laws, except that where the Exceptions for overstayers section of Part Suitability applies, that period of overstaying will be disregarded; or 2. (b) on immigration bail, except where the Exceptions for overstayers section of Part Suitability applies. ### Eligibility requirements for a partner and child on the Innovator Founder route INNF 24.1. A person seeking to come to the UK as a partner or child must apply for and obtain entry clearance as a partner or child of an Innovator Founder before they arrive in the UK. INNF 24.2. A person applying for entry clearance as the partner or child of an Innovator Founder must, if Appendix Tuberculosis applies, provide a valid medical certificate confirming that they have undergone screening for active pulmonary tuberculosis and that this tuberculosis is not present in them. ### Relationship requirements for a partner of an Innovator Founder 1. INNF 25.1. The applicant must be the partner of a person (P) and one of the following must apply: 1. (a) P has permission as an Innovator Founder; or 2. (b) P is, at the same time, applying for (and is granted) permission as an Innovator Founder.»Three years, matching the maximum grant, so a successful founder settles at the end of a single period of permission.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The department that lays the Immigration Rules before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and publishes them on gov.uk. The Rules - HC 395 as amended - are the operative law of almost every immigration route: the Acts set the framework and delegate, and what a person must actually satisfy is in an appendix. The consolidated appendices are served one per page under gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules, with an index page listing every Part and Appendix with a one-line description of each, which is the only published closed list of the routes that exist. Changes are made by a statement of changes laid before Parliament, and those are collected at gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: No appendix page carries a version date or an in-force date on its face. The only way to date the text is the statement of changes collection, which gives the most recent statement laid but not which appendix it touched, so a citation to an appendix can be dated only to "the consolidation current at or after HC <n> of <date>". The Rules are not enacted: Parliament may disapprove a statement but does not pass it, so this is a department publishing its own rules and the site is both the issuer and the only publisher of the consolidated text - there is no independent consolidation to check it against. A closed route is hollowed rather than removed: the headings for Tier 1 (Investor), Tier 1 (General) and retired persons of independent means still stand above paragraphs reading DELETED, so the presence of a heading proves nothing. It is not a source for departmental guidance, for fees, for sponsor licensing decisions or for the lists of endorsing bodies, approved tests and designated institutions that the Rules make load-bearing and publish elsewhere.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source
Practical notes
The claim that no minimum investment applies on entry is made from Appendix Innovator Founder as published on gov.uk and read on 10 October 2026, having looked at every sum of money printed in it. The only figures in the Appendix are 1,270 pounds of maintenance, the settlement achievement criteria at INNF 17.1, and the dependant maintenance figures. If a minimum investment exists it is not in this Appendix.
Which organisations are Endorsing Bodies is not set by the Immigration Rules and no list has been read for this record. That list is the practical gate on the route and it is published separately by the Home Office.
Appendix English Language, Appendix Continuous Residence, Appendix KOL UK and Appendix ATAS are referred to by the rules quoted here and none of them has been read.
The Rules carry no version date on the page. The most recent statement of changes on the Home Office collection page when these appendices were read is HC 584 of 3 September 2026.
Part 6A also still carries Tier 1 (General), Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) and Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) headings whose paragraphs read DELETED. Nothing here should be taken as a survey of which historic categories remain usable by existing holders.
- issuesImmigration Rules Appendix Innovator Founder
Home Office (UK Visas and Immigration)
About this source
The department that lays the Immigration Rules before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and publishes them on gov.uk. The Rules - HC 395 as amended - are the operative law of almost every immigration route: the Acts set the framework and delegate, and what a person must actually satisfy is in an appendix. The consolidated appendices are served one per page under gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules, with an index page listing every Part and Appendix with a one-line description of each, which is the only published closed list of the routes that exist. Changes are made by a statement of changes laid before Parliament, and those are collected at gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: No appendix page carries a version date or an in-force date on its face. The only way to date the text is the statement of changes collection, which gives the most recent statement laid but not which appendix it touched, so a citation to an appendix can be dated only to "the consolidation current at or after HC <n> of <date>". The Rules are not enacted: Parliament may disapprove a statement but does not pass it, so this is a department publishing its own rules and the site is both the issuer and the only publisher of the consolidated text - there is no independent consolidation to check it against. A closed route is hollowed rather than removed: the headings for Tier 1 (Investor), Tier 1 (General) and retired persons of independent means still stand above paragraphs reading DELETED, so the presence of a heading proves nothing. It is not a source for departmental guidance, for fees, for sponsor licensing decisions or for the lists of endorsing bodies, approved tests and designated institutions that the Rules make load-bearing and publish elsewhere.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source
- issuesImmigration Rules part 6A: the points-based system
Home Office (UK Visas and Immigration)
About this source
The department that lays the Immigration Rules before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and publishes them on gov.uk. The Rules - HC 395 as amended - are the operative law of almost every immigration route: the Acts set the framework and delegate, and what a person must actually satisfy is in an appendix. The consolidated appendices are served one per page under gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules, with an index page listing every Part and Appendix with a one-line description of each, which is the only published closed list of the routes that exist. Changes are made by a statement of changes laid before Parliament, and those are collected at gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: No appendix page carries a version date or an in-force date on its face. The only way to date the text is the statement of changes collection, which gives the most recent statement laid but not which appendix it touched, so a citation to an appendix can be dated only to "the consolidation current at or after HC <n> of <date>". The Rules are not enacted: Parliament may disapprove a statement but does not pass it, so this is a department publishing its own rules and the site is both the issuer and the only publisher of the consolidated text - there is no independent consolidation to check it against. A closed route is hollowed rather than removed: the headings for Tier 1 (Investor), Tier 1 (General) and retired persons of independent means still stand above paragraphs reading DELETED, so the presence of a heading proves nothing. It is not a source for departmental guidance, for fees, for sponsor licensing decisions or for the lists of endorsing bodies, approved tests and designated institutions that the Rules make load-bearing and publish elsewhere.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source
- issuesImmigration Rules Appendix Finance
Home Office (UK Visas and Immigration)
About this source
The department that lays the Immigration Rules before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and publishes them on gov.uk. The Rules - HC 395 as amended - are the operative law of almost every immigration route: the Acts set the framework and delegate, and what a person must actually satisfy is in an appendix. The consolidated appendices are served one per page under gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules, with an index page listing every Part and Appendix with a one-line description of each, which is the only published closed list of the routes that exist. Changes are made by a statement of changes laid before Parliament, and those are collected at gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: No appendix page carries a version date or an in-force date on its face. The only way to date the text is the statement of changes collection, which gives the most recent statement laid but not which appendix it touched, so a citation to an appendix can be dated only to "the consolidation current at or after HC <n> of <date>". The Rules are not enacted: Parliament may disapprove a statement but does not pass it, so this is a department publishing its own rules and the site is both the issuer and the only publisher of the consolidated text - there is no independent consolidation to check it against. A closed route is hollowed rather than removed: the headings for Tier 1 (Investor), Tier 1 (General) and retired persons of independent means still stand above paragraphs reading DELETED, so the presence of a heading proves nothing. It is not a source for departmental guidance, for fees, for sponsor licensing decisions or for the lists of endorsing bodies, approved tests and designated institutions that the Rules make load-bearing and publish elsewhere.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source