Switching from a UK Start-up Visa to Innovator Founder
Updated 25 October 2026. The UK Start-up visa is closed to new applications. This article originally described the former Innovator route and included an incorrect blanket £50,000 investment requirement and outdated settlement timing. The current route is the Innovator Founder visa. Keep the old article date and URL as historical context; use the official sources linked below for current rules.
Can an existing Start-up visa holder switch?
GOV.UK says someone who already has a Start-up visa may be able to switch to Innovator Founder. Switching depends on the person’s current permission and the current switching and eligibility requirements; the application should be made before the existing visa expires. A partner or child’s visa does not automatically switch with the main applicant’s visa.
Business assessment and funding
An approved endorsing body must assess the business or business idea. The current eligibility guidance requires someone setting up a new business to show the endorsing body enough funding for that business and where it comes from; it does not impose a universal £50,000 investment minimum for every Innovator Founder application. Personal savings for living costs are a separate requirement. Endorsement is not a guarantee of a visa decision.
Settlement is a separate application
A visa does not lead automatically to settlement. GOV.UK says a person may qualify for indefinite leave to remain after at least three years with an Innovator Founder or Innovator visa if they meet the other requirements and obtain a new business endorsement. Time spent on a Start-up visa does not count toward that three-year qualifying period. Spending £50,000 on the business is one of several possible business-success criteria for settlement endorsement, not a universal initial-visa rule.
UK Startup Visa can help a founder prepare a business plan and supporting commercial evidence. For advice on an individual’s immigration status, switching eligibility or settlement application, use an appropriately authorised immigration adviser.
