Guidance

Innovator Founder and Scale-up visas endorsing bodies

Updated 26 April 2024

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/endorsing-bodies-innovator-founder-and-scale-up-visas/innovator-founder-and-scale-up-visas-endorsing-bodies

This page provides a list of authorised Endorsing Bodies that can issue endorsements for the Innovator Founder and Scale-up routes, as well as information provided by the Endorsing Bodies. An organisation can only issue an endorsement for new initial Innovator Founder applications or for the Scale-up route if it is included on the ‘Business Endorsing Bodies’ list below.

Endorsing Bodies included on the ‘Legacy Innovator Endorsing Bodies’ list below may only provide further endorsements for Innovator Founder applications where they have already previously endorsed the applicant under either the Innovator or Start- up visa routes prior to 13 April 2023.

If you have been offered an endorsement by an organisation that is not on the list, you can report it on GOV.UK.

1. Before contacting an Endorsing Body

Before you contact an Endorsing Body, you should consider the content of the information provided below and visit their website.

For general queries regarding the Innovator Founder route, applicants and immigration advisors should refer to the information on gov.uk. If you need further information, applicants should contact UKVI.

Immigration advisors can contact the Home Office business helpdesk.

Neither the Endorsing Bodies nor the business helpdesk will answer hypothetical or speculative enquiries.

1.1 If you’re applying for an Innovator Founder visa

If costs £1,000 per person to apply for your endorsement for an Innovator Founder visa. You pay this directly to the endorsing body.

If your application for an Innovator Founder visa is successful, you must meet with your endorsing body for a mandatory contact point meeting at least twice during the length of your permission to be in the UK. Your contact point meeting costs £500 per meeting, paid directly to the endorsing body.

2. Business Endorsing Bodies

The organisations listed in this section can issue endorsements for Innovator Founder Visas and for Scale-up licenses.

Innovator International

Envestors Limited

UK Endorsing Services

The Global Entrepreneurs Programme (GEP)

The Global Entrepreneurs Programme (GEP) is a government programme run by the Department for Business and Trade for internationally mobile, tech-based entrepreneurs and helps them scale and internationalise their innovation rich companies from a UK global HQ. GEP only provide visa endorsements for founders that have already been invited to participate on their programme.

For further information about the eligibility criteria for GEP, please contact global.entrepreneurs@trade.gov.uk

3. Legacy Innovator Endorsing Bodies

The organisations listed in this section no longer accept new Start-up/Innovator applications but are authorised to continue maintaining and monitoring their existing endorsed migrants. Please do not approach these organisations unless you are an existing endorsee.

  • The Bakery
  • Bethnal Green Ventures
  • Blue Orchid Enterprise Solutions Ltd
  • Boardroom Advisors
  • Britbots
  • Capital Enterprise (IDEA London)
  • Cardiff Metropolitan University
  • Community and Business Partners
  • Consilium Consulting
  • CyLon
  • Deep Science Ventures
  • DRS Business Solutions
  • Edinburgh University / Edinburgh Innovations
  • Emerge Education
  • Emsworth Corporate Planning (ECP)
  • Entrepreneur First (EF)
  • Fashion Angel
  • First Corporate Finance
  • Fortunis Capital Ltd
  • Founders Factory
  • Glasgow Caledonian University
  • Heriot-Watt University
  • Ignite
  • Innovate Britain
  • International Innovation Hub Ltd
  • Invest Northern Ireland
  • King’s College London
  • Kingston University
  • Kollider
  • Level 39
  • MDR LAB
  • MedCity
  • Middlesex University London
  • Natwest Entrepreneur Accelerator
  • Nexus
  • North East Business and Innovation Centre (BIC)
  • Oxford Brookes University
  • Pall Mall Investments International
  • Panacea
  • Primus Capital
  • Queensbury Consulting
  • Regent’s University London
  • Royal Bank of Scotland Entrepreneur Accelerator
  • The Royal Society of Edinburgh
  • Sapphire Capital Partners LLP
  • Schoolgate Accounting Services
  • Scottish EDGE
  • Seedcamp
  • SETsquared Bristol
  • Seven Seed Finance (SSF)
  • SFC Capital
  • Startup Giants plc
  • The Start-up Race
  • Techstars London
  • Tech X
  • The Shropshire Incubator (Operated by European Innovation Ltd)
  • Ulster Bank Accelerator
  • University of the Arts London
  • University of Bradford
  • University of Central Lancashire
  • University College London
  • University of Glasgow
  • University of St Andrews
  • University of Stirling
  • University of the West of England
  • Wayra
  • Warwick University
  • Zinc
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