UNITED KINGDOM
Innovator Founder · Global Talent
Build your UK plans around your business and professional achievements. Conatus Mobility helps individuals and families assess eligibility, prepare applications and plan their ongoing residence.
TWO PATHWAYS
Your business proposition, professional record and plans in the UK provide the starting point.
For founders who originate or significantly contribute to an innovative business proposition and will establish and actively run the UK enterprise. Innovation, viability and scalability are central.
For recognised leaders or potential leaders in eligible fields. Professional endorsement is normally required; named winners of specified prestigious prizes can apply without endorsement under the rules.
Wealth alone does not establish eligibility for either route. Applicants must meet the relevant business or professional criteria; endorsement remains separate from the visa decision.
INNOVATOR FOUNDER
For founders establishing and actively running an innovative UK business. The focus is the proposition, the capacity to execute it and continued business development.
The original business plan must address market needs or create a competitive advantage. Company registration, passive investment or buying an existing business does not by itself establish eligibility.
Show a realistic plan supported by resources, skills, experience and market awareness, with structured potential for growth, job creation and expansion into UK and international markets.
Be a sole founder or an instrumental founding-team member with a day-to-day role. A qualifying endorsement must normally be issued within three months before application and remain valid.
Normally CEFR B2 in reading, writing, speaking and listening, evidenced through an approved test, a qualifying degree or an applicable exemption. Verify the required supporting evidence.
There is no uniform fixed minimum investment for a new-business application, but sufficient project funding and its source must be demonstrated. Personal maintenance is normally £1,270 held for 28 days; an in-country applicant lawfully resident for at least 12 months may qualify for exemption.
Initial permission is normally three years, with progress checks at months 12 and 24. Extensions require fresh endorsement and continuing business evidence; further three-year grants can be obtained without a fixed limit on extensions.
The main applicant must be at least 18.
You may work for the business you establish. Other employment must be in a role requiring at least RQF level 3 skills, subject to the detailed conditions of permission.
Sources: Eligibility English language Immigration Rules · INNF
GLOBAL TALENT
For recognised leaders and potential leaders in academia and research, arts and culture, or digital technology. Assessment rests on a verifiable professional record.
Science, medicine, engineering, humanities and social science. Endorsement routes include eligible academic or research posts, individual fellowships, approved funded projects and peer review.
Literature, music, dance, theatre, visual arts, architecture, fashion, film and television, and the design industry. Portfolio, recognition and recommendation requirements vary by discipline.
Technical and qualifying business talent in product-led digital technology. Evidence is assessed against the applicable innovation, recognition and technical or commercial contribution criteria.
The main applicant must be at least 18. Exceptional Talent or Exceptional Promise is assessed against the relevant field and evidence; available categories and standards vary by discipline.
Only the named recipient of an award on the official list may use the prize route without endorsement. Other awards from a well-known organisation do not automatically qualify.
Normally no employer sponsorship, job offer or minimum salary is required, and the initial visa has no English-language requirement. Permission allows employment, self-employment and company directorship; extension and settlement have separate income, residence and other conditions.
Sources: Academia and research Arts and culture Digital technology Prizes and applications
AT A GLANCE
One route centres on an active business; the other on professional recognition. Work permissions and renewal requirements also differ.
| Consideration | Innovator Founder | Global Talent |
|---|---|---|
| Application basis | An innovative, viable and scalable business | Professional achievement or promise in an eligible field |
| Endorsement | Normally an approved business endorsement | Normally professional endorsement; an eligible prize can provide an exemption |
| Investment and earnings | No uniform fixed investment minimum; funding must support viability | No minimum investment or initial minimum salary requirement |
| Initial English | Normally B2 in all four components | No requirement; settlement is assessed separately |
| Activity after approval | Actively develop the business; other employment has a skill-level condition | Employment, self-employment and company directorship |
| Extension focus | Business progress, sustainability and fresh endorsement | UK earnings in the relevant field during the last grant; endorsement remains valid and other conditions apply |
Sources: Innovator Founder Global Talent Global Talent · extensions
RESIDENCE & SETTLEMENT
Settlement depends on residence records, business or professional activity and the applicable rules. Completing the qualifying period does not guarantee approval.
Qualifying residence3 years
A three-year qualifying period on the relevant route is required. Time on other visa routes does not count towards this requirement.
Fresh settlement endorsement must confirm an active business, sustainability for at least the next 12 months and your key role in its day-to-day management.
The venture must also meet at least two of the seven business outcomes below.
A criterion cannot be counted twice. Multiple founder applicants cannot share the same means of meeting a criterion. Hours, workers and evidence must satisfy the detailed INNF 17 requirements.
Qualifying residence3 / 5 years
The qualifying period depends on the endorsement category or eligible prize route.
Three years: endorsement by the Royal Society, British Academy, Royal Academy of Engineering or UKRI; Exceptional Talent in arts or digital technology; or an eligible prize route.
Five years: Exceptional Promise endorsement by Arts Council England or Tech Nation.
Evidence of UK earnings in the relevant endorsed or prize-related field during the last grant is required. An applicable endorsement must not have been withdrawn. Certain qualifying work-route periods may be combined, subject to an individual record review.
Published future requirement: for Global Talent principal applicants, settlement English in speaking and listening is normally B1 before 26 March 2027 and B2 for applications on or after that date, unless exempt. Initial visa and settlement English rules are different.
Continuous residence normally limits absences to 180 days in any rolling 12-month period. Qualifying research absences and other exceptions have specific rules. Settlement also involves the Life in the UK requirement and other conditions. Dependants are assessed separately.
Sources: Innovator settlement Business outcomes · INNF 17 Global Talent · GT 10–14 Continuous residence
FAMILY
Eligible partners and children may apply as dependants. Each person’s eligibility, costs and settlement timeline need to be considered separately.
Evidence of the relationship and dependency is required. Children are normally under 18 when first applying; those aged 18 or over generally need existing dependant permission and must meet continuing dependency rules.
Eligible dependants can normally work and study, except employment as a professional sportsperson or sports coach. Public-funds restrictions and other conditions apply.
Innovator Founder normally requires an additional £285 for a partner, £315 for the first child and £200 for each further child, held for 28 days under the rules. Check any exemption individually.
Partners normally need five years as a dependant and must satisfy continuous residence and other conditions. A principal applicant qualifying after three years does not automatically give the family settlement.
Sources: Innovator dependants Global Talent dependants Dependant settlement rules
COSTS & BUDGET
Visa, endorsement and healthcare charges are separate. Principal official charges are shown in GBP; business and family living budgets require their own assessment.
| Charge | Innovator Founder | Global Talent |
|---|---|---|
| Principal application | Outside the UK: £1,357 Switch or extend in the UK: £1,693 | Normally £766 in total £561 endorsement + £205 visa; eligible prize applicants pay £766 in one payment. |
| Business endorsement and monitoring | Initial endorsement: £1,000 Progress meeting: £500 each, at least twice during the grant | Professional endorsement is included in the £766 above. Innovator business-monitoring charges do not apply. |
| Each dependant’s visa | Outside the UK: £1,357 Switch or extend in the UK: £1,693 | £766 |
| ILR application | £3,226 per person | £3,226 per person |
These routes normally attract an additional £1,035 per adult per year, or £776 for an applicant under 18 at application. Payment is generally upfront for the grant period; partial years follow official calculation rules. The application system determines the payable amount.
The listed business endorsement and monitoring fees exclude applicable VAT. Professional services, translation, medical checks, English tests, business capital, living costs and optional priority services are additional. Confirm scope, itemised fees and payment stages in writing before engagement. Charges can change.
APPLICATION
Conatus Mobility helps coordinate the application and ongoing requirements around eligibility, evidence and key milestones.
Review your background, family, residence plans and objectives. For founders, assess the business proposition; for talent, review achievements and verifiable evidence.
Compile the business plan or professional portfolio and apply under the relevant category. Eligible prize applicants proceed directly to visa preparation.
Prepare identity documents, applicable English and financial evidence, family records and any required medical certificate. Complete the online application and identity checks.
Keep travel, business or professional earnings records. Track founder monitoring, permission expiry, extensions and settlement preparation.
After online application, identity checks and document submission, official standard visa decision times are usually three weeks outside the UK and eight weeks inside. These exclude preparation and endorsement assessment and are not guaranteed.
Sources: Innovator Founder · applications Global Talent · applications
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Clarify the route, evidence and ongoing obligations before you begin.
Funding alone does not establish eligibility. The application must involve an innovative, viable and scalable business, with a genuine founder role and active day-to-day participation.
There is no uniform £50,000 minimum for the initial application, although the business needs sufficient funding. Investment of £50,000, actively spent on the business, is one of seven settlement outcome criteria and must not be confused with initial eligibility.
Employer sponsorship is not normally needed. Some academic endorsement routes rely on an eligible post or funded project, while other routes exist. Digital technology and arts applicants must meet their respective evidence criteria.
A qualification or job title alone does not establish eligibility. The relevant field, endorsement category and evidence of achievement or promise must be assessed.
There is no English-language requirement for the initial visa, but settlement has separate English and Life in the UK requirements. Plan against the rules taking effect by your intended settlement date.
It depends on your current permission. Visitors, short-term students, parents of child students, seasonal workers and certain other categories normally need to apply from overseas. Student applicants face additional course-completion or doctoral-study conditions.
No. The UK authorities independently assess identity, evidence, suitability and other applicable conditions. Successful applicants must continue to comply with their permission.
OFFICIAL SOURCES
Policy review: 18 September 2026
Prepared from UK government publications reviewed on the date above. Published future requirements are labelled with their effective date. The applicable rules, fees and processing times at submission govern the application.
Consider your business or professional record alongside your family and residence plans, with a clear view of the evidence and ongoing commitments.
