The UK Start-up visa is closed: what works instead

Status in September 2026: the UK Start-up visa no longer exists

The Start-up visa closed to new applicants on 13 April 2023. The legal basis is Statement of Changes HC 1160, laid before Parliament by the Home Office on 9 March 2023. The Innovator Founder visa opened on 13 April 2023. It merged two earlier routes: Start-up for first-time entrepreneurs and Innovator for experienced ones, which carried a £50,000 investment threshold.

The transition was short: after 13 April 2023 only people already holding an endorsement letter issued before that date could apply for Start-up. A letter was valid for 3 months, so the last applications went in by mid-July 2023. Start-up could not be extended and lasted 2 years at most, so by September 2026 no Start-up permission is still running.

Why it closed. Start-up never led to settlement: within two years a founder had to launch the business and switch to another visa, usually Innovator, where a new business needed £50,000. Once Innovator Founder dropped that threshold, a separate beginners visa lost its purpose. In exchange, control tightened: fewer endorsers and checks on the source of funds.

Every UK route is collected in our overview United Kingdom: citizenship, residence, taxes and visas. Start-up visas that still work, such as the Dutch one, are compared in European start-up visas 2026.

What happened to Start-up visa holders

Closing the route did not cancel visas already granted: Start-up holders lived and worked in the UK until their leave ran out and could bring family. But the status could not be extended, so at the end there were three options.

Former Start-up endorsers, including universities and accelerators, became legacy bodies that support only people they endorsed before. And under Home Office guidance the 3 years for ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain, UK permanent residence) must be spent with permission as an innovator, so Start-up time could not be relied on.

Start-up versus Innovator Founder: the differences

In short: harder to get in, easier to stay, with a direct route to settlement instead of a two-year pause.

Innovator Founder in 2026: requirements and endorsing bodies

This is a founder visa, not an investor visa. Home Office guidance states that a purely financial interest in the business is not enough: an active management role is required.

Who endorses. In 2026 three organisations accept new applications: UK Endorsing Services, Innovator International and Envestors Limited. The Global Entrepreneurs Programme of the Department for Business and Trade works only with founders it invites. The list moves: on 5 and 7 August 2026 MedCity, NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator and SFC Capital were removed from the legacy list of bodies that only support existing endorsees. Check any organisation against the current gov.uk list before paying.

The endorser also confirms it has no concerns about the legitimacy of the funds and sees no sign of unexplained wealth, which is the most common real barrier for people with an opaque capital history. Each co-founder needs their own endorsement. Visa holders may also take jobs at RQF 3 or above but get no public funds.

What Innovator Founder costs in 2026

Figures are from the Home Office fee table in force since 8 April 2026, in US dollars at the European Central Bank rate of 6 October 2026, about $1.33 per pound, rounded up. The mandatory minimum for one adult applying from abroad for 3 years: $1,805 visa fee, $4,125 health surcharge and $2,660 to the endorser for the assessment and two meetings before VAT, about $8,590. For two adults and two children it is about $24,340, of which $14,460 is health surcharge paid upfront for the whole visa.

The biggest cost is the business itself and living in one of the most expensive countries in Europe; the endorser will refuse if funding looks thin. Murblz specialists quote the cost of support after reviewing the documents and name the budget for your project on a consultation.

Process, timelines and documents

Timelines are service standards, not guarantees. A refusal cannot be appealed in court, only put to administrative review. You need a passport, the endorsement letter, proof of English, 28 days of bank statements, a tuberculosis test if you live in a listed country and family documents with certified translations.

Family. A partner (spouse, civil partner or an unmarried partner you have lived with for at least 2 years) and children under 18. They can work, except as a sportsperson or coach, and study. Visa and health surcharge fees are paid per person.

Settlement in 3 years, then citizenship

A founder applies for ILR after 3 years on Innovator Founder: no more than 180 days abroad in any 12 months, the Life in the UK test (unless 65 or over) and a fresh endorsement letter. The endorser confirms you are a director or member of a company registered with Companies House, and the business is trading, sustainable for 12 more months and meets at least two of seven criteria.

One criterion cannot count twice, each job must have existed for 12 months, and co-founders of one company split the results. If the criteria are not met, the visa can be extended for another 3 years provided the business is operating and progressing. The partner and children apply for ILR after 5 years; the partner needs B1 English in speaking and listening, rising to B2 for applications from 26 March 2027.

Citizenship. As a rule you must hold ILR for 12 months and have lived in the UK for 5 years, with no more than 450 days abroad in those 5 years and 90 days in the last year. So a founder gets a passport roughly 5 years after arrival at the earliest. Details: UK citizenship by naturalisation.

What changed in 2025-2026

For the reform in detail, read UK ILR after 10 years.

Alternatives in the UK

Self-sponsorship is not a separate visa: your UK company obtains a sponsor licence and hires you as a Skilled Worker. For an early-stage startup the salary threshold and compliance checks make it expensive. There is no investor visa either: Tier 1 (Investor) closed on 17 February 2022, see UK investor visa closed.

Startup visas nearby: Ireland and Europe

Ireland shares the Common Travel Area with the UK, so an Irish passport through naturalisation is a legal, if slow, way to gain the right to live in both the UK and the European Union. European programmes are compared in startup visas in Europe, and all founder routes are in talent and startup visas.

Which route suits whom

• You have an idea, industry experience, B2 English and money to launch. Innovator Founder, with a budget for the business, not just the fees.
• You have recognition in your field. Global Talent is often simpler: no endorser oversight of a business and no revenue criteria for settlement.
• You recently graduated from a listed university or study in the UK. High Potential Individual or a student visa, then an in-country switch to Innovator Founder.
• You need the European Union and Schengen, or a cheaper entry. Ireland, the Netherlands, France or Portugal.
• You only have capital and no wish to run the business. There is no UK visa for you.

Taxes. Moving to run your own business almost always makes you UK tax resident. The non-dom regime was abolished from 6 April 2025; instead there are 4 years of the FIG regime with no tax on foreign income for people who were not resident for 10 consecutive years before arrival. From April 2026 dividends are taxed at 10.75%, 35.75% and 39.35%. Regimes are compared in taxes by country.

The uncomfortable truth and the risks

• Endorsement is the main filter. Each attempt costs £1,000 plus VAT, and the letter does not guarantee a visa.
• Your status depends on the endorser. If it withdraws support, leave is normally cut to 60 days. If it is removed from the list through no fault of yours, you get 90 days to find a new one.
• Settlement is earned by results, not time. £1 million in revenue or 10 jobs within three years is a high bar for a startup.
• The rules change mid-journey. The settlement reform is not adopted, MAC is reviewing the route, and English requirements for ILR rise from March 2027.
• Guaranteed endorsements and ready-made business plans are a red flag.

Every way to get residency in the UK

This is one route. All the other grounds for residency in the UK, with conditions, amounts in dollars and timelines, are compared on How to get residency in the UK in 2026: every route.

What works instead of the Start-up visa

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