• Page Contents
• Overview
• Eligibility Requirements
• ILR For Innovator Teams
• Priority or Super Priority Service
• Our Fixed Fees
• Service Options
• Remote Legal Services
• Why Choose Us
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

You can apply for ILR as an Innovator Migrant 28 days before completing 3 years in the UK under Innovator visa category. The applicant must meet all the relevant requirments for ILR as an Innovator migrant as set out in Appendix Innovator of the Immigration Rules. The applicant can apply for ILR as a an innovator migrant thorugh Priority or Super Priority Service to get faster decision on the ILR application.

Our specialist team of work visa solicitors can provide expert immigration advice and legal representations on fixed fee basis concerning your application for ILR as an Innovator migrant. We can prepare and submit your application ILR application through Priority or Super Prority Service to get a faster decision on your ILR application.

Requirements For ILR As An Innovator Migrant

The requirements for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) include the following:

Valid Application

The applicant must submit a valid application for ILR as an innovator migrant from inside the UK.

Endorsement Letter Requirement

The applicant must have been issued with an endorsement letter by an endorsing body no more than 3 months before the date of application and that endorsement must not have been withdrawn.

Where an applicant is making an application for settlement, they must provide an endorsement letter which must confirm all the following:

• the name of endorsing body
• the endorsement reference number
• the date of issue (which must be no more than 3 months before the date of application)
• the applicant’s name, date of birth, nationality and passport number
• a short description of the applicant’s business venture and the products or services it provides (or will provide) to its customers
• the name and contact details of an individual at the endorsing body who can verify the contents of the letter to the Home Office
• the applicant has shown significant achievements judged against the business plan assessed in their previous endorsement
• the applicant’s business is registered with Companies House and the applicant is listed as a director or member of that business
• the business is active and trading
• the business appears to be sustainable for at least the following 12 months
• based on its assets and expected income, weighted against its current and planned expenses
• the applicant has demonstrated an active key role in the day to day management and development of the business
• the applicant’s business venture meets at least two of the settlement success
  criteria

ILR Success Criteria

Endorsing bodies must also confirm in their endorsement letter that an applicant has achieved at least 2 of the following:

• at least £50,000 has been invested into the business and actively spent furthering the business plan
• 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
• the business has engaged in significant research and development activity and has applied for intellectual property protection in the UK
• the business has generated a minimum annual revenue of £1 million in the last full year covered by its accounts
• the business is generating a minimum annual revenue of £500,000 in the last full year covered by its accounts, with at least £100,000 from exporting overseas
• the business has created the equivalent of at least 10 full-time jobs for settled workers
• the business has created the equivalent of at least 5 full-time jobs for settled workers Each job must have an average salary of at least £25,000 a year (gross pay, excluding any expenses)

An applicant cannot meet the above requirements by relying on the same criterion twice (for example, an applicant who has invested £100,000 (2 x £50,000) in their business venture will be considered to have met one criterion, not two).

Immigration Status Requirement

The applicant must have, or have last been granted, permission on the Innovator route.

Qualifying Period Requirement

The applicant must have spent at least 3 years in the UK with permission on the Innovator route.

Continuous Requirement

Applicants for settlement in the innovator category must have continually resided in the UK for at least 3 years immediately prior to application. In determining if an applicant meets this requirement for continuous residency, you must be satisfied that the applicant has not had combined absences from the UK in excess of 180 days in any consecutive 12-month period as set out in Appendix Continuous residence in the Immigration Rules.

Knowledge of Life in The UK Requirement

The applicant must meet the Knowledge of Life in the UK requirement as set out in Appendix KOL UK.

Not In Breach Of Immigration Laws

The applicant must not be:

• in breach of immigration laws, except that where paragraph 39E applies, that period of overstaying will be disregarded; or
• on immigration bail.

ILR For Innovator Teams

Applicants do not need to be the sole founders of their businesses. Whilst multiple innovators in the same company can receive endorsements each applicant must have been endorsed for achievements in their own right. Where there are multiple innovators endorsed on the basis of the same company, the settlement criteria relied upon must have been multiplied by the number of innovators associated with the business. This can be achieved by either (all examples are on the basis of two innovators applying as a team):

Applicants each using different success criteria (4 met in total)

Example:

The applicants can demonstrate that they have:

• created 10 jobs for settled workers
• at least £50,000 has been invested in the business
• the business has generated a minimum annual gross revenue of £1million in the last full year covered by its accounts
• the business has engaged in significant research and development and has applied for intellectual property protection in the UK

Applicants doubling the minimum requirement to reach 2 individual success criteria

Example:

The applicants can demonstrate that they have:

• created 20 jobs for resident workers
• invested at least £100,000 in the business

Applicants jointly meet 3 success criteria, one of which is doubled

Example:

The applicants can demonstrate that they have:

• at least £50,000 has been invested in the business
• the business has generated a minimum annual gross revenue of £1million in the last full year covered by its accounts
• created 20 jobs for resident workers

Priority or Super Priority Service For Faster Decision

Our Fixed Fees For ILR As An Innovator