Extending your Innovator Founder visa on the same business

The Innovator Founder visa is granted for three years, and many founders reach the end of that period with a business that is working but not yet ready for settlement. Extension exists for exactly that case. It is also a different test from the first application: instead of judging a plan, your endorsing body judges what you did with it.

This article explains how an extension on the same business works, based on GOV.UK and the Home Office caseworker guidance "Innovator Founder" (version 11.0, 4 August 2026).

The basics of extending

The Immigration Health Charge is also payable, at £1,035 per year per adult as widely reported. Check the current amount on GOV.UK's healthcare surcharge page before budgeting.

The same-business points

You still need 70 points: 50 from business criteria, plus 10 for English at B2 and 10 for the financial requirement. Founders who have been in the UK for more than 12 months at the date of application automatically meet the financial requirement, which will cover most people extending.

The 50 business points under the same-business criteria break down as:

You cannot combine these with new-business points. See new business vs same business criteria.

What "significant achievements against the most recently agreed plan" means

The guidance requires the business to be active, trading and sustainable, with significant achievements judged against the most recently agreed business plan. It does not define "significant" with a number, so the judgement sits first with your endorsing body.

Three features of the wording are worth noting:

• Active and trading. The business must actually be operating, not dormant or in preparation.
• Sustainable. The business needs to look able to continue.
• Against the most recently agreed plan. The yardstick is the plan your endorsing body agreed most recently, which suggests that agreed changes during the endorsement period matter. Keeping a clear record of what was agreed at each contact point is good practice.

Read plainly, this means your extension case is a comparison: what you said you would do, and what you did. Where results differ, a clear, evidenced explanation helps. See why endorsers compare actuals to plan and writing the variance narrative.

Your role: management, not ownership

Twenty points depend on you being actively involved in day-to-day management. The guidance states that solely having a financial interest is not enough. A founder who has stepped back to a shareholder role, or who spends most of their time on outside work, puts these points at risk. Outside work is permitted only if it is skilled to RQF level 3 or above, and it should not crowd out the business. See working outside your business.

Companies House and contact points

Two administrative requirements are easy to overlook:

1. Companies House. The business must be registered with Companies House, with you listed as a director or member. Check the public register shows you correctly before you apply.
2. Contact point meetings. If your last permission was Innovator Founder, you must have attended at least two contact point meetings. These normally take place after 12 and 24 months, and the endorsing body must tell the Home Office if a contact is missed. See contact point meetings.

Timing the extension

The endorsement letter must be issued no more than three months before your application. That gives a narrow window: request the letter too early and it may expire before you apply; too late and you may run close to the end of your current permission. Plan backwards from your visa expiry date and agree the timing with your endorsing body. See the endorsement letter three-month validity.

Extension or settlement?

If the business already meets at least two of the seven settlement criteria, and you meet the other settlement requirements including three years' continuous residence, settlement may be the better application. If not, extension buys time to get there. See the two-of-seven growth criteria. If you want an outside view of how your progress reads against your plan, you can run a free assessment.

Sources and further reading

• GOV.UK — Innovator Founder visa
• GOV.UK — Immigration Rules Appendix Innovator Founder
• GOV.UK — Innovator Founder caseworker guidance
• GOV.UK — Home Office fees table
• GOV.UK — Pay for UK healthcare as part of your immigration application

Key takeaways

• Extensions are for three years, with no limit on how many, but each needs a new endorsement.
• The same-business criteria require an active, trading, sustainable business with significant achievements against the most recently agreed plan.
• Twenty points depend on active day-to-day management; a financial interest alone is not enough.
• You must be a Companies House director or member and, if last on Innovator Founder, have attended at least two contact points.
• The in-country fee is £1,693 per person, plus endorsement fees and the health charge.
• Time your endorsement letter so it is no more than three months old when you apply.

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