The fit and proper person test for Innovator Founders explained

The Innovator Founder visa asks a lot of your business plan. It also asks something of you as a person. Since April 2023, every first endorsement must confirm that you are a "fit and proper person", and the Home Office applies its own fit and proper test under Part Suitability of the Immigration Rules.

For most founders this is a box that is ticked without difficulty. For a minority, something in their professional history, often a matter they assumed was finished or only relevant in another country, can bring it into play. This article explains what the test covers, who it is likely to affect, and how to approach it honestly.

What paragraph 9.13A.1 covers

The guidance describes two broad categories.

Three features of this wording stand out for founders.

Investigations, not only convictions. The test refers to the subject of investigations or proceedings. An open matter can be relevant even before any outcome.

Spent matters still count. The guidance says the financial crime and misconduct categories apply regardless of whether a matter is spent. Founders familiar with rehabilitation rules in other contexts sometimes assume an old conviction can be left out. Here that assumption is unsafe.

Any country. Director disqualification and regulatory bars count wherever they were imposed. A founder whose previous company failed abroad, leading to a disqualification there, cannot treat that as irrelevant to a UK application.

Who this is likely to affect

The test is aimed at serious matters. Most founders will have nothing in their history that comes close. The people who should read the guidance closely include founders who:

• have been a director of a company that was investigated or sanctioned, in any country;
• have held a role in regulated financial services and faced regulatory action;
• are, or have been, the subject of a tax investigation or dispute that could be characterised as alleging evasion;
• have any conviction involving fraud, corruption or money laundering, however old.

If your previous business simply failed, that is not by itself a fit-and-proper issue under the categories above. Many founders have a failed venture behind them. For how to present that history positively, see second-time founders and past failure as evidence.

Where the test appears in your journey

The fit and proper question can arise at three points.

1. At endorsement. For first endorsements after 13 April 2023, the letter must confirm you are a fit and proper person, alongside confirmations about the legitimacy of funds and the absence of illicit or unexplained wealth. See source of funds checks at endorsement.
2. At the visa decision. The Home Office applies Part Suitability, including paragraph 9.13A.1, and the general suitability requirements, such as not being in breach of immigration law and not being on immigration bail, subject to permitted exceptions.
3. After grant. The guidance says leave may be cancelled where there are fit-and-proper concerns. Under paragraph 39D the Home Office can request information or an interview, and failure without reasonable explanation to respond within 28 calendar days, or to attend, can lead to cancellation being considered.

There is a further reason to be straightforward. Where an endorsing body is removed for wrongdoing and an applicant was complicit, the guidance treats that applicant far more harshly, including rejecting a pending application as invalid. See if your endorsing body leaves the list.

How to prepare if you have something to disclose

These are practical steps rather than requirements set out in the guidance.

1. Write down the facts. What happened, when, in which country, what the outcome was, and whether anything is still open.
2. Gather the official documents. Court or regulator decisions, the terms and duration of any disqualification, and evidence that a matter has concluded. Where documents are not in English, plan for translations.
3. Take legal advice before you approach an endorsing body. A qualified immigration solicitor can tell you how the test is likely to apply to your facts, and whether to proceed now or later.
4. Be candid with your endorsing body. The body has to put its name to the fit-and-proper confirmation. A clear, documented account helps them assess you properly.
5. Keep your current conduct clean. Accurate company filings, tax compliance and honest dealings in your new business all bear on whether concerns arise later.

The bigger picture: why this test exists

The April 2023 changes added the fit-and-proper and source-of-funds confirmations to endorsement letters. The guidance's reference to illicit or unsatisfactorily explained wealth suggests the concern is that the route should not be used by people with a history of financial wrongdoing to establish a UK presence. That is an inference from the wording, not a stated policy rationale. For background on the 2023 changes, see the April 2023 criteria changes.

If your history is straightforward, the test will likely be a formality. If it is not, early advice is the difference between a planned application and an avoidable refusal. To check the business side of your case, run a free assessment.

Sources and further reading

• GOV.UK — Innovator Founder caseworker guidance
• GOV.UK — Immigration Rules Appendix Innovator Founder
• GOV.UK — Innovator Founder visa

Key takeaways

• Paragraph 9.13A.1 allows refusal for serious investigations or proceedings about corruption, financial crime or financial misconduct, and for non-criminal sanctions such as director disqualification.
• Tax evasion, corruption, fraud and money laundering count regardless of sentence length or whether the matter is spent.
• Director disqualification and bars from regulated financial activity count in any country.
• Endorsing bodies must confirm you are fit and proper, and leave can later be cancelled for fit-and-proper concerns.
• If anything might be in scope, gather documents and take legal advice before approaching an endorsing body.

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