New business vs same business: which Innovator Founder criteria apply to you

Every Innovator Founder application needs 50 points from business criteria, and the Home Office offers two ways to get them: the new-business criteria and the same-business criteria. Which set you use is not a stylistic choice. It depends on where your business is in its life, and it changes what your endorsing body is actually assessing.

This article explains when each set applies, what each one asks for, and what founders should expect to change between the first application and an extension. It draws on the Home Office caseworker guidance "Innovator Founder", version 11.0, published 4 August 2026.

Side-by-side comparison

When the new-business criteria apply

The new-business criteria cover a venture that has not yet been assessed by an endorsing body for you. To earn the 30 business plan points, the guidance requires that:

• you generated the plan or significantly contributed to it;
• you will have a day-to-day role;
• you will attend at least two contact point meetings;
• you are the sole founder or an instrumental member of the founding team.

The other 20 points require the endorsing body to be satisfied that the plan is innovative, viable and scalable, and to give a short description of why. That covers originality and market need or competitive advantage, whether the plan is realistic given your resources, whether you have or are actively developing the relevant skills and market awareness, and evidence of structured planning with potential for job creation and growth into national and international markets.

The guidance also permits joining a business after it has been registered at Companies House, provided it had not yet commenced trading, though the caseworker must be satisfied you were not added mainly to facilitate investment. See joining a registered company before trading.

When the same-business criteria apply

The same-business criteria are set out at INNF 9.2 to 9.5. They apply where the business has previously been assessed by an endorsing body and you are continuing it. The 10 points for previous permission require that you held Innovator Founder, Innovator, Start-up or Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur permission while pursuing an endorsed, assessed business.

For the remaining 40 points, the business must be active, trading and sustainable, with significant achievements against the most recently agreed business plan, and you must be actively involved in its day-to-day management. The guidance is clear that solely having a financial interest is not enough. If your last permission was Innovator Founder, you must also have attended at least two contact point meetings, and the business must be registered with Companies House with you listed as a director or member.

What changes at extension

The practical shift is from forecast to evidence. At your first application, the endorsing body judges a plan. At extension, it compares the business against "the most recently agreed plan". That wording matters. Read plainly, it points to the latest version of the plan your endorsing body has agreed, not necessarily the one you first submitted, which is a good reason to keep your endorsing body informed of changes and to keep a record of what was agreed. See why endorsers compare actuals to plan and contact point meetings.

Extensions are available for further three-year periods with no limit on the number of extensions, but each needs a new endorsement. The endorsement letter must, as at first application, be issued no more than three months before you apply.

Legacy endorsing bodies and the two criteria

The guidance treats letters from legacy endorsing bodies differently for each set:

• New-business letters from legacy bodies are only accepted if issued before 13 April 2023 for the Innovator route and the applicant previously had Start-up permission with the same body.
• Same-business letters from legacy bodies are only accepted if the applicant has, or had in the previous 12 months, Innovator Founder permission with the same body.

Legacy bodies on the GOV.UK list are not taking new applicants; they maintain and monitor existing endorsees. Several were removed from the list during 2026. If you are with one, see the legacy endorsing bodies wind-down.

What the endorsement letter must confirm

Whichever set applies, the letter must confirm that you meet either the new-business or the same-business criteria. It must also contain the endorsing body's name, an endorsement reference number, the date of issue, your name, date of birth, nationality and passport number, and the name and contact details of someone at the body who will verify the letter. For first endorsements after 13 April 2023, it must also include the fit and proper and source-of-funds confirmations.

If you are still at the new-business stage and want to test the plan before approaching an endorser, 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 — Endorsing bodies for Innovator Founder and Scale-up visas

Key takeaways

• The 50 business points come from either the new-business or same-business criteria, never both.
• New-business criteria test the plan and your role in creating and running it.
• Same-business criteria test delivery: an active, trading, sustainable business with significant achievements against the most recently agreed plan.
• At extension you must be a Companies House director or member and, if your last permission was Innovator Founder, have attended at least two contact points.
• A materially different venture needs a new-business endorsement, not a same-business one.
• Legacy endorsing bodies can issue same-business letters only in narrow circumstances.

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