Source of funds checks: the three confirmations in your endorsement

When founders prepare for endorsement, almost all of their effort goes into the business plan. That makes sense: the plan carries 30 points and the innovative, viable and scalable assessment carries another 20. But since 13 April 2023, the endorsement letter has had to confirm three further things that have nothing to do with how good your idea is. They concern you, and your money.

This article explains what those three confirmations are, how they differ from the financial requirement, and how to prepare so that your endorsing body can give them without delay.

The three confirmations, in the guidance's words

The caseworker guidance lists the items every endorsement letter must contain. For first endorsements issued after 13 April 2023, it adds that the letter must also confirm:

Two points are worth drawing out. The second confirmation covers not only where money came from but also how it was transferred. And the third extends to the business as well as to you.

How this differs from the financial requirement

Founders sometimes confuse these confirmations with the financial requirement worth 10 points. They are different things.

• Financial requirement: personal maintenance funds. If you have been in the UK for more than 12 months at application you automatically meet it. Otherwise you must show funds held for a 28-day period: £1,270 for the main applicant, £285 for a partner, £315 for the first child and £200 for each further child.
• Source-of-funds confirmation: the legitimacy of funds invested in the business, and how they reached it.

You can meet the first easily and still need work on the second, or the other way round. For the maintenance side, see the financial requirement for dependants.

Why there is no single document list

The guidance tells caseworkers what the letter must confirm. It does not set out what evidence the endorsing body must collect to reach that view, and each of the three Business Endorsing Bodies (UK Endorsing Services, Innovator International, Envestors Limited) runs its own process. Ask your chosen body directly what it needs. For how bodies approach background checks more generally, see reference checks and due diligence by endorsing bodies.

What you can control is how easy you make it for them.

Building a clear money trail

The following are practical suggestions, not Home Office requirements. The aim is that someone reviewing your file can follow each pound from its origin to the business without having to guess.

1. Identify every source. Savings from employment, sale of an asset, a gift or loan from family, investment from a co-founder or third party. Write each one down with an amount.
2. Show how each source arose. For example, employment records for accumulated savings, or sale documents for an asset. Keep originals and, where documents are not in English, plan for translations.
3. Map each transfer. Note every account the money passed through between its origin and the business, with dates. The guidance's reference to "modes of transfer" means this path matters, not only the start and end points.
4. Explain anything unusual. Large one-off deposits, transfers through third parties or cash movements are the kind of thing that will prompt questions. A short written explanation, backed by documents, is better than silence.
5. Keep it consistent with your plan. If your business plan says you will invest a certain amount, your money trail should support that figure.

Investment, investors and the "only investing" rule

The guidance is clear that the Innovator Founder route is not an investor route. An applicant who is only investing will be refused. You must have generated or significantly contributed to the business plan, have a day-to-day role, and be the sole founder or an instrumental member of the founding team.

The guidance also permits joining a business after it has been registered at Companies House, provided it had not yet started trading. But the caseworker must be satisfied you were not added mainly to facilitate investment. If your role in a team is closely tied to the money you are bringing, make sure your plan shows clearly what you actually do.

The points requirements for an initial application in the caseworker guidance do not include a minimum investment amount. At settlement, one of seven optional growth criteria is at least £50,000 invested and actively spent furthering the business; see the two-of-seven growth criteria.

When the Home Office looks again

Caseworkers do not normally re-assess what the endorsing body has already assessed. But the Home Office keeps powers to act later. Leave may be cancelled where there are fit-and-proper concerns, and under paragraph 39D the Home Office can request information or an interview; failure without reasonable explanation to respond within 28 calendar days, or to attend, can lead to cancellation being considered. A well-kept money trail is useful long after endorsement.

If you want to check the rest of your case before approaching a body, run a free assessment.

Sources and further reading

• GOV.UK — Innovator Founder caseworker guidance
• GOV.UK — Immigration Rules Appendix Innovator Founder
• GOV.UK — Immigration Rules Appendix Finance
• GOV.UK — Endorsing bodies: Innovator Founder and Scale-up visas

Key takeaways

• First endorsements after 13 April 2023 must confirm you are fit and proper, your funds and their transfer are legitimate, and there is no illicit or unexplained wealth.
• These confirmations are separate from the £1,270, 28-day personal maintenance requirement.
• The guidance does not prescribe a document list; ask your endorsing body what it needs.
• Build a documented trail from each source of money, through every transfer, to the business.
• The route is not for investors only: show a genuine founding and day-to-day role.

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