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Innovator Founder Visa Settlement Endorsement Application

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This form should be completed by entrepreneurs who have previously been endorsed for an Innovator visa by the University of Edinburgh or Edinburgh Innovations and are interested in being endorsed by Edinburgh Innovations for settlement in the UK.

If you receive an endorsement letter, be aware that you must use this to make an application to the Home Office. The Home Office will carry out checks to ensure you meet other eligibility requirements such as:

English language ability and
Maintenance funds.

It is your responsibility to ensure you meet these requirements.

As we are not able to assist with the settlement application process, we recommend you seek independent advice with regard to this. You may want to use the following search tools to find someone suitable:

To apply for settlement endorsement from Edinburgh Innovations, please complete all sections of this form and submit it.

Please note that submitting your application means that you are confirming:

The information provided is correct to the best of your knowledge and that
If endorsed, you consent to allow Edinburgh Innovations to share your endorsement letter and other information relating to your business with the Home Office, where this is necessary for Edinburgh Innovations to meet our responsibilities as an endorsing body.

If you have any questions about the endorsement process, please refer to the guidance here: https://www.ed.ac.uk/edinburgh-innovations/for-students/visas-for-founders/innovator-visa or email visas@ei.ed.ac.uk.

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Welcome back!

It looks like this is our first time hearing from you. We'll need some basic details first.

First Name (Required)

Last Name (Required)

How would you describe yourself? (Required)

CompanyOrganisationUniversity or Institute (Required)(Optional)

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We only have your academic email address on record. Please enter a personal email address if you think that will help us communicate with you better. Optional Your academic email address may no longer be valid. Please enter a personal email address. Required

About You

(Required)Full name

(Required)Date of birth

(Required)Nationality

(Required)Passport Number

(Required)Your email address The email address we should use to contact you about this application

(Required)I have previously been endorsed by the University of Edinburgh or Edinburgh Innovations for an Innovator visa.

(Required)Current Visa Expiry Date

(Required)Please provide a short description of your role in founding the business {{lengthCR(a1i5J000001y4WiQAI)}}/700

(Required)Please describe your day-to-day role in managing and developing the business {{lengthCR(a1i5J000001y4WuQAI)}}/700

About Your Business

(Required)The business is registered with Companies House and I am listed as a director or member of that business.

Please specify

(Optional)Companies House Number

(Required)The business is active and trading

Please specify

(Optional)Names of any entrepreneurial team members who are also being endorsed

(Required)Business Name

(Required)Business Sector

(Required)Please provide a short description of your business and its main products or services {{lengthCR(a1i5J000001y4WpQAI)}}/700

(Required)Please list your main achievements since your previous visa endorsement

(Required)Please insert a link to your full business plan

(Required)Please insert a link to your financial forecasts Please include your financial results to date as well as projections for the next 2 or 3 years.

Indefinite Leave to Remain Criteria

In order to qualify for settlement in the UK, you must meet at least two of the success criteria set out below. Please note that you cannot qualify by relying on the same criterion twice. For example, if you have invested £100,000 (2x£50,000) in your business you will be considered to have met one criterion, not two criteria. Please select the criteria you meet and provide links to appropriate documentary evidence.

(Required)At least £50,000 has been invested into the business and actively spent furthering the business plan assessed in your previous endorsement.

Please specify

You should be able to show a cash injection into your business that has been made or secured by you

(Required)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.

Please specify

Can you show that you have doubled your customer base in the last 3 years and currently have a number of customers higher than the mean for other comparable UK businesses? You will need to provide credible evidence that this has been achieved, for example through comparison with industry data sources. In the absence of comparable customer numbers from competitors then credible market share analysis demonstrably showing that the company has obtained an above mean market share could be used.

(Required)The business has engaged in significant research and development activity and has applied for intellectual property (IP) protection in the UK.

Please specify

You must meet both parts of this requirement i.e. that the intellectual property reflects a significant piece of R&D activity. Applications for patents and registered designs can be used where the fillings have necessitated significant new R&D activity. Non R&D IP such as trademarks would not qualify as these typically do not relate to R&D.

(Required)The business has generated a minimum annual revenue of £1 million in the last full year covered by its accounts.

Please specify

The accounts considered must be prepared by a UK regulated accountant. You will need to provide two years worth of accounts.

(Required)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.

Please specify

You will need to provide credible evidence such as accounts provided by a UK regulated accountant showing £500,000 in gross revenue and additional information such as invoices, shipping manifests etc to demonstrate overseas exports.

(Required)The business has created the equivalent of at least 10 full-time jobs for settled workers, which have existed for at least 12 months.

Please specify

Each job must have existed for at least 12 months and comply with all relevant UK legislation, including (but not limited to) the National Minimum Wage Regulations in effect at the time and the Working Time Regulations 1998. Each job must involve an average of at least 30 hours of paid work per week. 2 or more part-time jobs that add up to 30 hours per week may be combined to an equivalent full-time job.

(Required)The business has created the equivalent of at least 5 full-time jobs for settled workers, which have existed for at least 12 months and have a mean salary of at least £25,000 a year (gross pay, excluding any expenses).

Please specify

(Required)ILR Criterion 1 Evidence Please provide a link to evidence of how you meet the first indefinite leave to remain criterion you selected. For example, bank statement, patent application etc

(Required)ILR Criterion 2 Evidence Please provide a link to evidence of how you meet the second indefinite leave to remain criterion you selected. For example, bank statement, patent application etc

Referee and Other Information

(Required)University of Edinburgh Referee Name and Email Address This should be your Edinburgh Innovations business advisor or another University of Edinburgh employee. We will contact them to ask for a statement of support. They should be happy to explain: Who they are and their role at the University; Their relationship with you (and your company) to date; How they intend to work with your company going forward; How this is aligned with the University of Edinburgh's objectives; That they are supportive of this endorsement

(Optional)Any other information? For example, if you feel you have been detrimentally impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, please explain its impact here

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Please complete any required questions

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