r/InnovatorFounderVisa

Interview by Sohrab Vazir with Envestors (one of the three endorsing bodies) about the UK Innovator Founder Visa endorsement process and wanted to share it here as a free resource for founders researching the route.

The discussion covers innovation, viability and scalability requirements, what endorsing bodies actually assess, common mistakes founders make, business plan expectations, monitoring checkpoints, and broader insights into the endorsement process.

A lot of information around the Innovator Founder Visa online is either oversimplified or sales-driven, so I tried to make this as comprehensive and practical as possible for people doing genuine research.

I applied for my Innovator Founder ILR in March 2025 after completing biometrics, and I am still waiting for a decision.

At one stage, I was asked to provide some additional information, and the last communication from the Home Office described my case as “complex”. Since then, there has been no meaningful update.

I have also raised a PAP through my solicitor and contacted my MP, who followed up with the Home Office parliamentary team. However, I have not received any clear update on progress or timing.

The uncertainty has made it very difficult to plan both business and personal commitments, as I cannot make long-term decisions while the application is still pending.

I previously had an Innovator visa decision processed much faster, so I was not expecting this stage of the process to take this long.

Has anyone else experienced similar delays or cases being labelled as “complex” at ILR stage?