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A practical guide to Innovator Founder settlement endorsement, the 3-year qualifying period and evidence for 2 distinct business achievements.
01
The 3-year period is only the first part of the test.
Appendix Innovator Founder requires at least 3 qualifying years on the Innovator Founder route, continuous residence, the relevant knowledge-of-life requirement and a fresh settlement endorsement. Time spent in a different immigration category does not count towards that specific 3-year route.
The endorsing body must also confirm that the company is registered, the applicant is a director or member, the business is active and trading, it appears sustainable for at least the next 12 months and the founder retains an active key management role.
02
Select 2 genuinely distinct qualifying achievements.
The current Rules identify alternative achievements concerning investment actively spent, comparative customer growth, significant research and development with a UK intellectual-property application, specified revenue, export revenue, or prescribed settled-worker job creation.
The same criterion cannot be counted twice. For example, investment above twice the stated investment threshold still remains a single investment criterion. Founding-team members also cannot rely on the same jobs or other shared means of satisfying a criterion without meeting the Rules applicable to each founder.
03
Start collecting the evidence before the settlement window.
The evidence may require company accounts, bank records, invoices, payroll, right-to-work evidence, investment documentation, customer comparisons, intellectual-property filings and records connecting the founder to the day-to-day business.
Job-creation criteria have their own duration, working-hours, pay and worker-status conditions. A promising employment plan near the end of the 3-year period may arrive too late if the required jobs have not existed for the necessary period.
Working checklist
Questions before the next step.
- Calculate the 3-year route-specific qualifying period
- Review continuous residence and the settlement application window
- Select 2 distinct qualifying business achievements
- Test company registration, trading and 12-month sustainability
- Map payroll, revenue, investment or intellectual-property evidence
- Confirm separate counting for any co-founders
Primary sources
Rules and official guidance.
Reviewed 24 August 2026. Check the current provision and complete facts before relying on this resource.
How to use the source record
Verify the current instrument, commencement date, transitional position and caseworker guidance against the application date and complete facts. The source may change after this resource was reviewed.
Questions
Points that commonly alter the answer.
Can Graduate visa time count towards Innovator Founder settlement?+
No. The Innovator Founder settlement rule requires at least 3 years with qualifying permission on the specified founder route; time on a Graduate visa cannot be added to that 3-year period.
Can the same business achievement count twice?+
No. Appendix Innovator Founder expressly prevents the same criterion from being relied upon twice, even where the numerical amount is more than double the stated threshold.
Can 2 founders rely on the same jobs?+
Not without satisfying the separate-counting requirements. The Rules state that founding-team members cannot share the same means of meeting the relevant settlement criteria.
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