Start-up Visa 

Introduced by the UK Home Office in March 2019, the Start-Up Visa is a business immigration route formulated to encourage and attract foreign talent to establish innovative businesses in the UK. To apply for this visa route, applicants do not need to show that they already have money to put into the business, upon approval the applicant will be granted a 2-year visa, and is thereafter eligible to apply for Innovator Visa in the UK.

Advantages:

• No specific educational background needed

• Flexible fund management

• Fast approval – no worries!

• Can apply for Innovator Visa after 2 years to stay 3 more years in the UK

• Can bring family (spouse / partners and children under 18)

• Opportunity to create an entrepreneurial team

• Individuals can apply for

permanent citizenship after 5 years

Key Requirements for Application:

Language: CEFR B2 Equivalent (IELTS 5.5), Exemption may apply (if a degree is issued from a English-speaking country based on a course taught in English)

Business Plan: this is required to prove that the business is innovative, scalable and viable, in order to receive endorsement from an UKVI approved endorsing body

Business Experience:no experience needed

Maintenance: minimum £945

You will need a Bank Statement for more than 3 months showing the availability of minimum maintenance funds.

Application Process:

Fees:

For reference only. Fees below are charged by third-parties only, fees may vary depending on the applicant’s home country. 7Plan Business fee is not included.

Investment Projects:

–  Finetech
–  Healthcare
–  Cooking Technology
–  eCommerce
–  Education Technology
–  Al & Big Data Analytics
–  Event Management Solutions
–  HR Technology
–  Photography

Our partners are among the UK’s leading investors in the technology sector: they have deployed a good unique approach to investing in early-stage (but globally scalable) businesses, platforms, software as a service (SaaS) and trading technologies. For any business, our goal is to have a minimum of 10x return on initial investments, with the potential for 100x return at a later stage- however, we pay more attention to quality, not quantity!

Project Characteristics

There is Potential for 10 to 100 times Return on Investment:

–  Great for Start-ups
–  Minimum Viable Product
–  Assists in generating profit
–  Favoured by the market
–  Global scalability

Criteria for Selecting the early-stage business

Co-founder background must demonstrate:

–  Considerable achievements
–  Conscientiousness
–  Strengths and Weaknesses
–  That investment has been secured for the applicant company
–  A high level of knowledge/ Expertise in the sector

The applicant company must:

–  Be solution-focused – it should fill a gap in the market
–  Have potential for global scalability
–  Provide high-technology products and services
–  Have potential to gain significant intellectual property rights
–  Be capable of expanding to a global market, creating at least 10 new jobs and/or generating a minimum annual revenue of £1 million in the third year.

Forms of investment:

Start-up University:

Settlement Success Criteria:

Upon completion of 2 years of continuous lawful residence, the main applicant can apply for Innovator Visa which gives him/her 3 more years in the UK. After 5 years in the UK applicant and his/her dependants can qualify for permanent residence (also known as Indefinite Leave to Remain – ILR) in the UK. In addition, only TWO of the following need to be achieved to receive permanent residence.

Why choose us?

• Thoroughly evaluate your background in accordance with visa standards

• Answer all immigration-related questions

• Develop a bespoke immigration plan for you

• Guide you through the preparation for endorsement and visa applications

• Provide you with a professional covering letter – written by a qualified solicitor to UKVI – to ensure all eligibility requirements are met

• Match you with the innovative entrepreneur(s) relevant to your background

• Assist you in communicating and negotiating the agreement with the entrepreneurs/founders matched

• Provide a comprehensive entrepreneurship training course to prepare you for the endorsement application

We endeavour to help you start a new chapter in the UK smoothly. From airport pick-up to GP registration, we are at your service. To help you secure your settlement status after three years, we will plan ahead for you upon your first arrival in the UK: our post-visa care service is designed to ensure that your personal and business development is on the right track, in order to meet the requirements for the UK settlement or naturalisation.

Q&A

Q1: Who can apply for start-up visa from university?

Graduate students who want to start a business and live in Britain. There is 50,000 pounds applicable.

Q2: How many years university can sponsor this visa?

University will endorse start-up visa for two years, 2 years later you must back go back to your country or you have to apply for innovator visa

Q3: What kind of paperwork I need to prepare for visa application?

You need to prepare: passport, endorsement letter from an immigration appointment, intermediate language score, living expenses, no criminal record, no tuberculosis certificate.

Q4: What are the applicant requirements?

For the applicant to be able to run a business in the UK, the business plan needs to be approved by the endorser. We can help our clients find a UK government-backed business project that matches your chosen industry and experience, and work with highly

skilled experts to start a company with you and secure your endorsement.

Q5: What level of English language do I need to be accepted for a visa?

The required level is intermediate in listening, speaking, reading and writing (meets IELTS 5.5)

Q6: How long is the preparation period?

4 to 6 months

Q7: Who is the endorser?

The endorsement body is a British government approved training ground for entrepreneurs, providing guidance to local entrepreneurs on how to run their businesses and helping young companies grow and become profitable. After getting accepted for endorsement by incubator or university, they will give professional guidance in business areas including team building, marketing, product development, marketing, financing, etc.

Q8: How long does the endorsement application take?

Usually 6-8 weeks.

Q9: If I want to continue running business for another year, how can I so it?

In this case you should re-perpare business plan and apply for Innovator Visa. For example, if the student was running a dance studio, the university agreed to endorse the idea, but the incubator maybe fail the project. 

Q10: Is there an interview at the immigration office?

Generally speaking, no, unless there is a special reason. (e.g. : ordered to conduct spot checks, etc)

Q11: After receiving the endorsement, the lawyer can immediately submit the application to the immigration office on my behalf or do I need to deliver it myself in person?

The lawyer will review the visa application materials and complete the online application immediately after you get the endorsement. If you are in the UK on Tier 4 General (student) visa to apply for project funding (supported by an endorser), you may submit your papers in the UK. Otherwise, you need to submit the papers in your country.

Q12: Can the successful applicant work to support themselves?

Applicants are required to spend the majority of their time developing their business but can also take on other work outside of their businesses inorder to support themselves.