The United Kingdom government has concluded arrangements to introduce a new visa route for startup and innovation entrepreneurs looking for opportunities to relocate to and start their businesses in the country.
The startup and innovator visa, which will take off from 13th April this year, is available to international entrepreneurs that meet the issuance requirements.
According to the UK Home Office, the new startup and innovation visa has removed the requirement in the former Tech Nation visa that business founders should have 50,000 pounds sterling to invest in their startup before they can be issued visa.
It is also coming to complement the United Kingdom’s flagship programme for international tech talent now being reviewed and revamp following the lapses in the Tech Nation visa.
Under the current system, the only way founders are allowed to apply for startup and innovation visas is for them to secure support from startup approval authorities or bodies, private endorsing bodies or some select universities.
Most of these bodies that decide which startups are innovative or impactful enough to be granted a visa are startup incubators, accelerators, community builders such as Techstars, Entrepreneurs First and Innovator International.
Last year, the UK Home Office issued 377 startup visas and 299 innovator visas. Based on the new regulations, the two current visa routes will be combined into a single route known as the Innovator Founder route.
Business experts believe that for the UK to support the growth of startup and innovation through great ideas, the British government must encourage the issuance of the new visa to entrepreneurial talents from abroad as well as introduce a reformed endorsing bodies needed to improve the efficiency of the issuance processes.
