Switching Into Start-up Visa UK

Our Team of immigration solicitors at Sunrise Solicitors can provide the required legal help and assistance with an application for switching into start up visa from inside the UK. As a result of successful application, the applicant will be granted leave to remain for 2 years. In case of switching from Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur to Start Up visa, the permission to stay will be granted for period which combined with previous leave as Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur does not exceed 2 years.

What Are The Eligibility Requirements For Start Up Visa?

To be granted leave as start up migrant under Appendix W, a person must:

• be at least 18 years old on the date of decision
• not fail under the General grounds for refusal
• not fail under a credibility assessment
• meet the requirements for English language
• meet the requirements for maintenance funds
• must not have been in breach of immigration laws, except for any period of overstaying allowed under the Immigration Rules

Credibility Assessment

The Home Office UKVI will not normally need to carry out a credibility assessment for Start-up applications. An endorsing body will already have assessed an applicant’s business plan and Home Office caseworkers are not expected to duplicate that assessment.

A balance of probability test should only be carried out on an application if the Home Office UKVI caseworker has reason to believe that there are specific grounds to doubt start up migrant’s credibility. This power is primarily intended to be used where the Home Office has information that would not otherwise have been considered by an endorsing body when it has assessed start up migrant’s suitability for endorsement.

Who Can Switch Into Start Up Visa From Inside The UK?

Switching into the Start-up category is only allowed if the applicant has, or has last been granted, leave as a:

• Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) migrant (who has not yet been granted 2 years’ leave in the category)
• Tier 2 migrant
• Tier 4 (General) student
• a visitor who has been undertaking permitted activities as a prospective entrepreneur, as set out in Appendix V

Switching From Tier 4 General Student Visa To Start Up Visa

If the applicant’s last grant of leave was as a Tier 4 (General) Student, they must meet the following criteria:

The applicant must have been sponsored as a Tier 4 (General) Student by one of the following:

• a UK recognised body or a body in receipt of public funding as a higher education institution from one of the following:
  • the Higher Education Funding Council for England
  • the Scottish Funding Council
  • the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales
  • the Department of Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland
• an overseas higher education institution to undertake a short-term study abroad programme in the United Kingdom
• an Embedded College offering Pathway Courses
• an Independent School

If the applicant was sponsored for their studies in the UK by a government or international scholarship agency, and the sponsorship is ongoing or ended less than 12 months before the date of application the applicant must:

• have been granted unconditional written consent to make the application by their sponsoring government or agency
  • provide a letter from each sponsoring organisation confirming this
• The letter must be issued by an authorised individual of that organisation and contain contact details which allow it to be verified.

Start-up Teams

Applicants do not need to be the sole founder of the business and may be a member of an entrepreneurial team and share the same business idea and plan as another Start-up team member. However, each member of the Start-up team must be issued their own individual endorsement and meet all the other wider requirements of Appendix W in their own right.

Maintenance Funds

The applicants must show they have at least £945 of available funds, plus £630 funds for each dependant maintained in the account for 90 days.

English Language Requirement For Switching Into Start Up Visa

The applicant must have at least a B2 level of English language ability, as defined in the Council of Europe’s common European framework for language and learning.

An applicant satisfies the English language requirement by:

• being a national of a majority English speaking country
• passing an English language test
• holding a degree which is:
  • a UK Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree or PhD
  • awarded by an establishment outside of the UK and is deemed by UK NARIC to meet the recognised standard of a Bachelor’s degree or Master’s degree or a PhD
  • deemed by UK NARIC to meet or exceed the recognised standard of a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree or a PhD in the UK, and is from an educational establishment in one of the following countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Ireland, Jamaica, New Zealand, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and the United States of America
• The applicant can also meet the English language requirement, without the need to provide evidence, if they have ever been given permission to stay in the UK in one of the following categories:
  • Start up
  • Innovator
  • Tier 1 (General)
  • Tier 1 (Post Study Work)
  • Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) under the rules in place before 13 December 2012
  • Tier 2 (Minister of Religion)
  • Tier 4 (General), supported by a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies assigned on or after 21 April 2011

How Can We Help For Switching Into Start-up Visa?

Our specialist team of Start-up visa solicitors can provide fast, friendly, reliable and fixed fee legal services for your application for switching into Start-up visa from inside the UK. As your appointed legal representatives for Start-up visa application from inside the UK, our work can include the following:

• assessing your eligibility for switching into Start-up visa from inside the UK by considering all the relevant eligibility requirements;
• advising on relevant documents to be submitted in support of the application;
• assessing the documentary evidence to ensure that the documents are in line with the Home Office UKVI requirements for switching into Start-up visa from inside the UK;
• completing online application form for switching into Start-up visa from inside the UK;
• preparing a detailed cover letter in support of your application to explain in detail how all the relevant requirements for switching into Start-up visa have been satisfied by the applicant;
• submitting the Start-up application online, paying the Home Office UKVI fees for Start-up visa application and booking applicant’s appointment with the UKVCAS application centre;
• uploading all the supporting documents online in support of the Start-up application;
• doing all the follow up work including responding to any queries raised by the Home Office UKVI until decision is reached on your Start-up application.

Our Fixed Fees For Switching Into Start Up Visa

Our fixed fees for switching into Start Up visa from inside the UK are as given in the fee table below: