Sohrab Vazir
Consultant | Founder | Global Citizen
UK Innovator Founder Visa
The UK's leading business consultant for international entrepreneurs
Innovator Founder Visa | Overview
The UK Innovator Founder Visa allows non-UK nationals to set up a new business in the UK, provided the business idea is endorsed by an approved Endorsing Body.
This visa category aims to attract entrepreneurs with high-potential business ideas that are innovative, viable, and scalable.
Requirements
You must have a business idea that is:
- Innovative: this must be at the core of your proposed concept, not a secondary dimension.
- Viable
- Scalable
Through an evaluation call, I provide a commercial assessment of your concept, highlighting strengths, identifying weaknesses, and offering clear, actionable recommendations to strengthen your proposal and positioning.
This is provided from a business perspective only and does not constitute immigration advice.
There is no minimum investment requirement for. the Innovator Founder visa.
However, you must have sufficient initial operational capital to launch and scale the business (varies by business).
You must receive an endorsement letter from one of the 4 approved Endorsing Bodies.
You must be at least 18 years old.
You must possess an acceptable knowledge level of the English language.
You must be a person of good character and not subject to any of the following:
(a) are, or have been, the subject of any material civil or criminal investigation or proceedings relating to corruption, financial crime, or other financial misconduct; or
(b) are, or have been, subject to any non-criminal sanction, including disqualification from acting as a director or from performing regulated financial activities in any jurisdiction.
Endorsement Application Fee £1000 (+VAT)
Home Office Visa Application Fee
- £1,274 per person if applying from outside the UK
- £1,590 if applying from inside the UK (extension or switching to the Innovator Founder Visa)
Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) £3,105
The following timeline is subjective and based on an approximate estimation
Business plan preparation | 3-12 months
Endorsement application | 4-8 weeks
Visa application | 3-8 weeks
Innovator Founder Consultation
I do not offer free consultations.
All clients must book an assessment session (cost: £99) to determine their idea’s feasibility for additional services (advisory program or business plans). This is not negotiable.
1. Idea Assessment
Commercial stress-test of your business idea to ensure it meets high-growth standards before you proceed with your UK market entry
This session must be booked before purchasing additional services. For many founders, this session alone is sufficient.
Launching a UK venture is a significant commitment. This assessment identifies whether your proposal meets high-growth commercial benchmarks.
If my analysis shows significant gaps in your model’s viability, I will recommend you to pause rather than investing in further development.
Assessment Call
Idea Evaluation & Actionable Feedback2. Additional Services
Optimize your business plan for the UK market.
Expert analysis to help you build a robust, growth-oriented proposal that stands up to professional commercial scrutiny.
Business Plan Review
Detailed ReviewAdvisory Program
Full SupportInterviews with the Endorsing Bodies
Real-world insight into the UK Innovator Founder Visa from official endorsing bodies. In these exclusive interviews, I have spoken with Innovator International and Envestors about how applications are assessed, and what founders must know about innovation, viability, and endorsement success.
Due to high demand, I’m currently focusing exclusively on strategic reviews and not taking on full business plan writing projects.
Important Notes
An evaluation session must be booked prior to enrolment on the Advisory Program or purchasing the business plan review package.
If, following the evaluation, your business idea is assessed as unsuitable for endorsement, I advise you not to engage in further services. This is to ensure fairness.
The Advisory Program does not include business plan writing.
My services are strictly commercial in nature and do not include immigration advice or services under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. For any immigration-related matters, you must consult a suitably regulated adviser. Where introductions to such advisers are made, they are provided on an independent basis. I do not supervise, control, or accept responsibility for any immigration advice or services provided.
Successful Clients
I worked with Sohrab through his Advisory Consulting Programme while preparing my business plan for the Innovator Founder endorsment application. What sets him apart is his strategic mindset and firsthand experience of the UK entrepreneur immigration journey. His feedback went far beyond basic editing, he rigorously challenged the model and strengthened the commercial positioning. Endorsement secured, thank you Sohrab.
I had a session with Sohrab, and it was an excellent experience. He clearly explained every step we need to take for the Innovator Founder Visa, making the whole process much easier to understand. Afterward, he put real effort and used his experience to review our business plan, providing us with valuable insights and practical advice. Sohrab is honest, reliable, patient, and truly passionate about his work.
Sohrab is an experienced and knowledgeable consultant with a positive attitude and a supportive approach towards startups. His guidance on fundraising solutions and on business assessment processes of the innovator founder visa was truly helpful.
About
From student to business visas to British citizenship
I moved to the UK alone on a student visa in pursuit of further education when I was 17 years old.
After completing my master’s degree in international law, I was endorsed by Newcastle University for two business visas (the Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur Visa replaced by the former Start-up Visa). I obtained several entrepreneur visas until receiving my Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR)/ Settlement & British citizenship.
I never used a lawyer and obtained the following visas:
- Tier 4 / Student (3 separate visas)
- Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur (endorsed by Newcastle University)
- Acceptance onto the NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator, a former/legacy Endorsing Body for the Innovator Visa
- Tier 1 Entrepreneur (Initial + Extension)
- Settlement
- British citizenship
Business Milestones
Business MilestonesMy company, StudyFlats, through which I settled in the UK, achieved:
- Business development & property portfolio growth from 2 to 30+ UK cities (10,000 students rooms)
- 1,000+ students consulted & assisted
- Enquiries from 50+ countries
- 2 endorsements from Newcastle University for business visas (annually limited to 20 out of 6,000 students)
- Creation of 4 jobs and hiring a total of 13 people
Therefore, to summarise: I know & have been through the journey.
Business Services
These services are provided through the business plan review and the Advisory Program packages.
I will help you maximise your chances for endorsement (I have seen the refusals by all Endorsing Bodies and therefore have a thorough knowledge of the requirements)
Understand the practicality and processes of setting up your business
Review your existing Innovator Founder Visa business plan
Guidance to doing business in the UK, helping you connect to the right people and network effectively
- Evaluation
- Pitch deck review
- VC referral (currently only AI-based ventures)
I have built an extensive business network in the UK, and can refer you to:
- Accountants
- Immigration advisors
- IP / Patent attorneys
I will help you conduct an effective market research to validate your business idea.
Plus, I will devise a tailored and strategic go-to-market plan
Your background and expertise are the key components of the viability criteria.
I will assess your CV and help you communicate your personal competencies
Team
Business consulting with access to independent immigration support
Immigration advice is provided separately and independently by a regulated adviser and does not form part of my services.
Sohrab Vazir
Business Consultant
10 years of experience with start-ups and tech innovation. Sohrab has successfully navigated the UK's immigration system and obtained British citizenship.
Denis Menabit
Immigration Consultant
Denis has a strong and extensive track record in the UK's immigration law. She is an IAA-regulated advisor and provides immigration advice independently in her own capacity as an IAA-regulated adviser.
🗨️ Innovator Founder Visa | FAQ
The UK Innovator Founder visa is for those who wish to set up a business in the UK.
My help consists of assessing your business on the basis of its viability in the UK.
Endorsement advisory may be offered by the OISC-regulated advisor whom I work with.
Please note that nobody can guarantee an endorsement (beware of any such promises).
Yes. Whether you’re a solo entrepreneur, a small business or a medium organisation seeking to establish a UK branch, I am able to help.
There are certain businesses which I will not work with due to ethical and legal considerations.
No, I work with a very broad range of businesses.
However, there are certain exceptions & specific types of industries which I may not be able to assist with due to ethical or legal considerations.
No. My services are only of a business advisory nature.
For immigration advice or services, I will refer you to an OISC-regulated advisor that I work with.
No. My prices have been adjusted to make it viable for both myself and the clients.
2 stages:
1. Evaluation session: I will assess your idea against the endorsement criteria and provide actionable feedback. For many clients, this session alone is sufficient.
2. Engagement in further services: if I deem that your idea has potential for endorsement, you can enrol in my Advisory Program or other services such as business plan review and/or writing. If your idea is not suitable for endorsement, I generally will not provide other services unless they are general commercial assistance.
Note: all clients must book an evaluation session, and I do not provide free consultations. This cannot be negotiated.
No.
My services and professional/educational background are laid out clearly in this website.
As much as I would like to have a chat, it is logistically not possible for me to do so with my current inquiry volumes.
I do not sign NDAs at any stage of my work. Here’s why:
Confidentiality is already built in: all client matters are treated with strict confidence as a professional standard. Our engagement agreements include confidentiality clauses that offer the same protection as an NDA.
Unnecessary legal risk: NDAs often create broad obligations that could create exposure to claims even when acting in good faith. By avoiding NDAs, I remove unnecessary legal complexity while still safeguarding your information.
Fairness across clients: I work with multiple clients in overlapping industries. Some NDAs are drafted so widely that they could unfairly restrict me from applying general expertise to other projects.
Practicality: NDAs are difficult to enforce internationally and rarely add meaningful protection beyond what is already in place.
In short: while I don’t sign NDAs, you can be assured that everything you share is treated as strictly confidential, both ethically and contractually.
🗨️ Business Plan Service | FAQ
I am not taking business plan writing projects at this time.
Yes.
My initial recommendation to founders is to write their plans and take advantage of my review service.
It costs far less and still ensures that you have an optimal plan.
Resources
- Innovator Founder Visa: Interview with Endorsing Body Innovator International
- Innovator Founder visa investment: funding required
- Innovation & Startup Visas: Comparative Analysis
- Graduate visa to Innovator Founder visa
- Visa Business Plans: 3 Key Factors
- Innovator Founder Endorsement Rejection: 4 Reasons
- Guide to the UK Innovator Founder Visa
- Do you really need a business plan writer?
- How does the UK corporation tax system work?
- How to do financial forecasts in a business plan
- 3 UK legislations that every business owner should comply with
- 5 elements of a good business plan
- Approaching Innovator Founder Visa Endorsing Bodies
- Creating an Innovator Founder visa business plan
- Start-Up Visa business ideas | Getting started
- how to come up with an Innovator Founder visa business idea?
- The importance of the Innovator visa business plan
- Immigration business plans | 3 tips
- Innovator Founder Visa | Business Plan Writer vs. Business Consultant
- What is Corporate Venture Capital (CVC)?