SOME PEOPLE AREN’T MADE FOR GOING WITH THE FLOW. Start-up visa route July 2019
START UP
www.ncl.ac.uk/careers/startup
Introduction The Start-up category is for non-EEA nationals wishing to set-up a business in the UK for the first time. You must not have registered or incorporated the business in the UK or commenced trading in the UK before you have been granted a Start-up visa. It offers a one-off, 2-year visa, during which successful applicants will spend the majority of their time developing their business. Your business idea must be INNOVATIVE, VIABLE and SCALABLE with the potential to become fully integrated and a contributing part of the UK economy.
Masitano Sichone, founder of Spareable, receiving The Duke of York Young Entrepreneur Award July 2019 from The Duke of York, Prince Andrew
Endorsement To apply for a Start-up visa, applicants must first obtain an endorsement from an approved endorsing body. Newcastle University endorses up to 20 Newcastle graduates for a Start-up visa each (financial) year.
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 We will consider requests from individuals and teams however, each team member must be a Newcastle University student/ graduate and be an equal founding director/partner of the business. Each individual applicant must receive their own individual endorsement. Newcastle University will not endorse anyone seeking to join an already trading business.
Endorsement criteria: Newcastle University In order to be considered for endorsement you must be able to demonstrate how you/ your idea meets the criteria below. Please also refer to the full Home Office guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/start-up-and-innovator-endorsingbodies-guidance
Innovation
Viability
Scalability
Sector(s)*
Market(s)
Are you offering a new or significantly improved product or process?
Is there evidence of market research/ validation and structured planning?
Is the business likely to gain sufficient traction?
Could your idea significantly impact any or all of the following sectors:
Can you provide a clear and convincing argument for why your business needs to be launched in the UK?
Is there potential for job creation Does your idea Have you/ are and growth meet new or you actively into national existing market developing, the markets? needs? necessary skills, Have you got knowledge, access to experience finance to drive and market the business awareness forward during to run the the period of business the visa? successfully?
Healthcare & Life Sciences incl. Ageing Advanced Manufacturing
Why can you only do this in the UK and not elsewhere?
Offshore & Energy Technologies Digital (incl. Data) & Tech Culture & Creative Arts
*By aligning Start-up visas with University and regional strengths, we are able to leverage nationally important resources and know-how to accelerate innovation and business progress – connecting you with bigger innovation clusters.
Endorsement criteria: continued ■■
You should be an international student, who is graduating or has graduated within the last 3 years. Whilst you do not need to have been awarded your degree before applying, if your application is successful we cannot issue endorsement until you officially feature on a pass list.
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You must have attended the Immigration Routes into Employment workshop delivered by the Visa Team to establish eligibility for this visa and associated costs and Home Office requirements
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To be considered for endorsement from Newcastle University you will be required to be resident in the UK throughout the endorsement process, actively engaged with START UP support
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You must have been actively working with a START UP Business Adviser no less than 4 months before your current Tier 4 visa expires
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You must not have registered or incorporated the business in the UK or commenced trading in the UK prior to a Start-up visa being awarded
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You will maintain significant influence and control over the activities of the business for the duration of the visa
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You own the intellectual property related to your idea/ business OR have written authorisation from the owners to use it to establish a business in the UK
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You are able to financially support yourself for the duration of the visa whilst spending the majority of your time developing your idea/ business
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You are intending to base yourself in the North East of England for the duration of the visa to develop your idea/ business. Exceptions can be considered, at the discretion of the Endorsing Officer, where a compelling case can be made to locate you/ the business elsewhere in the UK AND you agree to travel at your own expense for monitoring meetings.
Process for Endorsement
STEP 1: Find out more about the Start-up visa from our Visa Team
Attend the Immigration routes into Employment workshop Attend visa advice appointment, if required
STEP 2: Review Newcastle University’s Endorsement Criteria
Start working with the START UP Team as early as possible. You must be working with a START UP Business Adviser no less than 4 months before your current Tier 4 visa expires
STEP 3: START UP Business Adviser Assessment
STEP 4: Endorsement Panel
STEP 5: Endorsement Decision
Together with your START UP Business Adviser, you will assess fit against the criteria outlined in the guidance If the START UP Business Adviser feels that there is a sufficient level of fit, they can recommend you are invited to attend an Endorsement Panel which is made up of experts
At Endorsement Panel you will be invited to present your proposal to a small panel of internal/ external experts who will have more indepth knowledge of your proposed market/ sector and will therefore be better positioned to assess your proposal against the criteria
On the recommendation of the Panel, the Start-up Manager will issue endorsements to those applicants who make the strongest case. The endorsement remains valid for 3 months from the date of issue. Endorsement does not guaraentee you will be granted a visa - all decision regarding the Start-up visa are handled by Home Office.
Newcastle University reserves the right to amend its criteria at any time.
Guidance for Current International Students To ensure that you do not risk being in breach of your Tier 4 (General) student visa, the Home Office has issued the following guidance (April 2018) on how far you can progress a business concept before you have been granted the Start-up visa:
a student could come up with an idea and do small scale user testing of a prototype, for example giving a product they have developed to a group of class mates for free to see if the concept works
we would not expect to see products being marketed in any way to the mainstream public at this stage (for example through a publicly available website)
we would not expect to see any large scale commercial trials being undertaken at this stage (unless the trials are a scientifically necessary part of a PhD research project that will later be spun out)
the student must not under any circumstances receive any financial gain from any user testing before they have been granted their Start-up visa
the student must not under any circumstances register or begin to register a business until after they have been granted a Start-up visa
For more information, drop into the Careers and START UP Space, Careers & Enterprise Centre, level 1 King’s Gate or email us via My Career - click on the Queries tab to submit your question and select START UP as your question type.