Innovator Founder applicants and existing endorsees should note that Community and Business Partners does not appear on the Legacy Innovator Endorsing Bodies list, in the version updated on 7 August 2026.
Key facts
- Who: Innovator Founder and Scale-up applicants; existing endorsees of legacy Innovator and Start-up endorsing bodies
- From: Not stated in the source; the list version checked is dated 7 August 2026
- Source: Endorsing bodies: Innovator Founder and Scale-up visas
The UK Visas and Immigration list of authorised endorsing bodies for the Innovator Founder and Scale-up routes has two sections that matter here: Business Endorsing Bodies and Legacy Innovator Endorsing Bodies. Community and Business Partners is not named in either section of the version updated on 7 August 2026. The page does not say when the organisation left the list.
An organisation can only issue an endorsement for a new initial Innovator Founder application, or for the Scale-up route, if it is on the Business Endorsing Bodies list. That list names UK Endorsing Services, Innovator International and Envestors Limited, which can issue endorsements for both Innovator Founder and Scale-up. The Global Entrepreneurs Programme (GEP) can endorse for Innovator Founder only, and only for founders already invited to take part in its programme.
Legacy Innovator Endorsing Bodies may only provide further endorsements for Innovator Founder applications where they endorsed the applicant under the Innovator or Start-up routes before 13 April 2023. The page says these organisations no longer accept new Start-up or Innovator applications. They are authorised to continue maintaining and monitoring their existing endorsed migrants.
The page asks people not to approach legacy bodies unless they are existing endorsees.
It also sets out costs paid directly to the endorsing body:
- £1,000 per person to apply for an endorsement for an Innovator Founder visa
- £500 per contact point meeting, with a mandatory meeting at least twice during the length of permission to be in the UK
If you have been offered an endorsement by an organisation that is not on the list, you can report it on GOV.UK.
What this means for applicants
Check the organisation offering an endorsement against the current list before paying any fee. An organisation can only issue an endorsement if it is on the list, and an offer from one that is not can be reported on GOV.UK. A new initial Innovator Founder application needs an endorsement from a body on the Business Endorsing Bodies list. An applicant whose earlier endorser is on the legacy list can only seek further endorsement from it if that earlier endorsement was given before 13 April 2023.
Related guide
Sources
- Endorsing bodies: Innovator Founder and Scale-up visas, UK Visas and Immigration, updated 7 August 2026