Who Are The Endorsing Bodies For The Start Up Visa?

The Start-Up Visa is an excellent option for those looking to start an entrepreneurial pursuit in the UK with little previous experience. To qualify, applicants must first receive an endorsement for their business idea from either an appropriate business authority or an approved higher education institution. Below is a list of all the institutions who can provide you this endorsement, split into business endorsing bodies and higher education endorsing bodies.

Business endorsing bodies

• The Bakery
• Bethnal Green Ventures
• Capital enterprise
• CyLon
• Deep Science Ventures
• Founders Factory
• Ignite
• Invest Northern Ireland
• Kollider
• Level 39
• MDR LAB
• MedCity
• NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator
• Royal Bank of Scotland Entrepreneur Accelerator
• Scottish EDGE
• Seedcamp
• SeedHaus
• SETsquared Bristol
• Startup Funding Club
• Tech Nation
• Techstars London
• Tech X
• The Royal Society of Edinburgh
• Ulster Bank Entrepreneur Accelerator
• Wayra
• Zinc

These businesses are spread across a diverse number of sectors and it is important you target the right endorsing body for your specific sector niche. Tech, of course, is a big area and many of these bodies are geared towards that sector. There are, however, many options in amongst this list that can help across sectors such as health, engineering and the sciences. Check with individual bodies to see whether they are best suited to your business idea.

Higher education endorsing bodies

• Angela Ruskin University
• Arts University Bournemouth
• Aston University
• Bangor University
• Bath Spa University
• Birmingham City University
• Bournemouth University
• BPP University Limited
• Brunel University London
• Cardiff Metropolitan University
• Cardiff University
• City, University of London
• Contemporary Dance Trust
• Coventry University
• Cranfield University
• De Montfort University
• Durham University
• Edinburgh Napier University
• Falmouth University School of
• Florida State University International Programs Association UK
• Girne American University Canterbury
• Glasgow Caledonian University
• Goldsmiths University of London
• Guildhall School of Music & Drama
• Heriot-Watt University
• Hult International Business School

Imperial College London

• Keele University
• King's College London
• Kingston University
• Lancaster University
• Leeds Arts University
• Leeds Beckett University
• Liverpool John Moores University
• London Business School
• London Metropolitan University
• London School of Economics and Political Sciences
• London South Bank University
• Loughborough University
• Manchester Metropolitan University
• Middlesex University
• Newcastle University
• Northern School of Contemporary Dance
• Norwich University of the Arts
• Nottingham Trent University
• Oxford Brookes University
• Plymouth College of Art
• Queen Mary University of London
• Queen's University Belfast
• Ravensbourne University London
• Regent's University London
• Roehampton University
• Royal Academy of Music
• Royal Agricultural University
• Royal College of Art
• Royal Holloway and Bedford New College
• Sheffield Hallam University
• SOAS, University of London
• Solent University
• Swansea University
• Teesside University
• The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts
• The Robert Gordon University
• The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
• The University of Buckingham
• The University of Edinburgh
• The University of Northampton
• The University of Salford
• The University of West London
• University College London
• University for the Creative Arts
• University of Aberdeen
• University of Bath
• University of Birmingham
• University of Bradford
• University of Brighton
• University of Bristol
• University of Cambridge
• University of Central Lancashire
• University of Chester
• University of Dundee
• University of East Anglia
• University of East London
• University of Essex
• University of Exeter
• University of Glasgow
• University of Greenwich
• University of Hertfordshire Higher Education Corporation
• University of Huddersfield
• University of Hull
• University of Kent
• University of Leeds
• University of Leicester
• University of Lincoln
• University of Liverpool
• University of Manchester
• University of Northumbria at Newcastle
• University of Nottingham
• University of Oxford
• University of Plymouth
• University of Portsmouth
• University of Reading
• University of Sheffield
• University of South Wales
• University of Southampton
• University of St Andrews
• University of Stirling
• University of Strathclyde
• University of Sunderland
• University of Surrey
• University of Sussex
• University of the Arts London
• University of the West of England
• University of the West of Scotland
• University of Ulster
• University of Wales Trinity Saint David Carmarthen Campus
• University of Warwick
• University of Westminster
• University of Wolverhampton
• University of York
• York St John University

For recent graduates of any of the universities listed above, the higher education endorsing bodies are ideal. Many of these will only assist students who have studied at their university, and usually only if they have graduated in recent years. If your university is on this list, they are far and away the best place to start in your search for that all important endorsement. If you did not study at any of these universities, you may be better off approaching the business endorsing bodies who may be better suited to your specific requirements.

Getting More Help

If you need more help with getting an endorsement for the Start-Up Visa, either contact one of their bodies above (all who have websites that contain useful information for those seeking endorsement) or get in touch with our expert immigration solicitors who can help point you in the right direction.