International students in the United Kingdom, including Nigerians, will be able to switch from a Student visa to the Innovator Founder visa without leaving the country from 25 November 2025.
The measure is contained in the Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules (HC 1333) laid before Parliament on 14 October 2025.
Under the updated rule, students who have completed their course of study are eligible to switch in-country.
PhD candidates qualify once they have completed 24 months of full-time study.
Applicants must obtain endorsement from a Home Office-approved endorsing body before submitting their visa application.
The Innovator Founder visa is issued for three years, and holders may apply to extend it in further three-year periods, with no statutory limit on the number of extensions.
The route also offers a potential pathway to settlement, subject to meeting endorsing-body requirements and other Home Office conditions.
As part of the visa, applicants must attend mandatory business progress checkpoints with their endorsing body at 12 and 24 months.
Endorsement attracts a £1,000 assessment fee, while each progress meeting costs £500.
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In-country applications cost £1,590, excluding the Immigration Health Surcharge and biometrics.
The reform closes the gap created after the withdrawal of the Start-Up visa and forms part of the government’s effort to retain entrepreneurial talent emerging from UK universities.
It coincides with wider changes under HC 1333, including the replacement of “Part 9: Grounds for Refusal” with a consolidated Part Suitability framework for all immigration routes.
Other adjustments include raising the English-language requirement to B2 (CEFR) for certain work routes from 8 January 2026, and reducing the Graduate Route to 18 months for most non-PhD applicants from 1 January 2027, while PhD graduates retain the three-year allowance.
For Nigerian students, one of the largest international student groups in the UK, the new rule provides a clearer, in-country route to build businesses and pursue long-term plans after graduation.