International students

Discover the support available for international students and graduates looking to start a business in the UK, including details of the Start-up visa.

Start-up visa

We're proud to belong to a global university and we support our international students and graduates to establish businesses both in the UK and in their home countries.

One of the routes is through the Start-up visa, which is for early-stage, high-potential entrepreneurs who are starting a business for the first time in the UK. It grants successful applicants a two-year stay in the UK, during which entrepreneurs will spend the majority of their time developing their businesses.

The new scheme replaces the Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) visa and could provide you with the ideal opportunity to achieve your vision.

The new criteria on which the decision to endorse or not is based, are more stringent than for the Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) visa. The new businesses will need to be innovative with a clear sustainable competitive advantage over existing provision, they will need to be scalable with potential to create substantial jobs and growth not just in the UK but abroad as well, and that the applicants will need to be able to demonstrate that they have the necessary skills and competencies to run the business.

Applications for the Start-up scheme must be endorsed by either an HEI (Higher Education Institution) endorsing body or a Business endorsing body.

Applications for Start Up Visa endorsement will open on Monday 16 January and close at 12:00 pm. (midday) on Friday 10 February.

Find out how to apply for the Start-up visa by contacting startupvisa@manchester.ac.uk or learn more via the government's website.