Contact point meetings are a condition of the route, not an optional check-in. Your endorsing body must confirm you are still actively working on the endorsed business and making reasonable progress. There are at least two — at 12 months and 24 months — and each carries a £500 fee.
What is being assessed
- You are still working on the business that was endorsed — not a different one
- You have made reasonable progress against the plan you submitted
- You remain actively involved in day-to-day management and decision-making
What to bring
- Companies House filings, incorporation details and your shareholding
- Bank statements showing business activity
- Evidence of customers or users — contracts, invoices, signed pilots, usage numbers
- Any funding raised, grants awarded, or investment committed
- Hires, contractors and advisers brought on
- Product evidence — releases, IP filings, technical milestones
- An honest account of what has changed since the plan, and why
If the business has pivoted
This is the question that comes up most. A pivot is not automatically fatal — businesses change — but a change significant enough that it is no longer the endorsed business is a serious problem. Raise it with your endorsing body before the meeting rather than surfacing it in the room, and be prepared to explain the commercial reasoning.
If it goes badly
An endorsing body that is not satisfied can withdraw endorsement, and withdrawal is reported to the Home Office — which can lead to your leave being curtailed. Missing a meeting entirely has the same effect. Do not let one slip.
Members who have been through one: how long was it, was it in person or video, what did they actually ask, and what evidence did they want to see? Please say which body and which month.
- What comes next: extension applications and progress evidence · settlement after 3 years
- Your endorsing body: choosing one and what to ask before you pay · what the £500 meetings add to the total cost
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