What is the Scale-up visa? 

The scale-up visa enables businesses to employ highly-skilled individuals who will be granted 2 years' leave to remain in the United Kingdom without the need for sponsorship or permission beyond the first 6 months.

Scale-up Visa holders can extend their stay for an additional 3 years, and after 5 years of continuous residence in the UK, they can apply for indefinite leave to remain.

A great deal of flexibility of the scale-up visa is the ability to switch jobs or employers without sponsorship after the initial 6-month period in the United Kingdom. As the vast majority of employers in the United Kingdom do not hold sponsor licences; consequently, their employment options expand significantly. After the initial 6-month period, it is also possible to pursue self-employment.

What is the requirement of the Scale-up Visa?

An applicant must have a job offer and a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) issued by an approved sponsored employer in order to be eligible for a UK scale-up visa. Additionally, the sponsoring business must be in a phase of rapid growth.

Scale-up Visa applicants must meet the eligibility requirements:

• have a job offer from an approved scale-up business lasting a period of at least 6 months
• have a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) from their employer
• have a job on the list of eligible occupations
• meet the minimum salary requirements: £33,000 per year or £10.10 per hour or the ‘going rate’ for the type of work
• meet the English language requirements
• have sufficient funds to support themselves

Dependant family members

Scale-up Visa holders are permitted to be joined or accompanied by a dependent partner older than 18 and dependent children younger than 18.

Eligibility for Scale-Up Sponsor Licence

The Scale-up visa route is available to existing UK businesses that hold a Scale-up sponsor licence issued by the Home Office.

If a business meets the requirement, it will be eligible for a Scale-up sponsor licence.

• The scale-up businesses must be VAT-registered
• They should have an annual average revenue or employment growth rate over a 3-year period greater than 20%; and
• They have a minimum of 10 employees at the start of the 3-year period.

Once a Scale-up sponsorship has been secured, employers are able to recruit the highly skilled individuals necessary for their business to continue growing.

Unlike other sponsored routes, employers sponsoring workers under the Scale-up route need only confirm that the applicant will work for them for at least the first 6 months of their visa. After this period, visa holders are no longer bound to their sponsoring employer. This allows Scale-up workers to engage in additional or alternative employment (including employment, self-employment, and volunteer work) without sponsorship.

In addition, if the employer hires a migrant Skilled Worker, they must pay the immigration skill surcharge, however, scale-up sponsors are exempt from paying the Immigration Skills Charge.

Extension as a Scale up worker

Sponsored Scale-up visa is initially granted entry clearance or permission to remain for 2 years.

Scale-up visa holders have the option to switch to a new job or employer after 6 months without the need for sponsorship or a new visa application. In addition, they can extend their visa under the Scale-up route for an additional 3 years.

They may extend their stay without sponsorship. Instead, they must demonstrate that their annual earnings in the United Kingdom are at least £33,000.

There is also an English language requirement, but since the required proficiency level is the same as for an initial sponsored Scale-up visa application, it is likely that this requirement will be met automatically.

Settlement Requirement

To be eligible for indefinite leave to remain, a Scale-up visa holder must:

• Five years have been spent continuously in the United Kingdom.
• They must be employed in the UK with a salary of at least £33,000 per year on the date of application.
• They have had monthly earnings in the UK equivalent to at least £33,000 per year for at least 24 months in the three years immediately preceding the date of application.
• They must also pass the Knowledge of Life in the UK examination (unless an exemption applies).