Scale-up Visa UK

The Scale-up Visa is for talented individuals recruited by a UK Scale-up Sponsor, who have the skills needed to enable the Scale-up business to continue growing. You will need to have a highly skilled job offer from a qualifying Scale-up business at the required salary level.

The Scale-up Visa route will open on 22 August 2022.

The Scale-Up route is a route to settlement in the UK. Applicants may be joined or accompanied by a partner and dependent children.

The Scale-up Visa route offers both a Sponsored Application route and an Unsponsored Application route. The Unsponsored Application route is only available to applicants who have previously been granted permission as a Scale-up Worker.

To qualify for a Scale-up Visa via a Sponsored Application, you will need to satisfy UK Visas and Immigration that:

• You must be aged 18 or over.
• You must have a valid Certificate of Sponsorship issued by your UK sponsor for the job you are planning to do.
• The job you are planning to do must be genuine.
• The job you are planning to do must be at a suitable skill level.
• Your salary must be equal to or exceed both £33,000 per year, £10.58 per hour and the ‘going rate’ for the job.
• You must be competent in the English language to at least CEFR Level B1 (equivalent to IELTS 4.0).
• You must have enough money to support yourself without relying on public funds.
• You must have provided a valid TB certificate, if needed.

To qualify for a Scale-up Visa via an Unsponsored Application, you will need to satisfy UK Visas and Immigration that:

• You must be aged 18 or over.
• You must have previously been granted permission as a Scale-up Worker.
• You had monthly PAYE earnings in the UK equivalent to at least £33,000 per year during at least 50% of your most recent grant of permission as a Scale-up Worker.
• You must be competent in the English language to at least CEFR Level B1 (equivalent to IELTS 4.0).
• You must have enough money to support yourself without relying on public funds.
• You must have provided a valid TB certificate, if needed.

The UK-based scale-up visa sponsors are expected to meet the following eligibility criteria before hiring a skilled foreign worker through the UK scale-up visa scheme 2022.

That is, in the future, they must be able to demonstrate:

• 20% employment growth or,
• Annual average ROI (return on investment) for a minimum of 3-years and
• The business must have at least 10 employees at the time of its establishment for 3 years.

If your scale-up business satisfies the eligibility requirement, you will qualify to hire foreign workers via fast-track applications without securing a sponsorship licence under the scale-up visa scheme.