UK Scale-Up Visa is available to brilliant people hired by a UK scale-up sponsor who possess the skills necessary for the scale-up firm to keep expanding. You must have an offer of employment from a scale-up firm that qualifies at the required wage level.
One way to settle in the UK is through the Scale-Up procedure. A partner and dependent children may join or accompany an applicant. A sponsored application route and an unsponsored application method are available for scale-up visas. Only those candidates who have already been given authorization to work as scale-up workers are eligible to use the unsponsored application method.
Application Requirements for a Scale-up Visa – Sponsored
You must convince UK Visas and Immigration that you are eligible for a scale-up visa through a sponsored application by demonstrating that:
- You are over the age of 18;
- You have a current Certificate of Sponsorship from your UK sponsor for the employment you intend to pursue;
- The work you want to conduct is legitimate;
- The work you intend to accomplish requires a sufficient degree of ability;
- Your annual pay will be at least £33,000, £10.58 per hour, and the “going rate” for the position;
- You possess language proficiency in English at least at CEFR Level B1 (corresponding to an IELTS score of 4.0);
- You have the resources to maintain yourself independently; if necessary, you have provided a current TB certificate.
Scale-up Visa – Unsponsored Application Requirements
You must convince UK Visas and Immigration that you are eligible for a scale-up visa through an unsponsored application by demonstrating that:
- You are over the age of 18;
- You’ve already received authorization to work as a scale-up worker;
- Throughout at least 50% of your most recent grant of authorization as a Scale-up Worker, you had monthly PAYE earnings in the UK that were at least £33,000 more than the annual minimum;
- You possess language proficiency in English at least at CEFR Level B1 (corresponding to an IELTS score of 4.0);
- You are self-sufficient and don’t need government assistance;
- If necessary, you have provided a current TB certificate.
Visa Scale-Up Documentation of Sponsorship (CoS) A Sponsored Application’s Requirement
You must possess a current Certificate of Sponsorship for the position you intend to hold to apply for a scale-up visa through a sponsored application. The Home Office must have authorized your employer to sponsor a scale-up worker for your Certificate of Sponsorship to have been issued.
Your employer must show that they have had annualized growth of at least 20% in turnover or staffing over the last three years to register as a scale-up sponsor. Additionally, businesses must have employed at least 10 employees at the beginning of these three years.
On the Home Office’s roster of authorized sponsors, your sponsor must be classified as A-rated.
Once a scale-up sponsor obtains an A-rated license, they can issue a CoS and sponsor you for six months in a job that requires at least RQF level 6 skill and pay that is at least as much as the current rate for the occupation code, which is £33,000 per year and £10.58 per hour.
Your Scale-up Visa Sponsored Application must have been submitted no more than three months after your Certificate of Sponsorship was obtained.
Certain necessary details must be included in your Certificate of Sponsorship, including:
specifics about your name, position, and pay;
confirmation that you must devote at least six months to serving your sponsor;
a start date that is no later than three months from the date of your scale-up worker visa application; confirmation that the Certificate of Sponsorship has not been used in a prior application that was approved or denied; and confirmation that the Certificate of Sponsorship has not been withdrawn by the sponsor or cancelled by the Home Office.
Job Requirement
To apply for a scale-up visa, you must first obtain a sponsorship certificate from your employer. Your employer must be classified as an A-rated sponsor to issue you a Sponsorship Certificate.
To be classified as an A-rated sponsor, your employer must have had annualized growth of at least 20% in turnover or staffing over the last three years. Additionally, businesses must have employed at least 10 employees at the beginning of this three-year period.
Once a scale-up sponsor obtains an A-rated license, they can issue a Certificate of Sponsorship and sponsor you for six months in a job that requires at least RQF level 6 skill and pay that is at least as much as the current rate for the occupation code, which is £33,000 per year, and £10.58 per hour.
Your Scale-up Visa Sponsored Application must be submitted no more than three months after your Certificate of Sponsorship was obtained.
Certain necessary details must be included in your Certificate of Sponsorship, including specifics about your name, position, and pay; confirmation that you must devote at least six months to serving your sponsor; a start date that is no later than three months from the date of your scale-up worker visa application; confirmation that the Certificate of Sponsorship has not been used in a prior application that was approved or denied; and confirmation that the Certificate of Sponsorship has not been.
Visa Scale-Up Required Job Skill Level for a Sponsored Application
The job you are being sponsored for must be an eligible employee at or above a minimum skill level in order to be eligible for a Scale-up Visa through a Sponsored Application.
Jobs that qualify for the Scale-up route have been listed by the Home Office. The list also provides similar job titles, the appropriate occupation code, and employment type. If the position for which you are being sponsored is on the list, you can often fulfill the employment skill requirements.
Your sponsor must, however, select a suitable employment code. Your application for a Scale-up Visa will be rejected if the Home Office has good reason to suspect that your sponsor did not select the best occupation code.
The Home Office will take into account factors like whether they have demonstrated a genuine need for the job as described, whether you have the necessary skills, qualifications, and experience to perform the job as described, and the sponsor’s history of compliance with the immigration system when determining whether your sponsor has selected the most appropriate occupation code.
Visa Scale-Up Minimum Salary for Sponsored Applications
The wage for the position you are being sponsored for must meet or surpass both £33,000 per year, £10.58 per hour, and the “going rate” for the position in order to qualify for a Scale-up Visa through a Sponsored Application (as set out in the relevant occupation code mentioned above).
The wage evaluation is based solely on the guaranteed basic gross pay (up to 48 hours per week) and excludes additional compensation and perks.
The Home Office has released a list of going prices for professional codes that qualify for Scale-up Visas. The mentioned going rates are based on a 37.5-hour work week and must be adjusted for different work schedules.
You must compute the £10.58 per hour wage requirement based on your work schedule. The scale-up worker requirement for an unsponsored application is the UK’s earnings.
You must have earned monthly PAYE earnings in the UK during at least 50% of the period spent on leave as a Scale-up Worker to be eligible for a Scale-up Visa through an Unsponsored Application, equivalent to at least £33,000 per year.
Your guaranteed basic gross wage, as reported by UK-based PAYE, will be considered by the Home Office. Other sources of income, such as self-employment and earnings from outside the UK, won’t be considered.
If you missed work while on statutory maternity leave, paternity leave, or any other leave of absence with PAYE earnings of at least £33,000 annually,
If you take parental leave, shared parental leave, statutory adoption leave, or sick leave, these absences will be counted as times during which you were paid at least £33,000 per year.
Genuine Earnings Demand
To be granted a Scale-up Visa, you must demonstrate to the Home Office that your PAYE earnings are actual. If there are reasonable reasons to suspect that your PAYE earnings were created, exaggerated, or do not correspond to legitimate work, your Scale-up Worker application will be denied.
Visa for Expansion English Language Requirement for All Scale-up Applications To qualify for a Scale-up Visa, applicants must be fluent in English (via either a Sponsored or Unsponsored Application)
You must demonstrate proficiency in English on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages at least at level B1 in all four language components (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) (intermediate).
Talented persons seeking entry clearance or permission to remain as a Scale-up immigrant with a high-skilled employment offer from a qualified UK Scale-up firm will meet the English language criterion if they:
Are a citizen of a nation where the majority of the population speaks English; have successfully completed a Secure English Language Test; have received a degree taught in English; have earned GCSE/A Level or Scottish Highers in English while enrolled in school in the UK; or have previously demonstrated that they have met the level B1 requirement in a successful application for entry clearance or permission to stay.
Visa Scale-Up: All Scale-up Applications Must Meet Financial Requirements
You must have cash amounts of at least £1,270 available to be eligible for a Scale-up Visa (via either a Sponsored or Unsponsored Application), subject to the exception below.
The money must have been in your possession for at least 28 days in a row, ending no more than 31 days before the date you submitted your Scale-up Visa application.
If your sponsor agrees to cover your maintenance expenses up to the end of the first month of your job, up to a minimum of £1,270, if required, you will be excluded from the financial requirement. On your Certificate of Sponsorship, your sponsor must attest to this.
You will fulfill the financial criteria and not need to provide proof of finances if you ask for permission to stay and have been in the UK legally for at least a year at the time of application.
Transitioning to the Scale-Up Worker Route
Unless you currently have or were most recently granted, permission as a Visitor, Short-term student, Parent of a Child Student, Seasonal Worker, Domestic Worker in a Private Household, or outside the Immigration Rules, you may extend your stay by switching to the Scale-up route if you currently have to leave to remain in another immigration category.
Timeframe for a Scale-Up Visa
You will be given entry clearance or permission to stay for two years if granted a Scale-up Visa via the Sponsored Application method.
You will be given entry clearance or permission to stay for a term of three years if you are granted a Scale-up Visa via the Unsponsored Application process.
Conditions of Residency for Scale-Up Visas
You must work in the position you are being sponsored for the first six months after receiving a Scale-up Visa through the Sponsored Application method. Your immigration status will no longer be connected to your first employer sponsor after the first six months.
As a result, you’ll be able to work more or differently (including employment, self-employment, and volunteer work) without needing sponsorship. You’ll be able to study as well. You won’t have access to public funding.
You won’t be reliant on a sponsoring employer if you are granted leave as a Scale-up Worker via the Unsponsored Application process since you will have a complete right to work from the start (including employment, self-employment, and volunteer work). You’ll be able to study as well. You won’t have access to public funding.
