Scale Up Visa

The UK Home Office introduced the Scale Up visa on 22nd August 2022. Its purpose is to make it
easier for UK businesses to hire skilled labour from anywhere in the world to help them manage rapid
growth. It is a sponsored visa but it permits holders to switch to an unsponsored role after six months.

The scale up period is a particular phase in a company’s growth in which it develops from a start-up
into a successful, expanding business. It is not a specifically defined period. The eligibility of each
case is considered on its own merits.

A scale up visa enables a worker from overseas to live and work in the UK for a UK-based company
and also confers the right to bring dependent family members with them. After five years this can lead
to the granting of indefinite leave to remain.

Eligibility Requirements

There are five qualifying conditions for obtaining a Scale Up visa.

• • Applicants require a Certificate of Sponsorship issued by an approved Scale Up sponsor
  • Successful applicants must be employed full-time by their sponsor for at least the first six months of
    their stay. After six months they may move to another employer outside the sponsorship scheme
  • They must have received a job offer from an eligible Scale Up
  • The job they have been offered must be a high-skilled one at a salary of at least £33,000 per annum
    or the market rate, if higher
  • They need to meet the requirements of proficiency in the English language.
    For the purposes of the visa, a Scale Up is defined as:
  • A company whose workforce has grown by at least 20% each year for the three years before they
    apply for sponsor status
  • A company with a minimum of 10 full-time employees at the start of this three-year period

Benefits for Employers

The Scale Up visa route has been designed in recognition of the need for rapidly scaling businesses
to adapt with speed and flexibility and for highly skilled migrants to find roles appropriate to their
abilities and experience. There are several advantages for employers in using this route.

• • There is a fast-track verification process for registering as a sponsor
  • Unlike the Skilled Worker route, there are no Immigration Skills Charges
  • The sponsorship duties of the employer are limited to the first six months of the visa holder’s
    employment
  • Holders of Scale Up visas may switch after six months to an employer who is not a sponsor

Restrictions on Employers

The Scale Up route is fast and cost-effective but it is not as widely available as other routes such as
Skilled Worker and Global Mobility because of the more restrictive eligibility requirements imposed on
employers

• • The company must have been trading continuously for at least three years
  • The company must be on a demonstrably sharp growth curve
  • The company may experience staff retention problems since holders are free to move on after six
    months

Duration of a Scale Up Visa

Although the holder need only remain with their sponsor company for six months, the visa permits
them to remain working in the UK for two years, switching roles and employers as they wish. After two
years their visa may be extended by an additional three years without the need for sponsorship from
their new employers.

Our immigration experts can answer all your questions about the Scale Up visa scheme and
application process. Please contact us to find out more and to discuss your circumstances.