Scale Up Visa UK 2022
The Scale-up route 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. The person must have a high-skilled job offer from a qualifying Scale-up business at the required salary level.
A dependent partner and dependent children can apply on this route. The Scale-up route is a route to settlement
There are two options within the Scale Up Visa. The first is a sponsored application, and the second is an unsponsored application.
If you are granted a Scale-up Visa on the Sponsored Application route, then you will be granted entry clearance or permission to stay for a period of 2 years.
If you are granted a Scale-up Visa on the Unsponsored Application route, then you will be granted entry clearance or permission to stay for a period of 3 years.
Sponsored Application Requirements
To qualify for the scale up visa route, you must satisfy the following;
- Applicant must be 18 or over
- Must pass a TB test (if required)
- You have enough money to maintain yourself without recourse to public funds
- You have passed an approved English language of at least CEFR level B1
- Must have a valid Certificate of Sponsorship for the job they are planning to do.
- The sponsor must be listed as A-rated by the Home Office’s register of licenced sponsors
- The job must genuinely exist
- The applicant must be sponsored for a job in an occupation code listed in Appendix Skilled Occupations
- The applicant must have the appropriate skills, qualifications and experience needed to do the job as described
- The salary for the job for which the applicant is being sponsored must equal or exceed £33,000
Unsponsored Application
A prospective applicant can only make an application under this option if they have previously been granted leave under the Sponsored Application option.
To qualify for the scale up visa route, you must satisfy the following:
- Applicant must be 18 or over
- Must pass a TB test (if required)
- You have enough money to maintain yourself without recourse to public funds
- You have passed an approved English language of at least CEFR level B1
- The applicant must have earned at least £33,000 per year during at least 50% of their time in the UK (for example, an applicant with 2 years’ permission as a Scale-up Worker must have had this level of earnings during at least 12 months of that permission)
Requirements for Sponsored and Unsponsored Applications
Financial Requirement
Firstly, if you are applying for permission to stay or have been in the UK for 12 months or longer, you will not need to show the required level of funds. In addition, your sponsor can also choose to maintain and accommodate you on your certificate of sponsorship to the end of the first month of your employment, to an amount of at least £1,270.
If the above does not apply to you, you must have at least £1,270 which has been held for a 28-day period in the three months preceding the application.
Salary Requirement
You must be employed in a job which must meet or exceed £33,000 per year, £10.58 per hour and the ‘going rate’ for the occupational code.
The salary is based on your gross and only up to 48 hours of work per week. So, you could not work more than 48 hours in a week in order to increase your income above the threshold. You also cannot count any benefits towards the salary requirement.
The requirement differs for unsponsored applicants, in that the above still applies, however, you would only need to show that you have earned at least £33,000 for 50% of the time you’ve been employed.
Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) Requirement – Sponsored Application only
An applicant will need to have been sponsored by an employer in order to qualify for this visa. Your CoS can only be issued to you by an employer who has a sponsorship licence. If you are an employer and would like to obtain a sponsorship licence, Immigration Joss can obtain one for you, please get in touch via the contact section at the top of the page.
Appropriate Skill Level Requirement
An applicant must have been sponsored to do a job at or above a minimum skill level of least RQF level 6. The Home Office will publish a list in due course of the jobs at the required skill level. You will meet this requirement if the job you are being sponsored for is on the list.
English Requirement
You must show English language ability on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages in all 4 components (reading, writing, speaking and listening) of at least level B1, unless you:
- Have been awarded a degree that was taught in English.
- Obtained a GCSE/A Level in English while at school in the UK
- Are a national of a majority English-speaking country.
- Have shown in a previous successful application that you met the requirement.
Settlement/Indefinite Leave to Remain
Once you have spent a continuous period of 5 years in the UK with valid leave you may qualify for settlement. Valid leave under this route means leave under any of the following routes:
- Scale-up
- Skilled Worker
- Global Talent
- Innovator
- T2 Minister of Religion
- International Sportsperson
- Representative of an Overseas Business
- as a Tier 1 Migrant, other than Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur).
The salary requirement will remain at least £33,000 per year, on the date of application. However, you must have had monthly PAYE earnings in the UK equivalent to at least £33,000 per year during at least 24 months of the 3 years immediately before the date of application.
If you would like to apply when this route opens later this year or are an employer seeking to employ an applicant via this route, please do not hesitate to contact us and we will provide you with expert advice and assistance throughout the process.