What is a Scale-up visa and how does it work?

The Scale-up visa is a flexible immigration route designed to propel high-growth businesses by allowing them to attract top talent to the UK. It was introduced in 2022 and was presented as a visa that will fill essential skills gaps, help UK businesses grow, and boost the UK’s economy. In this blog post we explain how the route works and outline the process of applying at each stage of the process.

Overview

Despite its intended benefits, take-up has been low. Of the 34,180 scaleups in the UK, only 67 hold a licence to sponsor overseas workers. The number of visa-holders in the route is also low, with entry-clearance figures showing that only five applications were made in Q3 of 2024. It’s fair to say that the visa is not the game-changer that the Conservative government had hoped for.

The Scale-up route has two stages, after which the worker potentially qualifies for settlement.

Sponsored stage of two years

Applicants entering the route first of all make a sponsored application with a valid Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) from a qualifying Scale-up sponsor. The CoS must confirm that the applicant is expected to work for the sponsor for at least the first six months of their permission.

Why is this the case when the duration granted is two years? There’s a quirky six month rule with Scale-up visas, which make it attractive to both sponsors and applicants. See the list of advantages of this type of visa below.

Unsponsored stage of three years

When the worker applies to extend their visa, they don’t need a sponsor. Instead, they must show they have met the UK earnings requirement. See the Home Office page ‘Extend your visa’ for more information.

Key advantages

The key advantages of the Scale-up visa route are:

• Reduced burden on sponsor: Scale-up sponsors are only required to sponsor workers for six months and after that, their sponsor duties towards the worker fall away.
• Reduced sponsorship fees: because sponsorship is limited to a six month period, the Certificate of Sponsorship fee aligns with temporary immigration routes and is just £25, rather than £239. (This may increase when fees are reviewed later in the year). There is also no Immigration Skills Charge, saving sponsors up to £5,000 on fees.
• Flexibility for workers: after the initial period, workers have the option to either stay with the sponsor or leave to work elsewhere. This introduces a relatively mobile group of workers to the UK labour market who have the option to work at organisations that may not necessarily have a sponsor licence.

What is a “scale-up” anyway?

A “scale-up” is basically a high-growth company; a start-up in its adolescent phase, if you will. In line with the definition adopted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Home Office defines scale-up sponsors as organisations that meet both of the following criteria:

• Annualised growth of at least 20% for the previous three year period based on either employment (staff count) or turnover
• A minimum of 10 employees at the start of the relevant three year period.

What can you do on a Scale-up visa?

Successful applicants will be granted permission and can:

• Work in their sponsored role as stated on their CoS (subject to any permitted reported changes) for at least the first six months.
• Take on additional work during that initial six month period.
• Leave the sponsor after six months to work anywhere, including for organisations that do not have a sponsor licence.
• Take on self-employed work or voluntary work.
• Study (subject to Academic Technology Approval Scheme requirements).

Applicants can sponsor dependent family members.

Applicants cannot access to public funds and the professional sports restriction remains in place.

How do you apply?

First, check if the organisation has a licence. If no, get a Scale-up licence in place

Sponsors must hold a valid sponsor licence for the Scale-up route. Organisations who hold a general sponsor licence will need to add the Scale-up limb to their existing licence.

The licence application requires barely any supporting documents, which is another flexible feature of the route to encourage organisations to use it. The Home Office will check eligibility based on existing data held by government departments such as HMRC, and Companies House. What will they check?

The Home Office will mainly access PAYE information and VAT returns to automatically assess that the organisation meets the definition of a start up as set out above. This is known as the standard pathway for a licence application. It is extremely important that sponsors have their house in order before they apply. Organisations must make sure that their HMRC filings are up to date and there aren’t gaps in their HMRC records etc.  

If an organisation is too young to have this data available, they can apply for an endorsement instead. The endorsing body must be included on the Home Office’s list of authorised endorsing bodies.

The licence fee is £536. If applying via an endorsement, an endorsement fee is £1,500. Note that fees are expected to rise during the course of this year. Organisations should also factor in fees for obtaining professional legal advice.

A Scale-up licence will be issued for four years and then it will expire. To continue sponsoring workers after the four-year period, the Home Office expects sponsors to apply to be licenced under one of the other sponsored routes. Presumably, the Home Office envisages sponsors only needing this limb in place for a high growth period.

Further information on sponsor licence eligibility is available in the published sponsor guidance. 

Next, apply as a Sponsored Scale-up Worker

To qualify for the sponsored stage, an applicant must score 50 points, which they can get by meeting the following key requirements:

• Sponsorship: Certificate of Sponsorship issued by an A-rated Scale-up sponsor – this must confirm the details of the employment and that they will be employed for at least the first six months.
• Appropriate skill level: role must be in a SOC 2020 occupation code listed as eligible for the Scale-up route in Table 2 or Table 3 of Appendix Skilled Occupations. Eligible roles are at graduate level (rather than A-level for Skilled Workers).
• Appropriate salary: this must be the higher of the general salary threshold of £36,300 or the going rate for the applicant’s occupation code.

Remember that although permission is granted for two years, the sponsorship element only lasts for six months.

Beware that the six month period is calculated from the date the worker’s entry clearance as a Scale-up Worker becomes effective (the ‘valid from’ date on their visa) or the date they are notified of a grant of permission to stay as a Scale-up Worker.

If the worker wishes to make changes to their employment such as changing employer or their role during this initial six-month period, they may need a new Certificate of Sponsorship and a new visa. 

Apply as an Unsponsored Scale-up Worker

To qualify for the unsponsored stage, an applicant must already have permission as a Scale-up Worker and during at least 50% of their most recent permission, have PAYE earnings in the UK equivalent to at least

• £36,300 per year, or
• £34,600 per year if their most recent permission on the route was on the basis of a Certificate of Sponsorship assigned between 12 Aril 2023 and 3 April 2024, or
• £33,000 per year if their most recent permission on the route was on the basis of a Certificate of Sponsorship assigned on or before 11 April 2023.

The rules are strict. Only guaranteed basic gross pay recorded through UK-based PAYE is counted.  Other sources of income (including earnings from self-employment and earnings from outside the UK) will not be considered. 

This means that an applicant with two years’ permission as a Scale-up Worker must have had the required PAYE earnings (as applicable) during at least 12 months of that permission. There are, of course, exceptions for reduced pay for statutory parental leave and sick leave etc.

Other considerations

There are mandatory requirements for both sponsored and unsponsored routes.

• There is an English language requirement: an applicant must prove they have English language skills at CEFR level B1 or above in all four components (speaking, listening, reading, writing).
• There is a financial requirement: an applicant will need to show that they have at least £1,270, unless the sponsor is certifying maintenance on the Certificate of Sponsorship with the sponsored stage or they are applying for permission to stay, having been in the UK for 12 months or more.
• There are suitability requirements: the applicant must not be an overstayer (exceptions apply) and they must not fall for refusal under the immigration rules Part 9: grounds for refusal.

Check for additional requirements, which may or may not be applicable, such as:

• Does the applicant need consent from a scholarship agency?
• Is an ATAS certificate needed?
• Does an overseas applicant need a tuberculosis test certificate?

What about sponsor obligations?

The sponsor guidance has been updated to incorporate the reduced the administrative responsibilities on Scale-up sponsors, but…compliance can be tricky. Here is a sample of triggers that could trip up Scale-up sponsors:

• Sponsor obligations commence on the date the Certificate of Sponsorship is assigned.
• Sponsors need to report the date that the Scale-up worker actually starts working, even if they start working as per the date stated on the Certificate of Sponsorship.
• Sponsors must notify the Home Office if the worker fails to start, is absent from work, or if there are significant changes to the nature of their work or salary.
• Sponsors must notify the Home Office if the Scale-up worker ceases employment during the first six months of their sponsorship.
• At the end of the six month period, sponsorship responsibility for that worker will automatically end.
• Sponsors must also keep records for each sponsored worker as specified in Appendix D to the sponsor guidance. These must be retained for the period stated in that Appendix.

Even though the sponsor doesn’t need to report on the worker after six months, they are still required to comply with their duties to maintain their sponsor licence while it remains valid.

How to apply

Applicants will need to use Form ‘Scale-up visa’ if applying overseas, or ‘Scale up’ if applying in country. The forms are accessible online.

If you’re a practitioner filling in the form on the applicant’s behalf, it’s worth gathering the usual data like parents’ details, travel/visa details, and employment details before filling this in. 

The form is straightforward and similar to a Skilled Worker application form.

For entry-clearance applications EU, EEA and Swiss nationals can apply using ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app. They’ll get an eVisa straight away. Anyone else applying for entry clearance will need to attend an appointment and will get a visa sticker placed in their passport. Once their visa is approved, they can apply for their eVisa separately. Anyone in the UK applying to switch into the route or extend their permission, should be eligible to apply using the app.

‘Switching’ provisions enabling a change of visa type are similar to other work routes. Under paragraph SCU 1.5, you can switch from within the UK to a Scale-up route provided you are in the UK lawfully and not last 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. 

Decisions take three weeks on the standard service, with some priority options available.

How much does a Scale-up visa cost?

The fees are as follows:

• Certificate of Sponsorship: £25*
• Application fee: £822
• Immigration Health Surcharge: £1,035 per year

There is no Immigration Skills Charge. Priority processing fees may be available, which can span between £500 to £1,000. Some applicants may need to attend a visa application centre, in which case, there can be appointment fees etc.

*During the course of 2025, we expect that sponsors will be banned from passing on sponsorship costs to applicants. This includes the Certificate of Sponsorship fee.

And finally, settlement applications

This is a route to settlement. After five years of continuous residence in the UK, Scale-up applicants can apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) provided they meet all the other requirements. As with other work categories, they can cross-combine time with other work routes such as Skilled Worker – for the full list, see paragraph SCU 15.2.

Crucially, to be eligible for ILR, they must be in employment and earning a gross annual salary of at least:

• £36,300 per year; or
• £34,600 per year if their most recent permission on the route was on the basis of a Certificate of Sponsorship assigned between 12 April 2023 and 3 April 2024; or
• £33,000 per year if their most recent permission on the route was on the basis of a Certificate of Sponsorship assigned on or before 11 April 2023.

And, they must have been paid at least the appropriate gross annual salary above during at least 24 months of the three years immediately before the date of application.

As with an extension application, this must be PAYE employed income. Applicants cannot count self-employment income, savings, or overseas income although they can be unsponsored at the date of application.

The Scale-up route was designed to attract skilled talent to fast-growing UK businesses, offering a pathway to settlement. So why has take-up been so low in this route? Although it’s relatively cheap and easy to sponsor, sponsors ultimately have less control over the workers they recruit and they’re free to leave and work for someone else after 6 months.

For individuals, the requirement to remain in PAYE employment earning above a particular income for a particular period can be quite onerous and restrictive. What is unequivocally clear is that, unfortunately, the Scale-up route has had very little impact on filling skills gaps and boosting the UK economy.

This article was originally published in August 2022 and has been updated by Pip Hague so that it is correct as of the new date of publication shown.