Scale-up Worker visa
Your job
You must meet all of the following requirements to be eligible for a Scale-up Worker visa:
- your job is eligible for this visa
- you’ll be working for a UK scale-up business that’s been approved by the Home Office
- you’ll meet the salary requirements
- you’ll be working in your sponsored job for at least 6 months
Your employer must make sure your job pays at least the minimum wage and follows the UK rules for how many hours a week you work. If your employer does not do this, your application will be refused.
Check if your job is eligible
You need to know your job’s 4-digit occupation code. You can get this from your employer or your certificate of sponsorship.
When you know your occupation code, check the table of eligible occupations to see if it’s eligible for your visa type.
Salary requirements
You’ll need to be paid whichever is the highest out of the following 2 options:
- £36,300 per year
- the ‘going rate’ for the type of work you’ll be doing
Each occupation code has its own annual going rate. Check the going rate for your job in the table of eligible occupations.
Example
Your salary is £36,400 per year, but the annual going rate for the job you’ll be doing is £37,000. You do not meet the salary requirement for this visa because you’re earning less than the annual going rate for your job (£37,000).
There are different requirements if you want to extend your visa.
Approved UK employers
You must have a job offer from an approved UK employer before you can apply for this visa. They must be an eligible scale-up business to get approved.
Approved employers are also known as sponsors because they are sponsoring you to come to or stay in the UK.
Check if your UK employer is eligible to sponsor you
Your UK employer will be on the list of approved UK employers if they’re eligible to sponsor you. ‘Scale-up Worker’ must be listed in the ‘Route’ column in the table.
If your UK employer is not eligible to sponsor you on this visa, they may be eligible to sponsor you with another type of work visa.
Eligible scale-up businesses
Your employer must either:
- have been endorsed by an approved body, also known as an endorsing body
- be an eligible fast-growing business (sometimes called a ‘scale-up business’)
To be an eligible fast-growing business, in the 3 year period immediately before they were approved by the Home Office to sponsor scale-up workers, they must have:
- grown by 20% on average in each year in either employment or total sales (turnover)
- had at least 10 employees at the start of the 3 year period
If you already have a job offer from an approved employer
Your employer - also known as your sponsor - will check that you meet the eligibility requirements. They’ll give you a ‘certificate of sponsorship’ to prove this.
The certificate of sponsorship is an electronic record, not a physical document. It will have a reference number, which you’ll need for your visa application.
You must apply for your visa within 3 months of getting your certificate of sponsorship.
Check which documents you’ll need to apply.