As of April 2024, around 34,000 businesses in the UK met the criteria to be considered a scale-up company.
These businesses are in sectors experiencing rapid growth.
They can use the Scale-Up visa to attract the best international talent into their enterprise and facilitate rapid growth.
When growing your business, it is important to strike while the iron is hot.
Use an immigration lawyer or adviser when you apply for a Scale-Up visa so that your prospective foreign worker can join the business as quickly as possible.
What is the Scale-Up Visa?
The Scale-Up visa has been introduced as part of the UK’s post-BREXIT immigration plan, which was established to help your company hire the best talent.
While the Senior or Specialist Worker visa has been designed to help larger companies, the Scale-Up visa is for smaller businesses, not far out of the startup phase that are growing.
A scale-up business is usually relatively young but has established its position on the market and has grown 20% or more in employees or turnover in the last three years.
If this sounds like your business, you may be able to hire workers on a Scale-Up visa, allowing you to access great international talent during the most crucial time for your business’s early development.
This visa allows you to sponsor a foreign worker to come to the UK for up to five years, after which they can apply to settle in the UK permanently.
The visa is also appealing for many who want to immigrate to the UK as they may bring their dependents with them to start a new life in the UK.
Two Stages of the Scale-Up Visa
The Scale-Up visa is unique as it consists of two distinct stages that will change the way your employee interacts with your company.
The first stage lasts for two years. It requires the worker to make their initial application using your sponsorship and a job offer.
During the initial stage, the worker needs to earn a minimum basic salary of £36,300 or higher.
However, they will be able to switch between sponsored roles in your or other companies during their first six months.
The second stage lasts for three years.
The workers at this stage will be able to stay in the country without sponsorship, meaning they are not tied to staying in your company.
Eligibility For a Scale-Up Visa
If you want to bring a foreign worker to the UK on a Scale-Up visa, you need to make sure that your business, the role, and the hire are eligible.
Eligibility requirements for the person you are planning on hiring include the following:
- They are 18 years old or older.
- They meet the minimum language requirement: Level B1 or higher on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
- They can support themselves when they first come to the UK without requiring public funds.
The role also needs to be eligible for the visa, with the requirements including the following:
- The job pays at least £36,300 annual basic salary or the ‘going rate’, whichever is higher.
- The job is genuine.
- The role is of level 6 or higher on the Registered Qualifications Framework (RQF).
- You have assigned the worker with a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) for the specific role.
Meanwhile, the eligibility requirements for your business include the following:
- Your business is able to sponsor foreign workers, usually requiring a sponsor licence.
- Your business is considered a ‘scale-up business’.
Scale-Up Visa and Indefinite Leave to Remain
This visa is powerful for scale-up businesses as it can allow you to form your long-term workforce, the valuable workers that will be there for several years or more, and shape the future of your enterprise.
This is because the Scale-Up visa offers a pathway to indefinite leave to remain, meaning the worker can continue to contribute to your business without requiring a new visa.
Indefinite leave to remain will become an option at the end of the worker’s five-year visa period.
It requires them to earn £36,300 per annum or higher in basic salary during at least the past 24 months in a three-year period before the application for settlement.
This value is lower if you assigned the worker with a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) earlier.
If it was assigned before 4 April 2024, the salary requirement is £34,600.
Meanwhile, it is just £33,000 if the CoS was assigned on or before 11 April 2023.
On top of these unique requirements for those on a Scale-Up visa, the worker will also need to fit the basic requirements for indefinite leave to remain and harness this great opportunity to become part of your permanent workforce.
These requirements include the following:
- They have no criminal record in the UK and have not breached UK immigration rules.
- They haven’t been outside of the UK for over 180-days during any 12-month period during their qualifying period.
- They have passed a Life in the UK test.
Building a Workforce with the Scale-Up Visa
Tens of thousands of businesses in the UK could be able to tap into the international talent pool to drive growth and development.
Foreign talent could help them increase their productivity, create new products, and access new markets.
All that is required is a Scale-Up visa, which could allow your foreign hire to start a new life in the UK and become a permanent fixture on your staff.
Due to the complexities of any UK visa, it is highly advisable to work with an immigration lawyer or adviser to maximize your chances of success.
They can help you to understand if your business is eligible and improve the chances of your prospective hire successfully obtaining the visa.
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