What is the UK Scale-up Worker visa?

The UK Scale-up Worker visa is designed to allow fast-growing UK businesses to bring employees to the UK to fulfil eligible roles.

Requirements

To qualify for this visa route, the applicant must meet several Home Office requirements, including having a confirmed job offer from an approved scale-up business, the role must be on the list of eligible occupations, it must meet the minimum salary threshold, and the applicant must be able to speak English to level B1 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) scale.

How long can you stay in the UK?

Those in the UK on the Scale-up Worker visa can stay in the UK for an initial period of 2 years. Should you wish to stay longer, you are able to extend your stay in 3-year increments, as many times as necessary, so long as you still meet the eligibility requirements of this visa route.

What you can and cannot do on this visa

As a Scale-up Worker visa holder you are permitted to study and take on additional employment, including becoming self-employed. After 5 years of continuous residence in the UK, you can apply for indefinite leave to remain (permanent residence).

As with most UK visas, those on the scale-up route cannot claim public funds or take on a role as a sportsperson (roles in sports have their own visa category).

How Gherson can assist

Gherson’s Immigration Team are highly experienced in advising on UK visa matters. If you have any questions arising from this blog, please do not hesitate to contact us for advice, send us an e-mail, or, alternatively, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn to stay-up-to-date.

The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please do not hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.

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