Requirements for a Scale-up visa depend on whether you are applying for a sponsored or unsponsored application.

The following points must be included in your application:

• Applicant must have CoS with the applicant’s full name, that they are being sponsored as a Scale-up Worker, details of the job and salary
• A start date of the job by the Sponsor – which is not more than 3 months after the date of application.

• The sponsor company must be authorised by the UK Home Office to sponsor the job in question under the UK Scale-up visa route
• Confirm the applicant has to work for the Sponsor for at least the first 6 months of their permission;
• A genuine job requirement also includes that it must not be used in a previous application which was either granted or refused (but can b used in a previous application which was rejected as invalid, made void or withdrawn); and
• Not have been withdrawn by the Sponsor or cancelled by the Home Office.

• The job must be genuine and from a UK Home Office authorised Sponsor,
• The applicant must be sponsored for a job in an occupation code listed in Appendix Skilled Occupations that is identified as eligible for the UK Scale-up visa route,
• As per the job skill level requirement, the job offered by the sponsor must be at an appropriate skill level

The major salary requirement is that the salary for the applicant’s job being sponsored must either be equal to or exceed all the following:

• £33,000 per year
• £10.58 per hour, and
• the going rate for the occupation code

• To successfully receive a UK Scale-up visa, you will first need a valid Certificate of Sponsorship for the job
  • Your Certificate of Sponsorship should be from a UK Home Office authorised sponsor
• Your sponsor must be listed A-rated on the Home Office’s list of authorised licensed sponsors
  Once a Scale-up sponsor has an A-rated licence, they can issue a CoS and sponsor you for 6 months in an occupation skilled at least RQF level 6, with a salary equal to or exceeding £33,000 per year
• Your Certificate of Sponsorship must include certain mandatory information, like:
  • Your name, details of your job and salary
  • Confirmation stating you are expected to work for at least 6 months for your Sponsor

• You must be over 18 years of age,
• You have previously been granted a UK Scale-up visa
• You have had monthly PAYE earnings in the UK equal to at least £33,000 per year, during at least 50% of their time on the UK Scale-up visa (for example, an applicant with a 2-year UK Scale-up visa must have had this level of earnings during at least 1 year of that visa duration)
• You must show English language ability on the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) Level B1 (equivalent to IELTS 4.0 points) and;
• You must have enough funds to support yourself, without any help from public funds.

Sponsors of the UK Scale-up visa applicant are not required to fulfil the immigration skills charge requirement.

The duration of a UK Scale-up visa depends on 1 factor – whether you are applying for a sponsored or unsponsored application.

• If you are granted the Scale-up visa on a sponsored application, the visa will be valid for a period of 2 years.
• If you are granted the Scale-up visa on an unsponsored application, the visa will be valid for a period of 3 years.

You can switch to a UK Skilled Worker visa to establish your way towards settlement.

Every visa route has different permissions. Following are the conditions of stay on the UK Scale-up visa route –

• If you are approved for the Scale-up visa on the Sponsored Application route, you will need to be employed with that Sponsor for an initial period of 6 months.
• Post these 6 months, your immigration status will no longer be attached to the original sponsoring employer.
• You can then undertake alternative or additional work (which includes employment, self-employment and voluntary work)
• You can also study while on this visa.
• But you are not allowed to access public funds.

You can also bring in dependants of UK Scale-up visa under the following conditions –

• A Scale-up visa holder can bring their dependent partner above the age of 18 and dependent children under the age of 18.

This visa route offers settlement as a Scale-up worker under certain conditions:

• The UK Scale-up visa also has the option of applying for ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain). To apply for an ILR as a Scale-up worker, you will have to prove that:
  • You have stayed in the UK for a continuous period of 5 years with valid leave;
  • You are employed in the UK on the date of application with a salary paid through PAYE of at least £33,000 per year for at least 12 months, in your time there.

As per the genuine earnings requirement,

• While applying for settlement, you will be asked to prove to the Home Office that your PAYE earnings are genuine.
• If the Home Office has a reason to believe that your PAYE earnings have been tampered with or fabricated or don’t relate to the genuine sponsor, then your ILR application will be refused.

Unless you have, or were 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, you may extend your stay by switching to the Scale-up route.

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