New Scale-up Route (August 22 2022)

This is another brand new route aimed at attracting global talent [surely “the best and brightest” – Ed.]. As the explanatory memorandum says:

Applicants in this route must have a sponsored job offer from an authorised UK scale-up company. To register for this route, a company will need to demonstrate that they have an annualised growth of at least 20% for the previous 3-year period in terms of turnover or staffing. Companies will also need to have had a minimum of 10 employees at the start of this 3-year period.

The job being offered must be skilled to graduate level (RQF 6 and equivalent) and be paid at least £33,000 per year or the going rate for the particular occupation, whichever is higher.

The slight quirk is that while the initial application requires a sponsor, extensions don’t. When it comes to the unsponsored extension, the main requirement is that the applicant earned the appropriate salary during their stint as a sponsored Scale-up worker. 

SCU 4.2. An applicant may only make a Sponsored Application… if the conditions for making an Unsponsored Application in SCU 4.3. are not met.

SCU 4.3. An applicant must make an Unsponsored Application… if they have been employed as a Scale-up Worker by a sponsor for at least 6 months in a previous permission on the Scale-up route and –

(a) the applicant has permission as a Scale-up Worker on the date of application; or

(b) the applicant last had permission as a Scale-up Worker and

(i) if the applicant is applying for entry clearance, that permission expired less than 6 months before the date of application; or

(ii) if the applicant is applying for permission to stay, paragraph 39E applies.

In either case, there is an English requirement (B1: speaking, listening, reading, writing) and a maintenance requirement (if not exempt, £1270 held for 28 days).

Successful applicants are initially granted permission for two years, which can be extended for another three years.

This is a route to settlement and applicants can sponsor partners and children as dependants.