According to the Home Office, as of 22 August 2022 a new category, the Scale Up visa will be going live.
So what is it?
It is basically an additional route for employers to recruit overseas nationals. Many employers already hold Sponsor licences and sponsor Skilled Workers and those coming on Intracompany transfers. Employers will need to hold a sponsor licence specifically in this category to be able to sponsor “Scale up” employees.
The advantage to the employer is that it is exempt from the Immigration Skills Charge which currently is £1000 per sponsored worker per year for medium and large sponsors and £364 for small or charitable sponsors.
What are the requirements for an employer to become a Scale up sponsor?
For the employer to qualify as a Scale-Up sponsor, the business will need to demonstrate:
• An average annual turnover and/or employee growth rate of at least 20% for the preceding three-year period.
• A minimum of 10 employees at the beginning of the three-year period.
Given the pandemic and the financial impact of it on thegrowth of companies, there are many businesses that will not qualify. This category is aimed at medium sized and large companies.
The advantage to employers of obtaining this is that it would exempt the employer from paying the Immigration Skills charge, currently standing at £1000. Furthermore the employee would in effect be tied to the employment for a minimum of 6 months.
What does the employee need to show?
- The job must be at the appropriate skill level (RQF6)
- A salary must meet all of the following: at least £33,000 per annum (guaranteed basic gross pay), £10.58 an hour and the going rate for the occupation code.
- An English language ability (at least level B1).
It is a condition of this visa that an employee remains with the sponsored employer for a minimum of 6 months.
The skill level is higher than that under the Skilled worker route. Applicants can switch into this route whilst in the UK. The advantage of the route for an employee is that it enables a movement between jobs much easier. It also allows applicants to become self employed or to take voluntary work.Employees can bring in dependants.
How will it work?
Once the employer has a licence as a Scale Up sponsor they will assign Certificates of Sponsorship. The applicant will be granted a visa in 2 tranches, 2 years initially followed by 3 years following which they will qualify for settlement.
At the date of the publication of this article, there is no guidance or any information available for the employer to consider other than the criteria listed above. It is not clear what the process will be or how long it will take. Until the employers are granted Scale Up licences the movement of employees cannot begin.
This category is designed to inject skills into the labour market. However the employee is only required to work in skilled work for 6 months and can thereafter engage in a wide range of work which could include low skilled work.
