Scale-up Worker Visa: Rules, Salary and Cost

The Scale-up Worker visa is for people with a job offer from an approved fast-growing UK business. GOV.UK says you need a certificate of sponsorship, a job on the eligible occupations list and a minimum salary. The visa lasts 2 years and you can extend it by 3 years at a time.

Who is this visa for?

It is for people with a job offer from an approved fast-growing UK business, called a scale-up.

Can I apply?

You can apply if you:

have a confirmed job offer to work for an approved scale-up business for at least 6 months
have a certificate of sponsorship from your employer with details of the role
have a job offer for a job on the list of eligible occupations
will be paid at least the minimum salary in the new job

You can apply up to 3 months before the day you are due to start work in the UK. The start date is on your certificate of sponsorship. You must apply within 3 months of getting the certificate.

What do I need?

Your job and pay

You need the 4-digit SOC occupation code for your job. You can get it from your employer or from your certificate of sponsorship.

GOV.UK publishes a separate table of scale-up going rates for eligible occupations. The going rate is a set pay figure for the job’s occupation code. The going rates page on this site explains how going rates work. Appendix Skilled Occupations explains the tables.

You must be paid whichever is highest of:

£39,100 a year
the going rate for the type of work you will be doing

Each occupation code has its own yearly going rate. GOV.UK gives this example: a salary of £39,400 does not meet the rule if the yearly going rate for the job is £40,000.

Your employer must also make sure the job pays at least the minimum wage and follows UK rules on weekly hours. If it does not, the application will be refused.

Your employer

Your employer must be on the register of licensed sponsors with “Scale-up Worker” in the Route column. The employer must either:

have been endorsed by an approved endorsing body
be an eligible fast-growing business

An eligible fast-growing business must have done both of these in the 3 years just before the Home Office approved it to sponsor scale-up workers:

grown by 20% on average each year, in either employment or total sales (turnover)
had at least 10 employees at the start of the 3-year period

English language

You must be able to speak, read, write and understand English, and you will usually need to prove it. You can do this by:

having a UK school qualification you began under 18: a GCSE, an A Level, Scottish National Qualification level 4 or 5, or a Scottish Higher or Advanced Higher in English
having a degree-level qualification taught in English and awarded by a UK institution, even if you studied outside the UK
having a degree from an institution outside the UK that was taught in English, with an assessment from Ecctis confirming it is equivalent to a UK bachelor’s degree or higher and taught in English
passing a Secure English Language Test with an approved provider, at level B2 or above on the CEFR scale for reading, writing, speaking and understanding

If you had a Scale-up Worker visa before 8 January 2026 and are extending it, you only need level B1 and do not need to prove English again. If you are switching from another visa, you need level B2.

You do not need to prove your English if you are a national of one of these countries or territories:


Antigua and Barbuda	Australia	The Bahamas
Barbados	Belize	The British overseas territories
Canada	Dominica	Grenada
Guyana	Jamaica	Malta
New Zealand	St Kitts and Nevis	St Lucia
St Vincent and the Grenadines	Trinidad and Tobago	USA

How much does it cost?

Cost	Amount
Application fee (you, your partner or children, each)	£937
Healthcare surcharge	Usually £1,035 per year, paid for each year of your stay
Savings to support yourself	At least £1,270 (unless exempt)
Savings for a partner	£285
Savings for one child	£315
Savings for each additional child	£200

You must have had the savings for at least 28 days in a row. Day 28 must be within 31 days of the day you apply.

You do not need to show them if:

you have been in the UK with a valid visa for at least 12 months
your employer covers your costs for your first month, up to £1,270, and confirms this on your certificate of sponsorship

GOV.UK gives this example: bringing a partner and one child needs £600 for them, plus £1,270 for you.

There is no fee for taking your biometric information (fingerprints and photo).

How long can I stay?

You can stay for 2 years. You can extend as many times as you like, by 3 years each time, as long as you still meet the rules. GOV.UK says that after 5 years you may be able to apply for indefinite leave to remain (permission to stay in the UK for good).

Once you have applied online, proved your identity and given your documents, the usual decision time is 3 weeks from outside the UK and 8 weeks from inside the UK. You may be able to pay for a faster decision.

Can I bring my family?

Yes. Your partner and children can apply to join you or stay in the UK. GOV.UK calls them dependants. A dependant is:

your husband, wife, civil partner or unmarried partner
your child under 18, including a child born in the UK during your stay
your child over 18, if they currently have permission to be in the UK as your dependant

To count as your partner, you must be able to prove one of these:

you are in a marriage or civil partnership that the UK recognises
you have lived together in a relationship for at least 2 years when you apply
you have been in a relationship for at least 2 years when you apply but cannot live together, for example because you work or study in different places, or your culture does not accept it

Your child must live with you, unless they live away from home in full-time education. Your child must not be married or in a civil partnership.

Each family member makes a separate application and pays the visa fee. Their visa will usually end on the same date as yours.

Partners and children can work, except as a sportsperson or coach. They can also study. They cannot apply for most benefits or the State Pension.

Some family members cannot switch to your visa from inside the UK. This applies to partners and children who are in the UK:

on a visit visa
on a short-term student visa
on a Parent of a Child Student visa
on a seasonal worker visa
on a domestic worker in a private household visa
on immigration bail
with permission to stay outside the immigration rules

A partner or child on a Student visa can only switch if they have finished the course they were sponsored to study, or have studied for a PhD for at least 24 months.

Can I extend or switch?

Changing employer

In the first 6 months of working in your sponsored job, you cannot change employer unless you apply to update your visa. Your new job must be on the table of eligible occupations, and you need a new certificate of sponsorship.

You do not need to update your visa if:

you do a different, eligible job for the same employer
you have worked in the sponsored job for 6 months or more

After 6 months, you can change or stop doing your job without telling the Home Office. You can also be self-employed.

Applications to update a visa usually get a decision within 8 weeks.

Extending

You can usually extend if you worked in the job on your certificate of sponsorship for at least 6 months, and you met the earnings rules for at least half of your stay on your most recent visa. You do not need a new certificate of sponsorship. Self-employed earnings do not count.

The earnings rule depends on when your last certificate of sponsorship was issued:

If	Minimum monthly salary equivalent (per year)
You have already extended, or your last certificate was issued on or after 22 July 2025	£39,100
Last certificate issued on or after 4 April 2024 and before 22 July 2025	£36,300
Last certificate issued on or after 12 April 2023 and before 4 April 2024	£34,600
Last certificate issued on or before 11 April 2023	£33,000

Switching from another visa

You can switch from inside the UK if your job meets the rules and you meet the English requirement.

If you are on a Student visa, you must also meet one of these:

you have finished your course
your job start date is after your course has finished
you have studied for a PhD full time for at least 24 months

You cannot switch if you are in the UK:

on a visit visa
on a short-term student visa
on a Parent of a Child Student visa
on a seasonal worker visa
on a domestic worker in a private household visa
on immigration bail
with permission to stay outside the immigration rules

In those cases, you must leave the UK and apply from abroad.

A switch usually gets a decision within 8 weeks.

Questions

Do I need a job offer and a sponsor?

Yes. You need a confirmed job offer to work for an approved scale-up business for at least 6 months. You also need a certificate of sponsorship from your employer, and the job must be on the list of eligible occupations.

What salary do I need?

You must be paid whichever is highest of £39,100 a year and the going rate for the type of work you will be doing. Each occupation code has its own yearly going rate.

How long does the visa last?

You can stay for 2 years and then extend. GOV.UK says you can extend as many times as you like, by 3 years each time, while you still meet the rules.

What level of English do I need?

You usually need to prove English at level B2 or above on the CEFR scale. You do not need to if you have a qualification that proves it or you are a national of a listed country. If you had the visa before 8 January 2026 and are extending it, you need level B1.

Can I change employer?

Not in the first 6 months, unless you apply to update your visa. After 6 months, GOV.UK says you can change or stop doing your job without telling the Home Office. You do not need to update your visa.

Sources

Compiled by SWC Editorial Team from the sources above. An information summary, not immigration advice.