UK Scale-up Worker Visa 2026/27: Sponsorship, Earnings and ILR

How the Scale-up route differs

The UK Scale-up Worker route is a sponsored work route for an eligible job with an approved Scale-up sponsor. It has an unusual two-stage structure: the initial application is sponsored, and the worker must do the sponsored job for at least six months. After that period, the worker can usually change or leave that job without applying to update the visa. The worker may later apply to extend or make an unsponsored Scale-up application, but those stages require evidence of qualifying UK earnings.

This is distinct from the Skilled Worker salary route, where sponsorship and job conditions apply in a different way. It also differs from the Innovator Founder visa, which is for an applicant seeking endorsement for their own business venture. This guide covers the Scale-up worker's route from the sponsored job through possible settlement; it does not assess a particular vacancy, sponsor or immigration history.

The Immigration Rules Appendix Scale-up was updated on 8 October 2026. This guide was checked against the GOV.UK pages and rules on 28 October 2026. Salary figures, transitional dates, sponsor records, fees and route rules may change, so recheck official guidance before applying.

Stage 1: confirm the sponsor, role and salary

The employer must be approved to sponsor Scale-up Workers and the job must use an eligible occupation code. A business may qualify by meeting the Home Office's fast-growth test: over the three years before approval it has grown by an average of at least 20% each year in employment or turnover, and it had at least 10 employees at the start of that period. An employer may also qualify through an approved endorsing-body route. Applicants should use the current sponsor register and confirm the Scale-up route is listed; company size, a “scale-up” label or a job offer alone does not prove sponsor approval.

For a sponsored application, the role must be at the required skill level and the guaranteed basic salary must usually meet both the general threshold and the occupation's going rate: at least £39,100 a year or the going rate, whichever is higher, under the rules checked here. The going rate is based on a 37.5-hour week and can be pro-rated for the role's hours. Some arrangements have specific averaging rules; do not use a salary calculator or annual offer figure to decide eligibility without checking the occupation code, contracted hours, pay components and any applicable transition. Uncertain or variable pay, allowances and benefits do not automatically count as guaranteed basic salary.

The employer issues an electronic Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS), not a paper certificate. It records the job, salary, sponsor and proposed start date. The CoS must be valid and unused in the required way, and its start date must normally be within three months of the application. The applicant must plan to work in the sponsored job for at least the first six months of permission. Review the CoS carefully and ask the employer to correct errors before applying.

Stage 2: apply and meet the initial requirements

The applicant must meet the route's suitability and eligibility requirements, prove English at the required level unless exempt, and meet the personal maintenance rule. For a typical new applicant, the route's English standard is B2 in speaking, listening, reading and writing. The accepted proof routes and exemptions depend on the applicant, so check the current English-language guidance.

Personal maintenance is normally £1,270 held for 28 consecutive days, with day 28 within 31 days of applying. A person who has held a valid UK visa for at least 12 months may be exempt. The sponsor can instead certify maintenance for the first month, up to £1,270, on the CoS. This is the worker's initial support evidence; it is separate from salary eligibility and does not establish that the sponsor is eligible.

GOV.UK lists an application fee of £937 per person and an Immigration Health Surcharge for each year of permission. Applicants must also budget for dependants' separate visa fees and surcharge. These charges are date-sensitive; confirm the amount shown by the official application before payment. Usual published decision times are three weeks for applications outside the UK and eight weeks in the UK, counted after identity and required documents are provided; these are not guaranteed deadlines.

The online application route depends on whether the applicant applies from abroad, switches inside the UK or extends an existing Scale-up permission. Student visa holders must meet the additional switching rule, such as having completed their course, having a job start date after the course ends, or having studied full-time for a PhD for at least 24 months. Other switching restrictions apply. Apply before current permission expires where required; an employer discussion or pending sponsor action is not itself an immigration application.

Stage 3: observe the six-month sponsorship boundary

During the first six months, the worker must remain in the sponsored job. If they want to change employer during this period, they must apply to update their visa and meet the relevant sponsorship requirements. The government route page says a different eligible job with the same employer does not itself require an update. Check the current change-of-employer page before acting, especially if the role, employer or CoS changes.

After the initial six months, the worker may generally change or stop the sponsored job, take additional work or become self-employed without updating the Scale-up visa. That flexibility does not cancel the conditions of the permission, and does not make self-employed earnings count for a later Scale-up earnings test. It also does not mean that the person can stay after their visa expires without a valid extension or other permission.

Unsponsored continuation and extension

The Rules distinguish an unsponsored application from an extension. A Scale-up Worker who has completed at least six months' sponsored employment on a previous Scale-up permission may qualify to make an unsponsored application. The application must meet the earnings test for the relevant recent Scale-up permission; the rules use UK monthly earnings paid through PAYE at the threshold applicable to the applicant's CoS history. The current published threshold is generally £39,100 annualised, with transitional amounts for specified older CoS issue periods. Confirm the exact band and assessed period against the current Rules and your own CoS dates before applying.

For an extension, GOV.UK says the person must have worked in the CoS job for at least six months and met the earnings requirement during at least half of the most recent Scale-up permission. A new CoS is not required. An extension can be granted for three years and may be repeated if the requirements continue to be met. The earnings threshold depends on whether the applicant has extended before and when the last CoS was issued. Self-employed income cannot be counted; where there were multiple jobs, GOV.UK's calculation rules apply to each relevant job and overlapping employment.

Keep the CoS issue date and reference, employment dates, monthly gross PAYE earnings, payslips, P60s and HMRC records. Do not average a short high-pay period across months without checking the official monthly test. Where earnings are irregular, job dates change, or the relevant threshold is unclear, seek qualified immigration advice rather than treating this guide as an eligibility result.

Family applications are separate

An eligible partner and dependent children can apply to join or stay with the main applicant. Each dependant submits a separate application and pays their own fee and IHS. Relationship, age, care, identity and maintenance rules apply. For the usual maintenance figures, a partner needs £285, the first child £315 and each additional child £200, held for 28 days, in addition to the main applicant's required funds unless an exemption applies. The employer can certify some maintenance amounts on the CoS if the relevant route rules allow it. Check the current partner and child instructions for individual circumstances.

A dependant's permission does not automatically switch or extend because the worker changes or extends their own permission. The family member must apply before their own permission expires. A dependant's settlement qualifying time is governed by the dependant route, not the main worker's five-year Scale-up settlement clock. Do not assume every family member qualifies for ILR at the same time.

Settlement after five qualifying years

The main applicant may qualify for ILR after five years of continuous residence on Scale-up Worker status or a specified combination of eligible routes, such as Scale-up, Skilled Worker, Global Talent, Innovator Founder and certain other work routes. Time as a dependant does not count toward the worker's qualifying period. Absences are usually limited to 180 days in any 12-month period. The official time-in-UK guidance lists the qualifying categories and absence rule.

Settlement has a separate financial test with two parts: the applicant must be employed in the UK at the required current salary on the application date, and must have earned the applicable monthly PAYE threshold for at least 24 months in the three years before applying. The threshold depends on the CoS history; current guidance lists £39,100 for a last CoS issued on or after 22 July 2025 or for someone who has already extended, and lower transitional thresholds for specified earlier CoS dates. Self-employment earnings do not count. The application also requires the Life in the UK Test where applicable and other suitability and evidence checks. Three or five years of permission by itself does not guarantee settlement.

Read the separate Skilled Worker ILR guide for the broader sponsored-worker settlement framework; the Scale-up salary and PAYE tests described here remain route-specific. The current GOV.UK Scale-up settlement overview and financial requirements should be checked against your own salary and CoS dates.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• GOV.UK: Scale-up Worker visa overview, eligible job and salary rules, and Immigration Rules Appendix Scale-up — route stages, sponsor/job tests, CoS, salary and permission conditions.
• GOV.UK: application costs, documents and switching — fees, evidence and in-country applications.
• GOV.UK: partners and children, changing employer during the first six months and extension — dependant applications, sponsorship boundary and PAYE extension test.
• GOV.UK: settlement overview, qualifying time, financial requirements and application — permitted route combinations, residence, earnings and evidence.

Immigration policy, sponsor eligibility, salary thresholds, transition dates, fees and forms can change. The sources were checked on 28 October 2026. Recheck them for your application date; this guide is general information, not legal advice or an individual eligibility decision.