On August 22, applications for the Scale-Up visa were officially opened. This is exciting news. Small and medium-sized enterprises in the UK can now consider choosing a more suitable path between a Skilled Worker Sponsor and a Scale-Up Sponsor to apply for a Sponsor Licence. There are many differences between Scale-Up Sponsor and Skilled Worker Sponsor.
1. Company Requirements
When applying for a Skilled Worker Sponsor Licence, there are no requirements on the number of employees and turnover of the organisation. As long as the organisation is legitimate and has the required supporting documents, they can apply.
However, for the Scale-Up Sponsor Licence, the organisation needs to prove:
An annual growth rate of at least 20% in the number of employees or annual turnover over a three year period.
The company needs to have at least 10 employees at the beginning of the three year period.
The Home Office will determine whether the company meets the above criteria by reviewing the company’s PAYE and Annual Accounts. If you’re unsure whether you’re eligible for Scale-Up sponsor licence, speak to Europermitpro.
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Unlike the Skilled Worker Sponsor Licence Application, Scale-Up companies do not need to submit any supporting documents for a Sponsor Licence application. This will benefit Scale-Up companies for a faster processing time.
2. Minimum salary requirements
For employers, you need to pay your sponsored employee the minimum salary. A Skilled Worker needs to be paid no less than £25,600 annually unless they are a new entrant.
For a Scale-Up Visa, the employee’s salary depends on the highest of these three options:
A. An annual salary of not less than £33,000
B. Not less than £10.10 an hour
C. Salary not lower than the going rate (Going rates for different job requirements can be found here).
3. Eligible occupations
For employers, you can only sponsor migrant workers on the list of eligible occupations depending on your sponsor route. Eligible occupations for Skilled Workers, click here.
Eligible occupations for Scale-Up Workers, click here.
For example, if you want to sponsor a chef, it is only eligible for a Skilled Worker route, but not eligible for a Scale-Up route.
4. Sponsoring period
For the employer, the responsibility as a Scale-Up Sponsor begins on the date the employer issues the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) to the employee. The employer’s sponsor duties can end after six months. For the Skilled Worker Sponsor, your commitment of sponsor duties for an employee is longer. This can last from two years to five years.
5. Immigration Skills Charge
For companies to sponsor someone under the Skilled Worker route, the organisation usually needs to pay the Immigration Skills Charge (ISC), which is £364 per year for a small company, £1,000 per year for a big company. Switching from a student visa to a skilled worker visa is free of ISC charges. Scale-Up companies are ISC exempt (no ISC fee is charged).
How can Work Permit Cloud help?
Europermitprois regulated by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) and we stay on top of immigration news. Our professional immigration advisers can assist you throughout your journey to maximise the probability of success on your Scale-Up sponsor licence application. We make sure your applications are processed correctly and your journey is seamless. Contact us via email on: sales@Europermitpro.com