Changing Employment After 6 Months on the Scale-Up Visa
The scale-up visa was introduced in August 2022, offering a new sponsored work visa for the initial 6 months of the 2-year work visa. In February 2023 the first scale-up visa applicants will be reaching the end of their initial sponsorship period. Our immigration solicitors look at how scale-up visa holders’ options after their initial sponsorship and how they can change their employment and the procedure for work visa holders and UK employers.
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For advice on sponsor licences, work visas and immigration law call the expert London immigration lawyers at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
The scale-up visa and sponsorship
The scale-up visa is a bit of a hybrid work visa; it is both sponsored and non-sponsored. The maximum scale-up visa duration is 2 years but only the first 6 months of the visa require the visa holder to be sponsored by a sponsoring employer.
To secure a scale-up visa, an applicant must have a genuine job offer from a sponsoring employer with a Home Office sponsor licence to sponsor scale-up visa applicants. During the first 6 months of employment, the employer must comply with all the usual sponsor licence reporting and recording duties in respect of their sponsored worker. On the 6 month anniversary, the sponsor licence reporting and recording duties fall away as the sponsored employee moves from being a sponsored member of staff to an unsponsored worker, but one who remains subject to UK immigration controls.
At the end of the 6 month sponsorship period Sponsorship Licence lawyers say that nothing needs to change because the employer and employee relationship can remain in place for the remainder of the scale-up visa, a maximum of 18 months. However, because an employee on a scale-up visa has limited leave to remain an employer should diarise up a repeat right-to-work check so the business remains compliant with illegal working legislation. The employee should diarise up making a visa extension application before their scale-up visa expires so they are not classed as an overstayer by the Home Office. However, if a scale-up visa does expire and the worker leaves the UK, the applicant can make an unsponsored visa application if they last had UK entry clearance as a scale-up worker and their visa expired less than 6 months before the date of their extension application.
From the employer’s perspective, the end of the 6 month sponsorship period means that the employment can be a bit more flexible. For example, the employer and employee can agree on a new job role for the scale-up visa holder without having to report the changes to the Home Office using the sponsor management system. That flexibility and freedom from sponsor licence reporting and recording duties come at some price for the UK employer as the cessation of sponsorship does give the scale-up visa holder employment choices and options.
The scale-up visa holder – job options after 6 months of initial sponsorship
After 6 months of sponsored employment, the scale-up visa worker automatically loses their sponsorship without either employer or employee needing to do anything. For the employee, this may be their opportunity to find new employment as they have the flexibility of finding work with any UK employer as they no longer require a sponsoring employer.
For scale-up visa holders who change employment within the first 6 months of their visa, they will require sponsorship for the balance of the 6 months. In addition, if a scale-up visa holder needs to apply for a new scale-up visa because they are changing their employment within the first 6 months, any dependants on dependant visas will also need advice.
The scale-up visa holder – unsponsored employment after 6 months
If a scale-up visa holder decides to leave their sponsored employment and move to a business where their employment is not sponsored then they and their new employer have 18 months for the visa holder to be in their employment before needing to do anything about their immigration status.
If the scale-up visa holder wants to remain in the UK beyond the 2 years of their work visa they will need to apply for an extension or switch visa. Working for an employer in unsponsored employment means an applicant for a scale-up visa extension will need to show that they have received a gross salary of at least £33,000 per year during at least half their UK entry clearance on the scale-up visa.
The time spent in the first 6 months with their sponsoring employer will meet half this period but the scale-up visa applicant needs at least another 6 months of employment on a salary of at least £33,000 to qualify for a scale-up visa extension application. The plus point is that it is the £33,000 minimum salary threshold that is important because, after the initial sponsorship period, the scale-up visa holder could undertake any type of employed work as they are not restricted to jobs with a standard occupational classification code.
Sponsorship Licence lawyers issue words of caution though because the immigration rules say that to qualify for an unsponsored scale-up visa extension the applicant must have earnt their income and been taxed under the PAYE system – self-employed income does not count toward the minimum salary threshold of £33,000.
The scale-up visa extension period
An unsponsored scale-up visa extension applicant can get a visa extension for up to 3 years. All scale-up visa extension applicants will be unsponsored as even if they stayed with their sponsoring employer for the 2 years of their scale-up visa their sponsored employment is no longer classed as ‘sponsored’ after the initial 6 months.
Settling in the UK after entry clearance on a scale-up visa
During the extension period, a scale-up visa worker can continue to work in any type of salaried employment and they do not need a sponsoring employer. The visa holder can also choose to work on a self-employed basis but that choice will impact on any future indefinite leave to remain application. That’s because when applying for indefinite leave to remain (having met the 5-year residence requirement and other ILR eligibility criteria) the ILR applicant after entering on the scale-up visa needs to be able to show that:
- They are in receipt of a salary through PAYE of at least £33,000 gross per year when they apply for indefinite leave to remain and
- They have had monthly PAYE earnings of at least £33,000 gross per year during at least 24 months of the 3 years immediately before their indefinite leave to remain application
If you are a UK employer looking at sponsoring scale-up visa applicants, or interested in recruiting scale-up visa holders after their initial sponsorship period, our Sponsorship Licence lawyers and employment solicitors can help your business. Our immigration team can also help with individual visa applicants making their first scale-up visa application or extension application.
UK Online and London-Based Immigration Solicitors and Sponsorship Licence Lawyers
For advice on sponsor licences, work visas and immigration law call the immigration lawyers at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
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