Marcus Richards
In an effort to attract the world’s most outstanding professionals, the UK is planning to unveil what has been characterised as the most generous’ immigration schemes yet. The UK scale-up visa, Global Business Mobility Visa, and high-potential individual visa were announced back in 2021 by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and are slated to open for applicants this spring. Learn further regarding each of these types of visas, including whether or not a sponsor licence application is required.
Overview of the UK’s “most generous’ visa scheme
In order to boost productivity and income, the UK’s most generous visa policy is focused towards high-skilled individuals and start-up founders who want to come to work or set up business in the UK. The new visa scheme was created in response to a skills shortage in the UK as a result of Brexit and then the covid outbreak. The visa program will make it easier for technology and fast-growing businesses to hire international talent worldwide.
There are 3 types of visas:
The Scale-Up Visa
Fast-growing enterprises will be eligible for the scale-up visa program, which will allow them to bring in foreign workers if they already have more than 10 workers and have expanded at a rate of 20 % annually in sales or employee numbers during the previous year three years.
The High Potential Individual Visa
Meanwhile, individuals who graduate from the top global universities will be eligible for the high potential individual’ immigration scheme, even without having a job offer in the UK.
Global Business Mobility Visa
For overseas employers with high-value contracts with UK organisations, you can transfer workers to the UK to do an eligible job for the organisations by getting them this visa.
Which one of these visas requires a sponsor licence?
A Sponsor Licence is a licence issued to eligible UK businesses to enable them to employ international workers under specific visa categories. The application process can be complex and requires organisations to submit evidence showing how they meet the eligibility criteria of the licence.
A valid Sponsorship Certificate from an A-rated Scale-up sponsor is required for Scale-up visa applicants. The certificate of Sponsorship must not have been rescinded or already used. The certificate will contain the sponsoring company’s name and their sponsor licence number. A qualifying sponsor needs to apply for a sponsor licence from the Home Office to sponsor the employment in question through the Scale-up visa scheme.
To qualify for the sponsor licence, the company must have an annualised growth of 20 % or more in either turnover or personnel over the past three years and at least ten employees. They must also persuade the Home Office that the individual they are bringing over will be filling an actual vacancy.
If you were sponsored under the Scale-up Worker scheme, you will no longer need sponsorship after the third year of your stay, as provided your past UK PAYE earnings topped £33,000 per year for at least half this period. Only earnings documented through PAYE are counted. Income from overseas and self-employment are not considered.
The High Potential Individual visa does not require a sponsorship licence application. This visa is available to new grads of top international colleges who intend to work or seek work in the United Kingdom. To apply for this visa, you do not need to have an existing job offer in the UK.
The Global Mobility Visa is also known as secondment worker visa and it falls under sponsor license UK visas. You’ll need a certificate of sponsorship from the UK organisation you are set to join. This will list your sponsor’s name and their sponsor licence number.
In conclusion, the new visa scheme makes it easy for skilled workers to enter the UK for work. Whether you have a job offer from a UK home-approved sponsor or not, there’s a visa for you.
To apply for the scale-up or global business mobility visa, you will need to show your sponsor’s name and sponsor licence number. In contrast, the high potential individual visa doesn’t require any of that; indeed, you don’t need to have an existing job offer to apply for this visa; recent grads of top global institutions who want to come to the UK and look for any work can apply for this type of visa.
For more information regarding the new UK visa scheme for skilled workers, reach out to UK immigration lawyers. They’ll be glad to assist you to solve any immigration issues.
