This page covers eligibility, how the first six months work, the earnings test that keeps the visa going, settlement, and exactly how lenders assess your pay.
Understanding the Scale-up visa
Who qualifies, how the first six months differ from the rest, the earnings test that decides every extension, and what it takes to settle.
What is the Scale-up visa?
The Scale-up visa lets you work for a UK business approved as a scale-up for your first 6 months, and then work for any employer, change roles or become self-employed without a new sponsor. To be approved, a business must either have grown by at least 20% a year on average, in staff or turnover, over the three years before it was approved to sponsor, with at least 10 employees at the start of that period, or be endorsed by an approved endorsing body.
Who is eligible?
- A job offer from a business approved to sponsor Scale-up workers, for at least your first 6 months
- A graduate-level job on the list of eligible occupations, confirmed on a Certificate of Sponsorship
- A salary of at least £39,100 a year, or the going rate for your occupation if that is higher. Only guaranteed basic pay counts, not bonuses, overtime or allowances
- English at level B2 in reading, writing, speaking and listening, or B1 if you already held this visa before 8 January 2026 and are extending it
- £1,270 in savings held for 28 days in a row, unless your sponsor certifies your maintenance or you have been in the UK on a visa for 12 months
How do the first six months work?
This is the route’s defining feature, and it works differently from every other sponsored visa on this site. The line falls at six months.
| Question | First 6 monthsSponsored | After 6 monthsOpen work rights |
|---|---|---|
| Who you work for | First 6 monthsYour sponsor, in the job on your Certificate of Sponsorship | After 6 monthsAny employer, or more than one |
| Changing employer | First 6 monthsNeeds a new application and a new Certificate of Sponsorship | After 6 monthsAllowed, with no need to tell the Home Office |
| Changing role | First 6 monthsAllowed with your sponsor, if the new job is also eligible | After 6 monthsAllowed |
| Self-employment | First 6 monthsAllowed, alongside the job | After 6 monthsAllowed, but it does not count toward the earnings test |
At no point can you work as a professional sportsperson or sports coach, and you cannot claim public funds.
How long does it last?
The first grant is for 2 years. You then extend for 3 years at a time, as often as you need, and you do not need a sponsor to do it. What you do need is the earnings test.
- Yr 0–1
Your clearest window
More than 12 months left on your first grant. This is the stretch most lender criteria are written around, and it includes your six sponsored months.
- Yr 1–2
The last year of your first grant
Under 12 months left until you extend. You extend without a sponsor, as long as the earnings test is met, but some lenders pause here until it is granted.
- Yr 2–5
Extended for 3 years
The extension puts you back inside the lender window, and at year 5 you can apply to settle.
Key dates
- Yr 0Visa granted for 2 years, working for your sponsor at first
- 6 moFree to change employer, change role or go self-employed
- Yr 2Extended for 3 years without a sponsor, if the earnings test is met
- Yr 5Eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain
What keeps the visa going: the earnings test
After the first six months nobody sponsors you, so the Home Office checks your pay instead. At each extension and at settlement it counts months of PAYE pay at the threshold. Which months does not matter, only how many.
12 of 24 months
To extend at year 2
At least half the months of your grant, at the threshold.
24 of 36 months
To settle at year 5
At least 24 of the 36 months before you apply, and a job at the threshold on the day.
Only guaranteed basic pay through PAYE counts: not self-employment, bonuses or overtime, earnings from outside the UK or employer pension contributions. With two jobs at once, only the higher-paid one counts. Statutory maternity, paternity, adoption and sick leave count as months at the threshold if the job was paying it when the leave began.
If your last Certificate of Sponsorship was issued before 22 July 2025, your threshold is lower: £36,300 if it was issued from 4 April 2024, £34,600 from 12 April 2023, and £33,000 before that.
What’s the route to settlement?
Five years in the UK can lead to Indefinite Leave to Remain, and the time does not all have to be spent on this route. The conditions are:
- Five continuous years in the UK. Time on Skilled Worker, Global Talent, Innovator Founder, International Sportsperson, T2 Minister of Religion and Representative of an Overseas Business can count toward it
- On the day you apply, a job in the UK paying at least £39,100 a year through PAYE
- PAYE pay at that level in at least 24 of the 36 months before you apply
- No more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12-month period
- A pass in the Life in the UK test if you are 18 to 64. There is no English test for applications made before 26 March 2027; from that date you need B2 in speaking and listening
The government’s earned-settlement proposals, announced on 20 November 2025 and consulted on until 12 February 2026, would raise the standard qualifying period towards ten years for many routes. No outcome has been published, and the Immigration Rules for this route still say five years. If a settlement date is part of your reason for buying, check gov.uk before you plan around it.
Free · 60 seconds
Check what you could borrow in 60 seconds
Answer eight questions and see an instant estimate based on your visa, your income and your deposit.
What does it cost?
The visa costs £937 for each person applying, whether you apply from outside the UK or extend or switch inside it. On top of that comes the Immigration Health Surcharge, usually £1,035 for each year of the visa. When you reach settlement, the application costs £3,226 per person.
Can I bring my family?
Your partner and children under 18 can join you as dependants, each paying the same fee. Unless your sponsor certifies their maintenance, each needs savings held for 28 days: £285 for a partner, £315 for one child and £200 for each further child. They can study, and work in any job except as a sportsperson or sports coach.
Getting a mortgage on a Scale-up visa
Why the freedom to change jobs helps, which parts of your pay each reader counts, how much you could borrow, and the questions we answer most often.
Can I get a mortgage on a Scale-up visa?
Yes. UK lenders on our panel do not require Indefinite Leave to Remain, and the freedom this route gives you is a real positive. A Skilled Worker is tied to one sponsor; after six months you are not, so the question lenders sometimes weigh on employer-linked visas, what happens if the sponsor stops sponsoring you, does not arise. What they look at instead is the one thing the route itself depends on: steady PAYE pay.
Which parts of your pay count?
The Home Office and lenders count different parts of your pay, and the gap matters most if you are thinking of going freelance after six months.
| Who is counting | Basic PAYE salary | Bonus and overtime | Self-employed income | In short |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home Office earnings testFixed by the Immigration Rules | SalaryBasic PAYE salaryCounts | BonusBonus and overtimeNot counted | FreelanceSelf-employed incomeNot counted | Guaranteed basic pay through PAYE, at £39,100 or more, and nothing else. Bonuses, overtime and self-employed income never count toward an extension or settlement. |
| Most high-street lendersThe usual pattern | SalaryBasic PAYE salaryCounts | BonusBonus and overtimeIn part | FreelanceSelf-employed incomeNot counted | Basic salary at 4–4.5×, plus a share of regular bonus or overtime once you have a track record. Self-employed income usually needs two years of accounts first. |
| Specialist lendersThe usual pattern | SalaryBasic PAYE salaryCounts | BonusBonus and overtimeIn part | FreelanceSelf-employed incomeIn part | Basic salary in full, more of your bonus with evidence, and self-employed income sometimes on a single year of accounts. |
Lender criteria vary and change often. The Home Office row does not: going freelance after six months is allowed, but those months will not count toward your extension or settlement.
What matters most to lenders on this route
- Consistent PAYE income, shown on payslips and P60s. This route is well documented for a mortgage because settlement itself depends on clean PAYE records
- Whether you are still in your first six sponsored months or have moved on since. Either works, but tell your adviser which stage you are at
- The time left on your current grant
- Your UK credit history, particularly if you have only recently arrived
How much can I borrow?
Standard multiples of 4–4.5× your income apply, as for any other employed applicant. Use our eligibility calculator for an instant estimate.
Documents you’ll need
- Passport and your eVisa share code
- Your Certificate of Sponsorship reference if you are in your first 6 months, or a contract or letter from your current employer if you have moved since
- 3–6 months of payslips, and P60s where you have them
- Bank statements
- Proof of deposit
- Your UK credit report — check yours with checkmyfile(opens in a new tab)
Common challenges, and how we solve them
“I have changed jobs since my first six months, and my employer is not my sponsor.”
That is completely normal on this route and does not affect your visa. We know how to present it clearly to lenders who are less familiar with how the Scale-up visa works.
“I have only been in my current role a short time since switching.”
We match you with lenders who take a reasonable view of employment history on a route built around moving jobs.
“I would like to go freelance after six months.”
You can, but think about the timing. Self-employed income does not count toward your extension or settlement, and most lenders want two years of accounts before they count it. If a mortgage is part of the plan, buying while you are still on PAYE is usually easier.
“I have only just arrived and have little UK credit history.”
We work with lenders used to assessing recently arrived visa holders, using other evidence that you manage money reliably.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need Indefinite Leave to Remain to get a mortgage on a Scale-up visa?
No. UK lenders on our panel offer mortgages to Scale-up visa holders without ILR, based on income, employment and the time left on the visa.
What is the minimum salary for the Scale-up visa in 2026?
£39,100 a year, or the going rate for your occupation if that is higher. Only guaranteed basic pay counts, not bonuses, overtime or allowances.
Do I need to stay with the same employer for the whole Scale-up visa?
No, only for the first 6 months. After that you can work for any employer, change roles or become self-employed without a new sponsor or a new visa application. To extend, you need PAYE pay at the threshold for at least half of your grant.
How long until I can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain on a Scale-up visa?
After 5 years, if you have had PAYE pay at the threshold in at least 24 of the 36 months before you apply and are in a job paying it on the day. You also need continuous residence and the Life in the UK test, and applications from 26 March 2027 need B2 English in speaking and listening.
Does changing jobs on a Scale-up visa affect a mortgage application?
Not in principle. Lenders assess your current income and how stable your employment is, whichever employer you are with, though it is worth explaining how the route works to your adviser so it is presented accurately to the lender.
Can I be self-employed on a Scale-up visa?
Yes, alongside your sponsored job from the start, and on its own after the first 6 months. Self-employed income does not count toward the earnings test for your extension or settlement, though, and most lenders want two years of accounts before they count it for a mortgage.
Still have a question? Read our full FAQs or ask us directly.
Further reading
