Visa fee reimbursement scheme opens for eligible scale-ups.

11 June 2026

The UK Government has launched the Visa Fees Reimbursement Scheme for Scale-Ups: a targeted grant scheme to help UK scale-ups in Clean Energy, Life Sciences, and Digital and Technologies hire immigrant talent. The scheme aims to reduce cost barriers to hire internationally for these sectors central to the UK Government’s growth and innovation strategy by reimbursing visa fees for eligible hires and their dependants.

Businesses can apply for up to £25,000 a year, with a maximum grant award of £5,000 for each international hire and their dependants. There is limited funding available which will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis until the total budget is fully allocated.

The scheme will reimburse eligible visa fees incurred on or after 9 June 2026.

To apply for the VFRS4SU grant, companies must register and apply through the Department for Business and Trade Grants Hub portal. Applications open on 16 June 2026 and individuals may not apply, just eligible scale-ups with a licence to sponsor migrants.

To qualify, a business must meet all the following criteria:

• It is a UK-based Scale-Up: an enterprise that achieves an average annualised growth rate exceeding 20% in either employment or turnover over a continuous three-year period, starting with at least 10 employees at the beginning of this period (this presumably will be assessed with HMRC records much like applications for a Scale-up sponsor licence).
• Operating in and directly contributing to at least one of the three priority sectors: Clean Energy, Life Sciences, Digital and Technologies.
• Holds a valid UK visa sponsor licence.
• Has an established presence in the UK, meaning the applicant either (i) is incorporated in the UK and registered with Companies House; or  (ii) is an overseas company registered with Companies House as having a UK establishment, i.e. a place of business or branch in the UK.
• Any hires eligible for the grants must be on Skilled Worker, Global Talent or Scale-Up visas.
• Pass DBT’s standard due diligence and assurance checks prior to grant award.
• Have a valid UK bank account.

Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application within 30 working days of submission.

More details can be found on the VFRS4SU website, where it says that the scheme is open until 11:59pm on 1 March 2027. Rather confusingly, the Department of Business and Trade link to register  says the “Scale-Up Catalyst Pilot” closing date is 23:59 on 5 July 2026 which would appear to be rather soon. Either way, we would advise applying early if you think you may qualify for this grant.

Fast-track Expansion Worker sponsor licences for employers supported by OfI

The Visa Fees Reimbursement Scheme for Scale-Ups (VFRS4SU) was launched by Business Secretary Peter Kyle at London Tech Week as a concession to encourage fast-growing firms grappling with one of the world’s most expensive immigration systems. “We are partnering directly with high-growth firms to give them the support, finance, talent, and connections they need to scale here in the UK and create jobs right across the country,” he said announcing measures to support high potential science and tech companies.

As well as the VFRS4SU grant, a bespoke concierge service is being launched to support the businesses of the future to start, scale, and stay in the UK alongside strengthened measures to attract and retain world-leading international talent through the Global Talent Taskforce. This is in addition to recently announced investment support for businesses chiming with the UK’s Industrial Strategy, including British Business Bank’s direct equity investments, InnovateUK’s new Velocity programme and the launch of the Sovereign AI Unit.

An Office for Investment (OfI) fast-track referral for UK Expansion Worker sponsor licences was also launched at London Tech Week, helping high-potential international businesses set up in the UK more quickly. To be eligible, businesses must be receiving ongoing support from the OfI and operate in one of the eight sectors prioritised by the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy. They must also meet at least one of the following growth criteria:

• Received at least £1 million venture capital or institutional investment.
• Committed at least £2 million capital investment for UK expansion.
• Part of a government-recognised, high-growth programme (for example, the Global Entrepreneur Programme).

NB: Sponsor licence processing time is usually up to eight weeks and there is no priority service to cut that period down for Expansion Worker sponsor licences as the Home Office regard these as complex. There is a disclaimer for this new fast-track referral scheme which warns “applications referred by OfI to Home Office for fast-tracking that are later identified by the Home Office as complex will not be processed within 10 working days and will be subject to standard timelines.” How this will be interpreted remains to be seen. We would highly recommend legal advice for any sponsor licence application.