GrantRadar

Department for Business and Trade

Visa Fees Reimbursement Scheme for Scale Ups (VFRS4SU)

A government grant that reimburses visa application fees for international specialist hires, and their dependants, made by UK scale-ups in Clean Energy, Life Sciences, and Digital and Technologies. A business can claim up to £25,000 a year, with a maximum of £5,000 per international hire including their dependants, for hires on the Skilled Worker, Global Talent or Scale-up visa routes. Only the employer can apply (not individuals), it must meet the government's scale-up definition and hold a sponsor licence, and costs incurred before the application was submitted are not eligible.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
£500 – £25,000
Deadline
134 days left
1 March
Effort
Light
short form, little evidence needed

Who can apply

  • UK-based scale-up businesses only; individuals cannot apply
  • The business must meet all of these: be a scale-up, meaning average annualised growth above 20% in employment or turnover over a continuous three-year period, starting with at least 10 employees; operate in at least one of Clean Energy, Life Sciences, or Digital and Technologies as defined in the Industrial Strategy IS-8 sector definitions (Digital and Technologies excludes technologies covered by the Advanced Manufacturing, Clean Energy, Defence and Life Sciences sector plans); hold a valid UK visa sponsor licence; have an established UK presence (incorporated in the UK and registered with Companies House, or an overseas company registered at Companies House with a UK establishment with physical presence); recruit eligible hires on the Skilled Worker, Global Talent or Scale-up routes; pass DBT's due diligence and assurance checks before award; and have a UK bank account for reimbursements

What it funds

Reimbursement of visa fees to reduce cost barriers to hiring internationally:

  • Eligible visa application fees for specialist international hires and their dependants
  • Hires on the Skilled Worker, Global Talent and Scale-up visa routes

Up to £25,000 a year per business, with a maximum of £5,000 for each international hire and their dependants.

What it will not fund

  • Costs incurred before the date the application was submitted
  • Hires on visa routes other than Skilled Worker, Global Talent and Scale-up

How to apply

  1. Register on the Department for Business and Trade Grants Hub portal (grants.businessandtrade.gov.uk) and start the Visa Fees Reimbursement Scheme for Scale Ups application
  2. Provide your organisation's legal name, type, registered address and Companies House number
  3. Give a breakdown of eligible roles: job titles, outline responsibilities, person specification, contract type and terms, and the hire's salary
  4. Provide confirmation of the visa, including evidence the fees have been paid
  5. DBT notifies you of the outcome within 30 working days of submission; successful applicants become VFRS4SU Grant Partners, sign a grant funding agreement with DBT and are paid after that

Decisions on eligibility and funding are final and not subject to appeal unless the scheme guidance says otherwise.

Have ready

  • Role details for each hire: job title, responsibilities, person specification, contract type and terms, salary
  • Confirmation of the visa, including evidence of payment of the fees

Companies House number and UK bank details are needed; DBT carries out due diligence checks before award.

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