A new government grant, the Visa Fees Reimbursement Scheme for Scale Ups, has opened to support UK scale-ups recruiting international talent. The scheme is directly relevant to many companies across Oxfordshire’s science and technology sector, and we want our members to be among the first to know about it.
What the scheme offers
- Grants of up to £25,000 a year per business
- A maximum award of £5,000 for each international hire and their dependants
- Support towards eligible visa application costs, helping to offset the expense of recruiting specialist talent from overseas
Who can apply
To qualify, a business must meet all of the following criteria:
- Be a UK based scale-up, defined as an enterprise with an average annualised growth rate exceeding 20 per cent in employment or turnover over a continuous three year period, having started that period with at least 10 employees
- Operate in one of three priority sectors: Clean Energy, Life Sciences, or Digital and Technologies
- Hold a valid UK visa sponsor licence
- Have an established UK presence, either as a company registered with Companies House or as an overseas company with a registered UK establishment
- Recruit under the Skilled Worker, Global Talent, or Scale Up visa routes
- Pass the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade’s standard due diligence checks
- Hold a valid UK bank account to receive reimbursement
Please note that the employer, not the individual employee, must submit the application. Individuals cannot apply directly.
Key dates
- Opens: 9 June 2026
- Closes: 1 March 2027, or earlier if the fund is exhausted
Funding is allocated on a first come, first served basis, and the budget is finite, so businesses considering an application are encouraged to act early. Only costs incurred after an application has been submitted are eligible, so timing matters.
How to apply
Applications are made through the Department for Business and Trade’s Grants Hub portal, and applicants will need a GOV.UK One Login to register and submit their application. Full guidance and the application route are available on the official grant page.
Why this matters for Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is home to a growing number of scale-ups working right across these three priority sectors. Access to international talent is consistently raised by our members as a key factor in their growth, and this scheme offers a practical way to reduce one of the costs attached to that recruitment. Supporting our members to grow and compete globally sits at the heart of our vision for Oxfordshire to be the most dynamic innovation economy in the UK, and the best place to start and grow a science based business.
Next steps
We encourage any member company that thinks it may be eligible to review the full guidance and consider applying without delay, given the first come, first served nature of the fund. Read the full scheme details on GOV.UK.
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