Caseworkers assessing Scale-up earnings for permission to stay and settlement must now treat neonatal leave as an allowable period of absence, under guidance version 11.0 updated on 3 August 2026.
Key facts
- Who: Scale-up applicants for permission to stay and for settlement who must meet the earnings requirement
- From: 3 August 2026 (date of the guidance update)
- Source: Scale-up worker caseworker guidance
The Home Office has updated its Scale-up worker caseworker guidance to version 11.0. The "Changes from last version" section says the guidance now adds neonatal leave "as an allowable period of absence for the purposes of meeting the earnings requirement for both permission to stay and settlement."
The guidance is written for caseworkers and is used alongside Appendix Scale-up of the Immigration Rules. Paragraph references in it refer to Appendix Scale-up unless stated otherwise.
The earnings requirement matters in two places. For unsponsored applications, an applicant must score 50 points for UK earnings in their most recent permission (SCU 8.1 to SCU 8.7). Those points count towards the 70 needed overall. The guidance also covers settlement as a separate stage, with eligibility requirements in SCU 15.1 to SCU 19.2.
The summary of changes does not say how much neonatal leave is allowed or what evidence caseworkers should ask for. It names neonatal leave only as an allowable absence for the earnings requirement.
The same update changes references to immigration bail under the suitability provisions. The guidance still says that an applicant on immigration bail does not meet the suitability requirements for the Scale-up route, except where the Immigration Rules permit it in respect of periods of overstaying (section 4.2).
The Scale-up route was introduced on 22 August 2022. It lets UK businesses that have shown a sustained period of growth sponsor skilled individuals. Sponsored workers need to work for their sponsor for an initial 6-month period only. Scale-up is a route to settlement.
What this means for applicants
For both permission to stay and settlement, neonatal leave is now an allowable period of absence when the earnings requirement is assessed. The guidance summary does not say how much leave is allowed or what evidence is needed. Those details are not set out in the source.
Related guide
Sources
- Scale-up worker caseworker guidance, Home Office UK Visas and Immigration, version 11.0, updated 3 August 2026