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Tier 1 (Entrepreneur)

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Scoring points for creating new jobs

This page explains how you can score points for having created new jobs, if you are applying to extend your permission to stay in the UK under Tier 1 (Entrepreneur).

You will score 20 points if you have:

  • established a new business or businesses that has/have created the equivalent of at least 2 new full-time jobs for people settled in the UK; or
  • taken over or joined an existing business(es), and your services or investment have resulted in a net increase in the employment provided by the business(es) for people settled in the UK by creating the equivalent of at least 2 new full-time jobs.

If you are currently in the UK under Tier 1 (Entrepreneur), the jobs must have existed for at least 12 months of your current permission to stay.

If you are self-employed, you must employ the workers directly. If you are a director of a business, you must show that your business has created 2 new posts.

We consider that a 30-hour working week is full-time. Part-time work can form part of the total number of hours of employment created.

The employment created:

  • does not need to be in a single period - it can be made up of shorter periods;
  • does not need to be for any particular number of workers - a single person or several people may be employed over the period; and
  • must comply with the UK regulations, including the Working Time Regulations - you can find more information about the regulations on the Business Link website.

You can only claim points for employees of your business, not for self-employed contractors who are working for your business. If a job is given to a person who is not settled in the UK, it will not qualify for points.

If you are currently in the UK as a business person or an innovator, you must show that you have created 2 full-time jobs but you do not need to show that the employment has been for 30 hours per week or for a continuous 12-month period.

Examples of acceptable employment created by your entrepreneurial activities

If the working hours of 2 part-time workers add up to at least 30 hours per week in total, the 2 part-time posts can form the equivalent of 1 full-time post.

If a worker is employed for part of a year and then leaves the job, they can be replaced by another worker so that the employment as a whole adds up to 12 months. But if the first worker leaves the post before the second worker starts, the period when the post is not filled will not be counted in the 12-month period. You can only claim points for periods which a worker is employed in a post.

If a single worker is employed for 24 months, you can claim points for this employment. The employment can also be made up of a 6-month period for 1 worker and an 18-month period for another.

If 4 workers are employed for 6 months each, their hours of employment may be added together to claim points.