There are dozens of strict UK Global Talent Visa requirements. The category is extremely competitive and includes a lengthy and complex application process. So if you want your application to stand out, you'll want peace of mind you have the very best advice from a team of trusted immigration lawyers. That's where we can help. We'll walk you through the Global Talent Visa application process and ensure you meet all requirements. With our solicitors, you can rest easy knowing you're positioned for success.
At A Y & J Solicitors in London, we’ve helped many clients prepare their Global Talent Visa documents. We understand the importance of getting things right and are proud of our high Global Talent Visa UK success rate. Our lawyers will ensure that when you submit your UK talent visa application, you'll feel confident you've met every requirement.
Alex
The Global Talent visa is a UK immigration category for talented and promising people in specific sectors such as sciences, the humanities, engineering, the arts, and technology. The Global Talent visa replaced the Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) visa category in February 2020. The Global Talent visa is an immigration category which leads to settlement after 3 years if you have been considered under the Exceptional Talent category or 5 years if you have been considered as an Exceptional Promise candidate. Upon completing your settlement application, and the required residency period in the UK, you may be able to apply for British Citizenship.
We are specialists in immigration law and have supported more than 4,000 business owners and professionals around the globe to successfully navigate the UK system. We work quickly, always responding to any queries within 24 hours. And we work closely with the Home Office to pre-empt issues before they jeopardise sponsorship applications or breach compliance. We manage all United Kingdom immigration matters including visa applications under the new points-based immigration system, Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), Spouse Visas, nationality and more. We also handle complex cases of appeal, administrative reviews, judicial reviews and the many immigration challenges involving European Union law and human rights.
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To be considered for entry under the Global Talent Visa, all applicants must obtain an endorsement from one of six approved endorsing bodies.
If you are applying for a Global Talent Visa endorsement in the field of science, engineering, medicine, social science or the humanities, or other academic roles and research, the Home Office will forward your application to the Royal Society, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the Royal Academy of Engineering, or the British Academy. One of these endorsing bodies will then make an endorsement decision based on your profile and the evidence you provide.
If you are applying for a Global Talent Visa endorsement in non-academic fields like arts and culture and digital technology, your application will be referred to Arts Council England or Tech Nation.
It is important to note that each endorsing body follows its own endorsement criteria. The endorsing bodies have two sets of criteria when assessing an applicant:
To discuss your global talent route with one of our immigration experts, contact our UK Global Talent visa lawyers on +44 20 7404 7933 or complete our enquiry form.
You can apply for a Global Talent Visa from either within the country or outside it.
If you are applying from within the UK, for example switching from one type of visa to a Global Talent Visa, the application is made online.
You can apply to switch to a Global Talent Visa if you are already in the UK with a valid visa. However, you cannot apply from inside the UK if you hold leave in any of the following categories:-
An application for entry clearance can be made at the nearest visa appointment centre in your country of residence.
Download our guide on how to apply for Global Talent Visa here.
The application for a Global Talent Visa endorsement usually takes up to 8 weeks to be processed. The Global Talent Visa application can take up to three weeks if you are applying from outside the UK and up to eight weeks if you are applying from within the UK.
However, digital technology applicants may apply to have their endorsement application fast-tracked under certain prescribed circumstances.
In some cases, priority applications may be possible for Global Talent Visa applications. Note: The applicant does not have to wait for the endorsement to be granted before they apply for the Global Talent Visa — although this is risky because if the endorsement application is refused, the Global Talent Visa application will be refused as well.
To submit a successful Global Talent Visa application, you will need to provide:
An individual seeking to come to the UK on the Global Talent route must comply with the below two stages:
An individual applying for entry clearance or leave to remain must score 70 points. If you are applying for entry clearance, you will score 70 points as follows:
If you are applying for leave to remain, you will score 70 points as follows:
Arts Council England is the endorsing body designated by the Home Office to review all applications for endorsement from individuals who work in the following fields:
Arts-focused activity in museum or gallery settings
To qualify for endorsement, you must provide evidence that you are either an established leader in the field or have the potential to become a leader, a leading artist, or an internationally recognised expert in your field.
You should be able to demonstrate that you are professionally engaged in producing work of outstanding quality that has been published (other than exclusively in newspapers or magazines), performed, presented, distributed, or exhibited internationally. Your activity in the field must be recent (within the last five years) and show a substantial (or developing in the case of an Exceptional Promise Visa application) international track record.
You also need to show evidence from at least two countries to support two of the following (exceptional talent only):
In the event you apply under the Global Promise category you will need to show evidence from at least one country to support two of the above evidence.
In addition to the above, you will need to provide a CV, and three letters of support from well-established cultural organisations that you have worked with, who are acknowledged experts in your field. Note: At least one of the organisations must be based in the UK.
The proof should encompass no more than ten documents, and it excludes the three mandatory letters of support.
An individual seeking a Global Talent Visa endorsement in the field of science, engineering, humanities, and medicine must be an active researcher in an academic, industry, or government research institution. The above endorsement bodies allow an individual to make an endorsement application under the fast track or full peer review, depending on your experience and expertise.
An individual looking to fast-track their Global Talent Visa endorsement application must provide evidence of one of the following:
For a Global Talent Visa endorsement application under paragraph (a) above, an individual must provide written confirmation from an awarding body named on the list published by the Royal Society, the British Academy, and the Royal Academy of Engineering that they hold or have held in the last 12 months, an eligible and defined peer-reviewed fellowship or award.
For an endorsement application under paragraph (b) above, an individual must show that they hold an eligible academic or research position at an approved UK Higher Education Institution or Research Institute named on the list published by the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Royal Society, and the British Academy and they must provide a statement of guarantee from the Director of Human Resources, or equivalent, which confirms:
For making a Global Talent Visa endorsement application under paragraph (c), an individual must show that there are at least 2 years remaining on their employment contract or hosting agreement and that it should be held or should have been employed by a UKRI-approved UK research organisation and will provide critical contributions to work supported by a substantial research grant or award from an endorsed funder by:
An individual evidencing exceptional talent under full peer review must meet the following:
An individual evidencing exceptional promise under full peer review must meet the following:
An individual applying for full peer review endorsement must provide the following:
The designated endorsing body by the Home Office to assess applications from a digital background is Tech Nation.
An applicant for endorsement in the field of digital technology must show:
An applicant applying for an endorsement in the field of technology evidencing exceptional talent must:
An individual applying for an endorsement in the field of technology evidencing exceptional promise must:
An individual applying for an endorsement to Tech Nation will need to provide:
The above documents will need to be incorporated into an online application to Tech Nation.
The Global Talent Visa in digital technology welcomes the brightest tech talents to join and contribute to the UK’s digital technology sector. Each applicant is expected to demonstrate to the endorsing body (Tech Nation) a successful career history as an innovator or significant contributor in the field of digital technology either:
Note the following text from Home Office rules: “Tech Nation accepts applications from applicants with technical and business skills in the digital technology sector.”
This basically applies to applicants who showcase exceptional technical skills with a major focus on expertise in dealing with the latest technologies. Applicants should be practitioners who have a varied skill set, ranging from building to deploying to designing the technical infrastructure.
For business applicants, the criteria focus on exhibiting commercial as well as investment expertise while dealing with digital products (including leading investments).
Suitable skill types are listed below; however, please note that this list is not exhaustive and provides an indication of the typical applicants assessed by Tech Nation.
|
Technical skills |
Business skills |
| DevOps /SysOps engineers
Principal software engineers/developers Experienced data scientists/data engineers Artificial intelligence, Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning experts (AI, NLP, ML) Cybersecurity experts Hardware engineers Experienced front-end developers Experienced UX/UI designers Experienced Mobile App developers Experienced back end developers leading development of or contributing heavily to major new technologies or open source projects (e.g. blockchain, Scala, Goland, Elasticssearch etc) CTO of VP engineering experience managing teams of in-house employees at a growing digital business Virtual and augmented reality developers |
Experience of leading substantial VC investment over £25m GBP
Experience as a commercial/business lead (P&L, growth, sales and distribution strategy) in a digital business Experience in expanding or growing a significant product-led digital technology business Sector-specific experience e.g. payment infrastructure in FinTech / international expansion in EdTech etc. Solution sales experts Experienced {Product Manager SaaS or enterprise sales leadership for digital services Solution sales skills performed for a growing B2B digital business (ie. No big-company experience) Experienced and senior VC or PE analysts with track records of leading investments in digital businesses Experience as C Suite in an SME (CEO/CMO/CIO) or head of operations for a digital business. Performance marketing experts performed inhouse for digital businesses |
The demonstration of your potential to be recognised as a leading talent in the digital technology sector would require you to provide evidence that you are an extraordinarily competent and talented applicant. Also, that you are or have the capability to be a rising star both nationally and internationally and be a leader in the digital technology sector using your exceptional talent. Any documents that you put forward to prove your talent or eligibility need to include work that was done by you in the recent 5 years. READ MORE
You can demonstrate your dedication and recognition of your work outside of your daily job if you can provide proof that you have been a dedicated contributor to the field of digital technology (out of your day-to-day job) in ways like tutoring, mentoring, organised interest groups, advising, public policy development, or participating in various events associated to the field and playing a paramount role in the development of the same. READ MORE
To demonstrate that you have made a significant technical contribution or entrepreneurial contribution in a product-led digital technology company as a founder or senior executive can be made by providing approved evidence of the same in the form of employment contracts or recommendation letters. This part has two distinctions where the applications can be made to show two types of leadership. One is tech-based and the other is business based. READ MORE
Exceptional ability in the field can be demonstrated in multiple ways which will require you to submit evidence to support your claims. Any recognition you have received whether in the UK itself or outside but by an esteemed and recognised institution like the Royal Society will be accepted as sufficient evidence. READ MORE
You would have to provide sufficient evidence of the existence of a firm or business in which either you were the owner, partner, founder, or were part of the senior management. A firm that may be currently active or was dissolved in the recent 5 years. Also, you will need to show documentary evidence if your company is commercially successful. READ MORE
The documents required vary from case to case, but they include:
If and as applicable:
Numerous advantages are available through the Global Talent Visa, including:
If your Global Talent Visa endorsement is refused, you can apply for an endorsement review to the relevant endorsement body. At A Y & J Solicitors, we are experts at overturning refusals on endorsements. Our team will take the time to carefully examine the reasons your endorsement application was refused and advise you on the best action to take.
In comparison with other visas, the Global Talent Visa is flexible. Applicants can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) after 3 years if they have been endorsed as Exceptional Talent and meet the ILR requirements or they can apply for ILR after 5 years if endorsed under the Exceptional Promise route. Applicants can also choose to extend their Global Talent Visa if they cannot meet the ILR rules, regardless of their endorsement type.
The rules allow the migrant to work in any kind of job within their endorsement category. For example, if a candidate gets endorsed by Tech Nation in an expert field then they can take on any job in digital technology within the same expert field. However, it is important to bear in mind that if the migrant applies for either extension or settlement, they must show that they have earned money in the UK and that these earnings were linked to the expert field, which led to their initial endorsement.
But, as you can see, these UK Global Talent Visa requirements are broadly stated, and the possibility of setting up your own business provides a lot of scope and flexibility. This visa is also an option for those interested in Global Talent Visa ILR (indefinite leave to remain) should one be interested in this path to British citizenship.
Extension and settlement applications do not require any further endorsement from the endorsing body unless the endorsement has been withdrawn.
Here is a breakdown of the Global Talent Visa fees:
| Who you’re applying for | Stage 1 – endorsement application | Stage 2 – visa application |
| Global Talent Visa main applicant | £456 | Visa application: £167 |
| Global Talent Visa Dependant | £623 per dependant (in all cases) |
Note: Applicants also have to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), which is £624 per year per person or £470 per year per child under 18 years old
Once approved, an individual can extend their stay in the UK as many times as they wish if they don’t qualify for ILR.
Global Talent Visa holders can apply for an extension if:
Note: You will have to apply for an extension before your current visa expires.
As far as the recommendation letter is concerned, an applicant should possess 3 dated ones, each one of them duly attested by 3 high-positioned members of 3 different organisations that have a proven track record of contributing to the growth of the digital technology industry.
Note: The members should be at a senior level and should also have exposure to the skills that you possess, to add credibility to your recommendation letter.
The letters should at least:
Let us take an example of a candidate, Mr. A, who has machine learning experience of 8+ years. Generally, anyone with five or less than five years of working experience is considered an ‘exceptional promise’ category. This candidate will fall under the ‘exceptional talent’ category.
For the ‘exceptional talent’ category, he meets the following:
Significant contribution
Mr. A has worked for a multinational company in data science roles for the last 4 years, and he is able to show significant contribution through high-impact projects and products he has led and contributed to. Hence, he aims to provide evidence for qualifying criteria 1 in the above table. In particular, the CEO of his company has written a letter stating these facts and also highlighting the impact Mr. A’s work has made (for example, some of the workstreams have led to revenue generation of $XX). It is important to note that there are different ways the impact and significance can be measured and shown. Other options for someone to show significant contributions include:
Recognised leading talent
Mr. A also published a book two years ago on ‘Python Programming – Machine Learning’ through a well-known publisher, which was well-reviewed. He will provide evidence of this using the link to the book on Amazon and its reviews by other industry experts and audiences. Note – this criterion also can be fulfilled if the candidate has published material in a professional or major trade publication.
Alternatively, any candidate who has led the growth of a product-led digital technology company or product, as evidenced by a letter from a leading industry expert describing your work or as evidenced by news clippings, lines of code, or similar evidence of their choice, also will satisfy the rules.
Academic contributions
Mr. A has been working with a local university on researching with a team there and has written a joint publication in a reputed academic journal. He will provide details of this publication as evidence.
Candidates with the following evidence will also qualify:
Innovation
Mr. A has a joint patent published and can provide details and links to Google Patents with a verifiable ID.
Candidates with the following also qualify for these criteria:
Recognition for work outside immediate occupation
Mr. A is very active on GitHub with contributions to a popular open-source collaborative project related to machine learning and can provide details of this project as evidence.
Other relevant evidence includes:
Yes, as a Global Talent Visa holder, you have the right to bring your dependents to the UK.
A dependent can be any of the following:
An individual applying to enter this route or extend their stay in the Global Talent route does not need to satisfy the English language requirement. The English language requirement needs to be satisfied at the time of applying for indefinite leave to remain.
The Global Talent Visa category is extremely competitive and includes a rigorous application process. At A Y & J Solicitors, we have a robust track record of advising successful Global Talent Visa London applicants looking to remain or enter the UK using the Global Talent Visa route. We provide friendly, practical, expert legal advice and will swiftly spot any weaknesses in your application and correct them.
