Global Talent Visa

• Field and ageThe applicant must be aged 18 or over and show exceptional talent (as a recognised leader) or exceptional promise (as a potential leader) in academia or research, arts and culture, or digital technology.
• Endorsement, or an eligible prizeMost applicants need an endorsement letter from a Home Office approved endorsing body in their field, issued after a two-part process. A person who has won a prize on the published prestigious prizes list is treated as already showing exceptional talent and does not need an endorsement.
• Applying in time on an endorsementWhere the first grant of permission relies on an endorsement letter, the visa application must be made no more than 3 months after the date on the letter, and the endorsement (or prize) must not have been withdrawn or suspended.
• Extension: earned money in the fieldTo extend, the applicant must show they earned money in the UK during their last period of permission, in the field related to their endorsement or their prize.
• Settlement: qualifying periodSettlement (indefinite leave to remain) needs a continuous qualifying period in the UK of 3 years for people endorsed by the Royal Society, British Academy, Royal Academy of Engineering or UK Research and Innovation, for people endorsed under the 'exceptional talent' criteria by Arts Council England or Tech Nation, and for people who applied using a listed prestigious prize. The qualifying period is 5 years for people endorsed under the 'exceptional promise' criteria by Arts Council England or Tech Nation.
• Settlement: English languageSettlement also needs English language ability in speaking and listening to at least level B1, rising to level B2 for applications made on or after 26 March 2027, unless an exemption applies. There is no separate English language test to get the visa itself.
• General suitabilityThe application must not fall for refusal under the general suitability requirements that apply across UK immigration routes.

• Valid passport or other identity documentShows your identity and nationality.
• Tuberculosis test resultsIf you're from a country where the test is required.
• Written consent for a recent study award or scholarshipNeeded if you've had an award or scholarship covering UK study in the last year.
• Certified translationFor any document that is not in English or Welsh.
• Evidence of your prizeOnly asked for if the Home Office cannot confirm your win from publicly available information, such as the prize organisation's website.
• Proof of your relationship to a partner or childIf they are applying with you.

Endorsement-stage fee (endorsement route)

£561

Visa-stage fee (endorsement route)

£205

Application fee (prize route, paid in full)

£766

Extend your visa (inside or outside the UK)

£766

Each partner or child included in your application

£766

Healthcare surcharge

£1,035 per year of stay, for each applicant

Fees are set by the Home Office and can change. Source: GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/global-talent/how-much-it-costs

Apply from outside the UK

Usually within 3 weeks

Extend or switch from inside the UK

Usually within 8 weeks

Standard Home Office service times; a faster decision may be available for an extra fee.

• Run the standard right to work checkYou check that the person can work for you in the UK before they start. A Global Talent holder has an eVisa, so the Home Office online service is the only way to evidence it. Ask them for their share code and run it through the employer part of that service. Looking at what they can see on their own account does not give you a statutory excuse.
• Diary the follow-up checkThis is not an unrestricted right to work. The permission is time-limited, so the statutory excuse you get is time-limited too. Do a follow-up check on or before the date their permission ends. Keep your record of each check for the whole employment and for two years after it ends. Skipping the check exposes you to a civil penalty of up to £45,000 for each illegal worker, rising to up to £60,000 if you have been found employing one in the previous three years.
• Expect to provide the endorsement paperwork on the fast trackWhere the endorsement runs on an eligible job offer at an institution approved by the endorsing bodies, your director of human resources, or equivalent, provides a statement of guarantee. It confirms the post and department, that the job needs a doctorate or equivalent research experience, and that the offer has been accepted. It also confirms how the post was advertised, that at least 2 references were received, and that at least 3 academic, research or innovation representatives were on the interview panel. The last limb is the expert one: at least one expert in their field on the interview panel, or at least one relevant expert, independent of the employing institution, consulted before the job offer was made. The endorsed funder route, at a research organisation approved by UK Research and Innovation, asks for a different document. The director of human resources provides a declaration there instead, and it carries no references or interview panel test. It covers the job title and department, the accepted offer or hosting agreement with at least a year left to run, and the person's role on a grant from an endorsed funder.
• You can back an endorsement by evidence tooOutside the fast track, the person gathers letters of recommendation. In digital technology these must come from three different well-established individuals acknowledged as experts in the field, each with detailed knowledge of their work over a period of 12 months or more. Those letters have to be written for this application, so an old reference cannot be reused. In arts and culture, architecture, fashion design, and film and television, two of the three letters come from well-established organisations, and at least one of those organisations must be based in the UK.
• Plan start dates around the endorsement stageThere are two stages, endorsement first and then the visa. You cannot pay to speed up the endorsement stage, only the visa stage. Once the endorsement letter is issued, the visa application has to follow within 3 months. Build the endorsement wait into your start date rather than the visa wait alone.
• Do not run this as a sponsored hireThere is no certificate to assign and no sponsor reporting or monitoring to do. Employer guidance telling you to assign a certificate for every foreign worker is addressing sponsors, and it does not reach this route. The duty to check attendance and confirm someone is doing the role you sponsored them for applies to sponsored workers only.