Global Talent visa

The Tier 1 Exceptional Talent visa is now closed to new entrants, and it has been replaced by the Global Talent visa, which has some close similarities.

As with the Tier 1 Exceptional Talent visa, applicants for the Global Talent visa require initial endorsement by an official endorsement body as being either a recognised leader in their field (“exceptional talent”) or an emerging leader in their field (“exceptional promise”).

The list of endorsement bodies is this:

• Tech Nation, for digital technology
• The Royal Society, for science and medicine
• The Royal Academy of Engineering, for engineering
• The British Academy, for humanities
• Arts Council England, for arts and culture
• UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), for research applicants

Each endorsement body has its own detailed criteria for endorsement, and you must in every case prove your experience and expertise.

If the applicant successfully acquires endorsement they can then apply for the visa. The visa can be granted for between one and five years and it may be possible to apply for settlement – depending on the circumstances – after either three years or five years.

In some ways the visa application is very easy: there is no English language or financial maintenance requirement. Applicants may apply from outside the UK or, if they are in an eligible switching category, from within the UK. Dependants may also apply. And, unlike with the Tier 1 Exceptional Talent visa, there is no annual limit on visas.

The Home Office’s rules about visa conditions for the Global Talent visa are slightly confusing. Migrants are allowed to – and indeed are encouraged to – work. The Home Office states that there are no restrictions (apart from very minimal ones) in the type of work that migrants can do.

However, there are other rules which state that a migrant who is applying for an extension visa or settlement must show that (a) they have earned money in the UK and (b) that those earnings were “linked to the expert field which led to their initial endorsement”.

So if you want to succeed in this visa route you will have to find the right kind of work. However, self-employment and running your own business are permitted, so there is plenty of scope for creativity. The rules only say what they say and do not specify that you have to have been running a successful or highly profitable business.

This is quite a simple explanation of the Global Talent visa. At Get UK Visa we will be able to give you more detailed and personalised advice and help if you need it.