Global Talent visa

Who can apply

You can apply for a Global Talent visa to work in the UK and a leader or potential leader in one of the following fields:

• Academia or research
• Arts and culture
• Digital technology

What you can do with a Global Talent visa

• Choose how long your visa is for, up to 5 years
• Be an employee, self-employed and a director of a company
• Change or stop doing your job without telling the Home Office
• Bring your partner and children with you as your ‘dependants’, if they’re eligible
• Travel abroad and return to the UK
• Renew your visa as many times as you like if you meet the eligibility criteria for extending your stay
• Apply to settle permanently in the UK (also known as ‘indefinite leave to remain’) if you’ve lived in the UK for 3 years and meet the other eligibility requirements - any time you spend outside the UK doing research counts towards this time

You cannot

• Apply for most benefits (‘public funds’), or the State Pension
• Work as a sportsperson

If your application is successful, you’ll get a full list of what you can and cannot do with a Global Talent visa.

Application stages

See GOV.UK for fee information.

Stage 1 – Endorsement application

The first stage of the application process is to apply for endorsement. This stage is not an immigration application and will not affect your current visa.

When you submit your endorsement application, the Home Office will send it to be reviewed by a UK organization ('endorsing body') with expertise in your field. How you apply depends on which of the endorsement routes you follow.

The requirements for an endorsement appear in paragraph GTE 2.1 of Appendix Global Talent. The endorsing bodies criteria appears at paragraphs GTE 3.1 to GTE 8.10.

If you are successful, you will receive an endorsement letter via email which will be valid for 3 months.

Stage 2 – Visa application

Once endorsement has been granted, the individual can proceed with the visa application. The visa application must be submitted within three months from the date the endorsement decision was made. After three months, the endorsement will expire, and a new Stage 1 endorsement application would need to be submitted.

There is no English language or maintenance requirements as seen in other visa routes.

You apply for your visa online.

How you apply depends on whether you are:

• Outside the UK and are coming to the UK
• Inside the UK and extending your current visa
• Inside the UK and switching from a different visa

You will usually get a decision about your visa within either three weeks (if you are applying outside the UK) or eight weeks (if you are applying inside the UK).

You may be able to pay for a faster decision. How you do this depends on whether you are applying from outside the UK or inside the UK.

Visa duration

The visa duration is not tied to the contract of employment, fellowship or grant length. At the visa application stage, applicants can choose a 1 to 5 year visa duration.

There are no limits on extension applications subject to meeting the criteria. The route leads to settlement (Indefinite Leave to Remain).

Dependants

If eligible, your family can apply to be your dependants under this route.

If your partner or children are outside the UK, each family member will need to complete a separate application and pay the visa fee. They must apply before they travel to the UK. They’ll be asked to provide your application number so the Home Office can link their application to you.