UK Global Talent Visa - Lead to British Citizenship

The Global Talent visa is a UK immigration category for talented and promising individuals in specific sectors wishing to work in the UK. It replaced the (Tier-1) Exceptional Talent Visa in February 2020. The Global Talent visa is an immigration category which leads to settlement after 3 years if you have been considered a Talented candidate or 5 years if you have been considered a Promise candidate. Upon completing your settlement application, and the required residency period in the UK you may be able to apply for British Citizenship.

To be considered for entry under the Global Talent visa, applicants must gain an endorsement from one of six endorsing bodies engaged by the UK Home Office. You can also renew the Global Talent visa as many times as you want and can change jobs without notifying the immigration authorities.

Eligibility

You can apply for a Global Talent visa to work in the UK if you are aged at least 18 years and a leader or potential leader in one of the following fields:

• Academia or Research
• Arts and Culture
• Digital Technology

Academia or Research

To qualify for a UK Global Talent Visa in the fields of academia and research, you must be an exceptional talent/promise in one of these fields:

• Science
• Medicine
• Engineering
• Humanities



You may also adjust into one of the following categories:

• You have a job offer as a senior academic or researcher (e.g. a university professor) in UK
• You have received an individual fellowship in the UK
• You are part of a research grant that is approved by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

If you do not have any of the aforementioned, you can still apply for the Global Talent Visa for the UK if your application is endorsed via peer review. In this case, someone with an eminent position and with “internationally recognised expertise” in your field must write you a letter of recommendation.

Arts and Culture

To qualify for a UK Global Talent Visa in the fields of arts and culture, you must be an exceptional talent or exceptional promise on one of the following:

• Combined Arts
• Dance
• Literature
• Music
• Theatre
• Virtual Arts



Additionally, you must fit into one of the following categories:

• In the last five years, you have worked regularly in your field and have produced work which is recognized internationally and considered “outstanding” by the Arts Council England
• For application as a leader in your field: You can prove that your work is well known in at least 2 countries

Architecture

To qualify for a Global Talent Visa in the field of architecture, you must:

• Have worked continuously as an architect for the last 5 years
• Have produced work that is published internationally
• Engineering
• Have produced work which the RIBA judges as ‘outstanding’

Fashion Design

To qualify for a Global Talent Visa in the field of fashion design:

• You must be considered an exceptional talent or exceptional promise in your field
• You must have worked continuously in the field of fashion design for the last 5 years
• You must be known as a leading figure in the industry
• You must have work which is sold or exhibited internationally and shown on catwalk exhibitions
• Your work must be recognised by leading figures in the fashion industry

Digital Technology

To be considered an exceptional talent or exceptional promise in the field of digital technology, you must fit in one of the following categories:

• You have set up or held a senior position in an innovative product-led tech company
• You have worked in an innovative digital field or concept
• You have taught, mentored, or taken part in collaborative projects to help the digital technology sector

Additional requirements include having won awards, developed new skills (commercial or technical) during your career, or having had your research works published or endorsed by an expert.

Endorsing Bodies

The endorsing body will vary according to your chosen stream for visa application. The following are the 5 designated competent bodies that can grant endorsements to academician and researchers:

• For Science and Technology - UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
• For Natural and Medical sciences - The Royal Society
• For Arts, Culture, Fashion, Architecture, Film, and Television - Arts Council England
• For Digital Technology - Tech Nation
• For Engineering- The Royal Academy of Engineering
• For Humanities and Social science - The British Academy

Application Process

The application process for a Global Visa for the UK is divided into two stages:

1. Stage 1 Global Talent Visa Endorsement: Apply to the endorsing bodies for endorsement from an organization that is recognized as an expert in your chosen field
2. Stage 2 Global Talent Visa Application: Submit the application for the Global Talent Visa to the UK Home Office / British Embassy supported with all required documents.

Apply for Endorsement

You need to apply for endorsement to the endorsing bodies to get an endorsement to attest to the fact that you are actually a leader or potential leader in your field. To file your application for endorsement, you must visit the Visas and Immigration website of the UK Home Office and register using your email address and you must submit the required documents and pay the prescribed endorsement fee.

After submission by you, depending on which field you will work in, the UK Home Office will forward your endorsement application to one of these “endorsements bodies” for review & process. The endorsement application can take from one to eight weeks to process, depending on which organization is reviewing your application.

Global Talent Visa Application

Once you receive your endorsement, apply for a UK Global Talent Visa application along with endorsement letter and all required supporting documents. You must apply no earlier than three months before you intend to depart for the UK. You and all your dependent family members can apply at the same time.
You will usually receive your visa within three weeks.

Documents Required

At the time of applying the Global Talent Visa, you must submit the following documents along with your visa application:

• Current passport and/or other travel documents
• A separate passport photograph (depending on the circumstances)
• A letter of endorsement from the designated competent body
• A clear tuberculosis (TB) test result letter, if the applicant is from one of the countries on the Home Office's TB testing list
• If your documents are not in English or Welsh you’ll also need to provide a certified translation
• You may need to provide additional documents depending on your circumstances

If you have had an award or scholarship to study in the UK in the last year, you will also need written permission to apply from the agency or government that granted it.

Spouse and Dependants Children

Your partner and children can apply to join you or to stay in the UK as your ‘dependants’ if they are eligible. If their application is successful, their visa will end on the same date as yours. A dependant partner or child is any of the following:

• your husband, wife, civil partner or unmarried partner
• your child under 18 - including if they were born in the UK during your stay
• your child over 18 if they’re currently in the UK as your dependant
• You’ll need to provide evidence of your relationship when you apply

Switch to Global Talent Visa

You may be able to apply to change (‘switch’) to an Global Talent visa if you are already in the UK on a different type of visa. Your partner or children will need to apply separately on the same time if they live with you in the UK. Your partner/spouse and child can apply to switch to your Global Talent Visa as your dependants, unless they are currently in the UK in one of the following visa categories:

• a visit visa
• a short-term student visa
• a Parent of a Child Student visa
• a seasonal worker visa
• a domestic worker in a private household visa
• immigration bail
• they were given permission to stay outside the immigration rules, for example on compassionate grounds

Length of Stay

You can live and work in the UK for up to 5 years at a time. There is no limit to how long you can stay in the UK in total, but you will need to get extend your visa before it expires. Each extension can last from 1 to 5 years.

Key Advantage of Global Talent Visa

UK Residency Card upon Arrival:
The UK Global Talent Visa allows you to live and work anywhere within the UK for the duration of the visa.

Indefinite Leave to Remain (Permanent Residency)

You may be able to get indefinite leave to remain so you can settle in the UK after 3 or 5 years, depending on the endorsement path you are applying for. This gives you the right to live, work and study here for as long as you like, and apply for benefits if you are eligible.

British Citizenship

After obtaining the Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK (Permanent Residency), you may be eligible to apply for Naturalisation as a British Citizen as per the UK Visa & Immigration Rules and then British Citizenship.

Bring Your Family

UK Global Talent Visa allows you to keep your family together. You can bring your spouse and any children under the age of 18 with you to the UK.

Free Education

Under UK Global Talent Visa, your dependent children will have access to the UK educational system.

Free Medical

Under UK Global Talent Visa, you and your family will have access to the UK's NHS free healthcare system.

Work Full-Time

Main Applicant and the Dependent Partner will be allowed to work fulltime.

Favourable Economic Conditions

After a period of generally disappointing growth in 2011 and 2012, the UK economy has shown clear signs of recovery during 2013 which is expected to continue in 2018-19. The good news is that this is spread between all major industry sectors and regions which are all now showing positive growth trends.

The Home Office will carefully scrutinise an application for any long term or temporary work visa. If it does not consider that the visa application is a genuine or if it considers that any of the other requirements have not been met, the application will fall for refusal. It is therefore essential that the application is prepared thoroughly and carefully.