The Global Talent visa was created in February 2020 for highly talented individuals wanting to work in the UK and replaced the Tier 1 Exceptional Talent and Exceptional Promise categories.
The Global Talent visa is available to applicants aged 18 or over who are either leaders or potential leaders in their field of expertise.
Applicants are classified as either those with exceptional talent (‘leaders’) or exceptional promise (future leaders) in one of the following fields:
- arts and culture (inclusive of combined arts, dance, literature, music, theatre or visual arts);
- architecture;
- fashion design;
- film and television (inclusive of animation, post production and visual effects);
- digital technology (inclusive of financial technology (‘fintech’), gaming, cyber security and artificial intelligence); and
- research or academia (inclusive of the fields of science, engineering, medicine and humanities).
Although the Global Talent visa was part of the British Government’s cosmetic visa-rebranding exercise, there are some key differences between the Global Talent visa and the Tier 1 Exceptional Talent and Promise visas.
Specifically, Global Talent is more flexible than its predecessors and the cap on the number of visas issued each year has been removed. Further, those who qualify as an exceptional talent are able to apply for indefinite leave to remain after only three years (applicants under exceptional promise need to complete five years in the UK before applying for ILR).
Even though Global Talent is an improvement on the categories that it replaces, the requirements a successful applicant will need to meet are still challenging. How an applicant qualifies is also very specific to the field they apply through.
For example, the academia or research category requirements are completely different to those that apply to arts and culture. Similarly, the requirements under the literature sub-category of arts and culture are completely different to those under the theatre sub-category. As a result, the path to qualification for the Global Talent visa is generally very specific to the individual applicant.
Most applicants for the Global Talent visa will apply using a two-stage process. The first and most complex stage requires an application for an endorsement from an approved endorsing body (for example, The Royal Academy of Engineering for engineering or Arts Council England for combined arts, dance, literature, music, theatre or visual arts). At this stage, applicants will be required to provide specific evidence of their eligibility for an endorsement. This will involve various letters of recommendation as well as more diverse pieces of evidence that could range from press cuttings proving international media recognition to sales projections demonstrating a track record of business acumen.
If the endorsement is approved, the applicant may then move on to the second stage and apply for the Global Talent visa. This stage is generally very straightforward.
The exception to this rule applies to applicants who have won an eligible, globally recognised award. Examples of recognised ‘prestigious prizes’ include The Booker Prize, an Academy Award, a Fields Medal, a Turing Award, a Nobel Prize and so on. At present there are approximately 160 prestigious prizes that may be used to apply directly for a Global Talent visa without having to first go through the endorsement stage.
Successful applicants may choose the duration of their visa up to a maximum of five years. Once in the UK, the applicant may work in any capacity either as an employee, a sole trader, as a director of their own company or even a combination of all three.
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