Global Talent visa

The Global Talent visa route replaced the Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) and Tier 1 (Exceptional Promise) visas in early 2020 for leaders or potential leaders in the fields of academic or research, arts and culture or digital technology.

The Global Talent visa is a non-sponsored route and provides many benefits including greater flexibility to move freely between organisations, no language or minimum salary requirements and is a route to settlement after 3 years (for the main applicant only) or after 5 years if endorsed as 'Exceptional Promise'.

The application is a two-stage process:

There are different routes to apply for a Global Talent visa. Please see below further information on each route;

This route is for individuals responsible for academic, research or innovation leadership and development. Senior leadership roles such as Dean, Head of Department or Research Institute Director or roles such as Professor or Senior Lecturer which require independence in initiating, planning and managing a project without supervision may be eligible for the academic or research appointment fast-track route.

For this route, the individual will require a statement of guarantee from the Director of Human Resources to support their application. The statement of guarantee will confirm that certain recruitment processes have taken place and the level of the role.

Usually, an individual would consider this route if they had a job offer from the University which is at Lecturer level or above or can clearly evidence their role responsibilities meet the criteria. 

To request a Statement of Guarantee letter to support the endorsement application, please contact:

To find more information on applying under the Academic or Research Appointments fast-track route, please visit the UKVI webpage.

The Individual Fellowships route is a fast-track route for individuals who have been awarded a fellowship approved by The Royal Society, British Academy or Royal Academy of Engineering.

To check which fellowships are eligible please see below. 

During the endorsement application process, the individual will need to provide a copy of their fellowship award letter.

To find more information on applying under the Individual Fellowships fast-track route, please visit the UKVI webpage.

The Endorsed Funders route is a route for individuals whose role is being funded by a UKRI approved grant.

The grant must have been awarded by an organisation on the list of endorsed funders, which is below.

The individual applying for endorsement must:

In addition, the individual must also:

During the endorsement process, the applicant must provide evidence of their grant or award and a statement of guarantee from the Director of Human Resources.

To request a statement of guarantee letter to support the endorsement application, please contact:

To find more information on applying under the Endorsed Funders fast-track route and full details of the documents required, please visit the UKVI webpage. 

The applicant must hold an eligible award on the Global Talent eligible prize list below. 

If an individual is not eligible under any of the fast track routes, they may be eligible through the standard route which will require the individual to submit an application for full peer review by The Royal Society, The British Academy or Royal Academy of Engineering. The individual will not need to have a job offer to apply for a Global Talent visa via this route.

For the Peer Review route, individuals can choose to be considered under two options and would need to meet specific criteria to be eligible;   

For more information on applying under the Peer Review standard route and the full criteria for eligibility and documents required, please visit the UKVI webpage. 

If the individual receives an endorsement from a UKRI approved funder, the application will be considered by the Home Office.

Dependents can apply for visas at the same time or can wait until the main applicant has entered the UK to work.

Individuals must apply for stage 2 within three months of gaining the endorsement or the immigration application will be refused, and they will need to re-apply for endorsement. 

Please note that there are application fees attached to each stage and individuals will also be required to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) and may require a tuberculosis (TB) test. Further information is available on the UKVI website.

There is no minimum salary for the Global Talent visa. 

The UKVI provide advice on whether you or the role may be suitable for endorsement.

This is dependent on the route you choose, for the fast-track routes, decisions can be as quick as one week and up to 3 weeks.  For the standard peer review route, the endorsement stage 1 application process can take up to 8 weeks. Following the endorsement process, stage 2 of the application process will need to be processed and this can take up to 3 weeks if you’re applying from outside the UK, and up to 8 weeks if you’re applying from within the UK.

It is advisable that you look at all the endorsement routes before making your application and seeing which one is most suitable and you meet the criteria for.  The UKVI website and Royal Society have detailed information on all routes to assist you with making a decision. The Recruitment and Immigration Team can offer advice on questions relating to the process of the Global Talent route but cannot provide advice on the best option for an individual. If an individual is in any doubt regarding their eligibility and the content of their visa application, it is recommended they seek independent legal advice as any rejection of your application could result in the loss of any visa application fees. UKVI have some guidance on locating an Immigration Adviser. Alternatively, the Royal Society may be able to answer any specific questions.