LONDON – Thousands of people relocate away from their native towns in search of better employment opportunities and the United Kingdom (UK) also serves as the first choice for many of them.
There are different ways to get settled in the UK through different types of visas including the Global Talent Visa.
What is a Global Talent Visa
The Global Talent Visa can be secured to work in the UK if you’re a leader or potential leader in either academia or research, arts and culture, or digital technology.
Eligibility Criteria
The basic eligibility criteria is that the applicant must be at least 18 years old. If you fulfill the age benchmark, then you can apply for a Global Talent visa if you have successfully applied for an endorsement to prove that you are a leader or potential leader.
Moreover, you can apply for the visa without an endorsement if you’ve won an eligible award. There are different awards that make one eligible for the visa. For instance, in the field of architecture, the Pritzker Prize or Royal Gold Medal makes one eligible for this visa.
Similarly, in the case of digital technology, if one has secured the ACM Prize in Computing or Turing Award, then they are eligible for this visa type.
For each field, the UK government has specified the awards which make one eligible for the visa. The complete list can be seen here.
In case you need to apply for an endorsement, you can do so. For instance, if you are related to the academia or research field, you are eligible for the Global Talent Visa if you have an eligible job offer as an academic or researcher or as an individual fellowship. Moreover, a research grant that is approved by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) or an eligible award also makes you eligible for this visa.
How to Apply for Endorsement
In order to get the Global Talent Visa, you need to apply for an endorsement to prove you are a leader or potential leader in your field.
In this scenario, the Home Office will forward your application to be reviewed by a UK organisation (‘endorsing body’) with expertise in your field.
Regarding the timeline, you’ll usually get a decision about your endorsement within 2 weeks, if you have an eligible academic or research job, individual fellowship, or research grant – this is called ‘fast track’ endorsement but it can take 5 weeks, if you’re having your application peer-reviewed.
You can either apply for the endorsement first and then apply for the visa or you can apply concurrently for both. It must be kept in mind that the earliest you can apply for a visa is 3 months before you travel.
If one reviews the details regarding the academia or research category, they are informed that those who are a leader or potential leader in science, medicine, engineering, humanities, and social science can get the visa. There are other sub-categories for other fields like digital technology and arts and culture which make one eligible for this visa type.
What is allowed under the Global Talent Visa
The Global Talent visa allows one to choose how long their visa is for, up to 5 years. It also permits one to be an employee, be self-employed, and a director of a company.
Moreover, you can also change or stop doing your job without telling the Home Office and bring your partner and children with you as your ‘dependants’, if they’re eligible. You can also travel abroad and return to the UK if you have the Global Talent Visa.
The most advantageous aspect of this visa type is that there are no language or minimum salary eligibility requirements.
Additionally, if one wants to longer in the UK, they can renew their visa as many times as they like if they meet the eligibility criteria for extending their stay.
You can also 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. Interestingly, any time you spend outside the UK doing research counts towards this time.
Documents needed to apply
The documents needed to apply for the visa include a valid passport or other document that shows your identity and nationality.
Moreover, your tuberculosis test results are also needed if you’re from a country where you have to take the test (some countries are exempted). If you’ve had an award or scholarship to study in the UK in the last year, you’ll also need written permission to apply from the agency or government that awarded it.
Most importantly, if your documents are not in English or Welsh you’ll also need to provide a certified translation.
Moreover, you need a blank page in your passport for your visa if you’re from outside the EU, EEA or Switzerland or from the EU, EEA or Switzerland but do not have a biometric passport with a chip in it
In case you have won an eligible award, the Home Office will look at publicly available information (such as the award organization’s website) to confirm that you’ve won. You’ll only be asked for evidence of your win if they cannot find this.
Apply for the Visa
You can apply online for a Global Talent visa by submitting the required documents elaborated above. Moreover, you may also be able to apply at a visa application center.
You can apply from any country as long as you’ve been given permission to live there for at least 6 months. The location of the visa application center depends on your country.
If you’re already living in the UK, you and your partner and children may be able to extend a Global Talent visa or switch to a Global Talent visa.
To prove your identity, you’ll either have your fingerprints and photograph taken at a visa application center to get a biometric residence permit or you can use the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app to scan your identity document.
If you need to change something in your application after you’ve sent it, you can contact UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and in case you need to cancel your application, you’ll only get your fee refunded if UKVI has not started processing your application.
Applying for Partner and Children
Your partner and children can also apply to join you or stay in the UK as your ‘dependants’ if they’re eligible and their visa will usually end on the same date as yours.
If a child’s parents have visas with different expiry dates, the child’s visa will end on an earlier date.
For clarity, the UK government specifies that a dependent 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 to your dependant when you apply.
In the case of a partner, you must be able to prove that either you’re in a civil partnership or marriage that’s recognized in the UK or you’ve been living together in a relationship for at least 2 years when you apply.
It must be kept in mind that for each person applying, you’ll need to pay a £716 application fee and the healthcare surcharge. Moreover, they’ll also need to have their biometric information (fingerprints and a photo) taken but there’s no fee for this.
It bears mentioning that your partner and child must apply online to either extend or switch as a partner
or extend or switch as a child respectively and they’ll need your application number (Global Web Form (GWF) or a Unique Application Number (UAN) which you will get when you apply.
The most important thing is that your partner and children must not travel outside of the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man until they get a decision. Their application will be withdrawn if they do so.
The UK government has also specified that if you have a child while you’re in the UK, they do not automatically become a British citizen and you must apply for your child’s dependant visa if you want to travel in and out of the UK with them.
What is not allowed under the Global Talent Visa
If you have secured the Global Talent Visa, you cannot apply for most benefits (‘public funds’), or the State Pension. You are also not allowed to work as a sportsperson.
Visa Fee
The total visa fee for this type is £716 and if you’re applying based on an endorsement, you’ll pay the £716 in two parts. Firstly, you will pay £524 when you apply for the endorsement and then £192 when you apply for the visa itself.
If you’re applying based on an eligible award, you’ll pay the full £716 when you apply for the visa. In case you are including your partner or children in your application, they’ll each need to pay £716.
The applicants also need to pay the healthcare surcharge as part of their application which is usually £624 per year for each person applying though this may vary based on age, and other factors.
Processing Time
Once you’ve applied online, proved your identity, and provided your documents, you’ll usually get a decision on your visa within 3 weeks if you’re outside the UK.
In case you are inside the UK, the wait time would be 8 weeks. If you need to go to an appointment, you may be able to pay for a faster decision.
