Global Talent visa

Overview

Each grant can be for up to 5 years, and you can extend for 1 to 5 years at a time with no overall limit. You can work for any employer, change jobs, be self-employed, study and travel freely. You cannot claim most public funds or work as a professional sportsperson or sports coach. There is no English language or savings requirement at the visa stage.

Most applicants need an endorsement from a UK body that knows their field, then apply for the visa. Winners of certain major international prizes can skip the endorsement. Depending on how you qualify, you can settle after 3 or 5 years.

The route has widened recently: in 2026 a design industry field was added alongside architecture, fashion, and film and television. For settlement applications made on or after 26 March 2027, the English requirement rises from B1 to B2.

Who can apply

You must be 18 or over and able to show recognition in your field. A typical applicant might be a lecturer offered a post at a UK university, a theatre director whose productions have toured in several countries, or a software engineer who built a product used by millions.

• Academics and researchers in science, engineering, medicine, the humanities and social science.
• People in the arts: combined arts, dance, literature, music, theatre and visual arts, as well as architecture, fashion design, film and television, and the design industry.
• People with a technical or business background in digital technology.
• Named winners of a prize on the Home Office's list.

It is not for people at the start of a career without recognition, for entrepreneurs whose case rests on a business idea (see the Innovator Founder visa), or for sportspeople (see Temporary Work: Creative and Sporting).

Requirements

• An endorsement from the endorsing body for your field, or a qualifying prize won in your own name.
• A visa application made within 3 months of the date on your endorsement letter.
• An endorsement or prize that has not been withdrawn, from a body still approved when the Home Office decides.
• A tuberculosis test certificate if you live in a listed country.

Exceptional talent or exceptional promise

Exceptional talent is for people already recognised as leaders, usually with a substantial track record in at least two countries. Exceptional promise is for people early in their career who are recognised as potential leaders, usually with a track record in one country. The evidence bar for promise is lower, but in the arts and digital technology settlement then takes 5 years instead of 3. Film and television applicants can apply only as exceptional talent.

Fields and endorsing bodies

• Academia and research: the Royal Society, the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). There is a fast track for people with an eligible academic or research post at a UK university or research institute, an individual fellowship, or an essential role on a research grant from an endorsed funder (at least £30,000 over at least two years, with at least half your time spent on it). Everyone else goes through peer review, which normally needs a PhD or equivalent and letters of recommendation.
• Arts and culture: Arts Council England, which works with associated bodies in some disciplines, such as film and television and fashion.
• Digital technology: Tech Nation.

The prize route

About 180 prizes qualify, including the Nobel Prizes, the Fields Medal, the Turing Award, the Academy Awards, BAFTA awards, the Booker Prize and the Pritzker Prize. You must be the named winner yourself: a prize awarded to an organisation you belong to does not count, and nor do other prizes from the same institution.

How to apply

1. Decide on your field and whether to apply as talent or promise, and gather evidence: publications, reviews, awards, press coverage and letters of recommendation.
2. Apply online for endorsement. The Home Office passes your application to the endorsing body, which makes the decision.
3. When you receive the endorsement, apply for the visa within 3 months. Prize winners start at this step.
4. Prove your identity through the UK Immigration: ID Check app or at an appointment.
5. If granted, your permission is held as an eVisa in your UKVI account.

Costs

The Home Office fee is split between the endorsement stage and the visa stage; prize winners pay it all with the visa application. You also pay the Immigration Health Surcharge for each year of the visa. Your partner and children each pay the full fee and the surcharge. The current figures are on this page and in our visa cost calculator.

Other costs include priority processing where available, a tuberculosis test, and translations of evidence.

Processing times

Endorsement decisions take about 2 weeks on the research fast track, 5 weeks for research peer review, 5 to 8 weeks for digital technology and up to 8 weeks for arts and culture. The visa decision then usually takes 3 weeks from outside the UK and 8 weeks from inside, and you may be able to pay for a faster decision.

Partners and children

Your husband, wife, civil partner or unmarried partner (after at least 2 years together) and your children under 18 can come with you or join you later. There is no savings requirement. Your partner can work in any job except as a professional sportsperson or coach.

Your partner can settle after 5 years with permission as your partner, even if you settle after 3. They need English at B1 in speaking and listening, or B2 from 26 March 2027, and must pass the Life in the UK test. Children can usually settle when both parents are settled or settling at the same time.

Extending your stay and settlement

To extend, your endorsement or prize must not have been withdrawn, and you must show that you have earned money in the UK from work in your field, for example with payslips or invoices. Extensions can be for 1 to 5 years.

You can apply for indefinite leave to remain after:

• 3 years if you were endorsed by the Royal Society, the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering or UKRI, endorsed as exceptional talent in the arts or digital technology, or qualified through a prize;
• 5 years if you were endorsed as exceptional promise in the arts or digital technology.

Time on some other work routes, such as Skilled Worker or Innovator Founder, can be combined with Global Talent time. You must have earned money in your field, not have spent more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12-month period, pass the Life in the UK test and meet the English requirement. Absences for research do not count against researchers endorsed by the four research bodies, or against some prize winners.

After settlement you can usually move on to British citizenship. The Government has consulted on changing how settlement works ("earned settlement"); this page describes the rules in force today.

How we can help

We help you decide which field, which route and whether talent or promise gives you the best footing, and whether a fast-track option is open to you. We then go through your evidence with you, advise on the letters of recommendation, and prepare the endorsement and visa applications.

We also prepare applications for your family, advise on extensions and on keeping records of your UK earnings, and check your absences before you apply to settle. If an endorsement or visa is refused, we explain why and advise on a review or a fresh application.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a job offer?

No. A job offer is not required, although an eligible academic or research post can give you access to the fast track. Once here, you can be employed, self-employed or both.

Should I apply as exceptional talent or exceptional promise?

Apply as talent if your evidence clearly supports it, because in the arts and digital technology it leads to settlement 2 years sooner. If your evidence is borderline, a refused talent application costs time. We can look at your evidence and give you a view.

Can I switch to this visa from inside the UK?

Yes, from most visas, including the Skilled Worker visa. You cannot switch from a visitor, short-term student, Parent of a Child Student, seasonal worker or domestic worker visa. Students must have completed their course, or at least 24 months of a full-time PhD.

My organisation won a prize. Does that count for me?

Not on the prize route, which needs you to be the named winner. Your part in the work may still be strong evidence for an endorsement.

Can I spend long periods abroad?

You can travel freely, but for settlement you must not have been outside the UK for more than 180 days in any 12-month period. Researchers endorsed by the research bodies can leave out absences for research work, so keep a record of the purpose of each trip.

What if I stop working in my field?

To extend or settle you must show that you have earned money in the UK from work in your field. If your work moves away from that field, take advice before your next application.