With a Global Talent visa you can work in the UK in academia or research, if you are a leader or potential leader in one of the following fields:

• science

• medicine

• engineering

• humanities

• social science

You can also work in the UK on a Global Talent visa if you’ve won an eligible award.

What you can do with a Global Talent visa

With a Global Talent visa you can:

• choose how long your visa is for, up to 5 years

• be an employee, self-employed and a director of a company

• change or stop doing your job without telling the Home Office

• bring your partner and children with you as your ‘dependants’, if they’re eligible

• travel abroad and return to the UK

There are no language or minimum salary eligibility requirements.

If you want to stay longer in the UK, you can:

• renew your visa as many times as you like if you meet the eligibility criteria for extending your stay

• 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 - any time you spend outside the UK doing research counts towards this time

You cannot:

• apply for most benefits (‘public funds’), or the State Pension

• work as a sportsperson

If your application is successful, you’ll get a full list of what you can and cannot do with a Global Talent visa.

Eligibility

You may be eligible if you have any of the following:

• an eligible job offer as an academic or researcher

• an individual fellowship

• a research grant that is approved by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

• an eligible award

If you do not, you can apply by having your application peer reviewed, but your application will take longer.

With a Global Talent visa you can work in the UK, if you are a leader or potential leader in one of the following fields:

• combined arts, dance, literature, music, theatre or visual arts

• architecture

• fashion design

• film and television, including animation, post production and visual effects

You can also work in the UK on a Global Talent visa if you’ve won an eligible award.

What you can do with a Global Talent visa

A Global Talent visa lets you:

• choose how long your visa is for, up to 5 years

• be an employee, self-employed and a director of a company

• change or stop doing your job without telling the Home Office

• bring your partner and children with you as your ‘dependants’, if they’re eligible

• travel abroad and return to the UK

There are no language or minimum salary eligibility requirements.

If you want to stay longer in the UK, you can renew your visa as many times as you like if you meet the eligibility criteria for extending your stay.

You can also apply to settle permanently in the UK (also known as ‘indefinite leave to remain’) after:

• 3 years if you’re applying as a leader

• 5 years if you’re applying as a potential leader

What you cannot do with a Global Talent visa

You cannot:

• apply for most benefits (public funds), or the State Pension

• work as a sportsperson

If your application is successful, you’ll get a full list of what you can and cannot do with a Global Talent visa.

With a Global Talent visa you can work in the UK if you are a leader or potential leader in digital technology, for example in:

• financial technology (‘fintech’)

• gaming

• cyber security

• artificial intelligence

You can also work in the UK on a Global Talent visa if you’ve won an eligible award.

What you can do with a Global Talent visa

With a Global Talent visa you can:

• choose how long your visa is for, up to 5 years

• be an employee, self-employed and a director of a company

• change or stop doing your job without telling the Home Office

• bring your partner and children with you as your ‘dependants’, if they’re eligible

• travel abroad and return to the UK

There are no language or minimum salary eligibility requirements.

If you want to stay longer in the UK, you can renew your visa as many times as you like - you’ll have to meet the eligibility criteria for extending your stay.

You can also apply to settle permanently in the UK (also known as ‘indefinite leave to remain’) after:

• 3 years if you’re applying as a leader

• 5 years if you’re applying as a potential leader

You cannot:

• apply for most benefits (public funds), or the State Pension

• work as a sportsperson

If your application is successful, you’ll get a full list of what you can and cannot do with a Global Talent visa.

Eligibility

You do not need a job offer to get the visa. Your background can be either:

• technical, for example you’re a developer, engineer or data scientist

• business, for example you have commercial, investment or digital product expertise in a technology company that creates software, hardware or that processes data

You can also get the visa if you’ve won an eligible award.

Your partner and children can also apply to join you or stay in the UK as your ‘dependants’ if they’re eligible.

If your partner or child’s application is successful, 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 the earlier date.

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 to your dependant when you apply.

Your partner

You must be able to prove one of the following:

• you’re in a civil partnership or marriage that’s recognised in the UK

• you’ve been living together in a relationship for at least 2 years when you apply

• you’ve been in a relationship for at least 2 years when you apply but you cannot live together, for example because you’re working or studying in different places, or it’s not accepted in your culture

If you’re not living together, you’ll need to prove that you have an ongoing commitment to each other, for example by providing evidence that you:

• communicate regularly with each other

• support each other financially

• care for any children you have together

• spend time together as a couple, for example on holiday or at events

Your child

They must:

• live with you, unless they’re living away from home in full-time education - for example, at boarding school or university

• not be married or in a civil partnership

You’ll need to provide evidence of their address, such as:

• a bank statement

• credit card bills

• driving licence

• NHS registration document

• an official letter from their university or college

You will be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain after spending a continuous period of 3 years in the UK if:

• You were endorsed by the Royal Society, British Academy, Royal Academy of Engineering or UKRI; or

• You were endorsed under the exceptional talent criteria by Arts Council England or Tech Nation; or

• You were granted your initial application using a prize listed in Appendix Global Talent: Prestigious Prizes.

If you were last endorsed under the “exceptional promise” criteria for Arts Council England or Tech Nation you will need to spend a continuous period of 5 years in the UK before being eligible to apply for settlement.

The relevant continuous period can include time spent in the following immigration categories: Global Talent, Innovator, Tier 1 (excluding Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur)), Skilled Worker, T2 Minister of Religion, T2 Sportsperson, Scale-up or Representative of an Overseas Business.

You will need to have spent not more than 180 days outside the UK during any rolling 12 months during the continuous period of leave relied upon.

You will have to demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the English language and pass the life in the UK test.