Global Talent visa (exceptional talent)

What the Global Talent visa is

The Global Talent visa lets you work in the UK if you are a leader or potential leader in academia or research, arts and culture, or digital technology. You must be at least 18. It replaced the Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) visa in February 2020, and holders of that visa can extend under the Global Talent category.

Unlike most work visas it does not require a job offer or employer sponsorship, and GOV.UK notes it has no language or minimum salary requirements. Your case rests on your own record: either an endorsement from a Home Office-approved body, or an eligible prestigious prize. Once granted you can work for any employer, work for yourself or run a business.

Eligibility requirements

What GOV.UK requires for the visa itself. The endorsing bodies publish their own criteria for the endorsement stage.

• Age

  You must be at least 18 years old.

• Field

  You work in academia or research, arts and culture, or digital technology, as a leader or potential leader.

• Endorsement or prize

  Either an endorsement from a Home Office-approved body that has not been withdrawn, or you are the named winner of a prize on the eligible prestigious prizes list. Other prizes from the same institutions do not count.

• Timing

  If you are relying on an endorsement, apply for the visa within 3 months of receiving your endorsement letter.

• No job offer or salary

  No sponsor, certificate of sponsorship or minimum salary is required.

• No English test or maintenance funds

  GOV.UK does not require proof of English or savings for this route. You must pay the fee and the healthcare surcharge.

Two application pathways

Both pathways lead to the same visa, but they differ in the evidence required and in how quickly you can settle.

• Exceptional Talent

  For recognised leaders in their field, with an established record of achievement and recognition. Generally on the 3-year path to settlement.

• Exceptional Promise

  For potential leaders at an earlier stage of their career who can show a trajectory towards leadership in their field. Settlement after 3 or 5 years depending on the field.

Eligible fields and sectors

The Global Talent visa covers these three fields.

UK approved endorsing bodies

You must be endorsed by the body for your field unless you hold an eligible prize.

Application process

Fees and costs

Complete overview of fees and charges. There is no maintenance funds requirement on this route.

Stage 1: endorsement fee

£561

Stage 2: visa application fee (endorsement route)

£205

Visa application fee (prestigious prize route)

£766, paid in one go

Total main applicant fee

£766

Extend or switch to Global Talent

£766

Each dependant: visa application fee

£766

Immigration Health Surcharge

Usually £1,035 per person per year

Main applicant total, 3 years (fee plus IHS)

£3,871

Main applicant total, 5 years (fee plus IHS)

£5,941

Biometrics (fingerprints and photo)

No fee

Faster decision (priority services)

Extra fee; availability shown when you apply

Figures as published on GOV.UK, last updated 3 August 2026. Totals are the £766 fee plus £1,035 per year of the surcharge; you are told the exact surcharge when you apply.

Processing times

Standard service standards published by UK Visas and Immigration for the visa stage. Endorsement decisions are made separately by the endorsing body.

Applying from outside the UK

3 weeks

Extending or switching inside the UK

8 weeks

Dependants applying from outside the UK

3 weeks

Dependants extending or switching inside the UK

8 weeks

Priority or super priority service

May be offered for an extra fee; you are told when you apply

The clock starts once you have applied online, proved your identity and provided your documents. You will be contacted if your application will take longer, for example if a family member needs an appointment but you do not, your documents need verifying, you need an interview, or you have a criminal conviction. Times published on GOV.UK: applications outside the UK, 26 June 2026; applications inside the UK, 21 July 2025.

Documents you'll need

• A valid passport or other document that shows your identity and nationality.
• Your tuberculosis test results if you are from a country where you have to take the test.
• Written permission to apply from the agency or government that granted it, if you have had an award or scholarship to study in the UK in the last year.
• A certified translation of any document not in English or Welsh.
• For endorsement-route applicants: your endorsement letter, issued within the last 3 months and not withdrawn.
• For prize winners: evidence of your win, only if the Home Office asks because it cannot confirm it from public information.
• For dependants: evidence of your relationship, and for children evidence of their address such as a bank statement, credit card bills, a driving licence, an NHS registration document or a letter from their school or college.

Your partner and children

Dependants apply separately at £766 each plus the healthcare surcharge, and their visas usually end on the same date as yours.

A dependant is your husband, wife, civil partner or unmarried partner; your child under 18, including one born in the UK during your stay; or your child over 18 who already has permission to be in the UK as your dependant. If a child's parents have visas with different expiry dates, the child's visa ends on the earlier date.

• Partners must prove a marriage or civil partnership recognised in the UK, or that you have lived together in a relationship for at least 2 years. If you cannot live together, show an ongoing commitment such as regular contact, financial support, shared childcare or time spent together.
• Children must live with you (unless away in full-time education) and must not be married or in a civil partnership.
• Dependants outside the UK apply online before travelling and quote your application number (GWF or UAN). Dependants in the UK can switch at the same time as you or at any time before their current visa expires, including children who have turned 18.
• Dependants inside the UK cannot switch if they are here as a visitor, short-term student, Parent of a Child Student, seasonal worker, domestic worker in a private household, on immigration bail or with permission granted outside the rules. A Student-visa dependant must have completed their course or studied a PhD for at least 24 months.
• Dependants can work (except as a sportsperson or coach), study, travel abroad and return, and apply to settle after 5 years. They cannot claim most benefits or the State Pension.
• A child born in the UK does not automatically become British. Apply for their dependant visa before they turn 18, with a full UK birth certificate naming both parents.

Extending, switching and settlement

What GOV.UK requires when you extend or switch, and how settlement works on this route.

You can usually extend if either of the following is true:

• You applied based on an endorsement and the endorsing body has not withdrawn its approval.
• You applied based on an eligible prestigious prize and the prize has not been withdrawn.

You must show you earned money in your expert field during your time in the UK, for example with payslips. Apply before your current visa expires. Each extension can be from 1 to 5 years, costs £766, and usually takes 8 weeks. You can also apply online from outside the UK to extend a Global Talent visa you have held in the last year. Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) holders extend under the Global Talent category.

To switch from another visa inside the UK:

• You have an eligible prize, or an endorsement received within the last 3 months that has not been withdrawn.
• If you are on a Student visa, you have completed your course or have studied a full-time PhD for at least 24 months.
• You are not here as a visitor, short-term student, Parent of a Child Student, seasonal worker, domestic worker in a private household, on immigration bail or with permission granted outside the rules; otherwise you must leave and apply from abroad.
• You can choose how long to apply for, up to 5 years. You can stay in the UK until you get a decision, but must not travel outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man or the application is withdrawn.

Common refusal reasons

Each mandatory requirement of the route is a ground for refusal if it is not met or not evidenced. Applications are refused when:

• The applicant has no endorsement and has not won a prize named on the eligible prestigious prizes list, or is not the named winner of that prize.
• The endorsement letter was issued more than 3 months before the visa application.
• The endorsing body has withdrawn its approval, or the prize has been withdrawn.
• The applicant is under 18.
• The applicant is switching from an ineligible category (for example a visit visa or short-term student visa), or is on a Student visa and has not completed the course or 24 months of a full-time PhD.
• A tuberculosis test certificate is missing where the applicant is from a listed country.
• Written permission from a UK award or scholarship provider from the last year is missing.
• On extension, there is no evidence of money earned in the expert field during the stay in the UK.
• Documents are false, incomplete or not accompanied by a certified translation, or there are previous immigration breaches.
• The applicant travelled outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man while an in-country application was pending, which causes it to be withdrawn.

Ready to apply for the Global Talent visa?

Get expert guidance with your endorsement application and the visa process itself.

Information sourced from GOV.UK (Apply for the Global Talent visa), last updated 3 August 2026, and the GOV.UK visa processing times guidance (applications outside the UK, 26 June 2026; applications inside the UK, 21 July 2025), reproduced under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Rules change; we verify requirements at the point of instruction.