UK Eligibility for this new Visa Category
The Global Talent visa is a great route that many may consider when immigrating to the UK. It has a lot of the same requirements as the previous Exceptional Talent visa, but it also requires an endorsement from an Endorsing body. The organisation that will be endorsing your visa depends on your field of specialty and can include:
- Tech Nation for digital technology
- Arts Council England for arts, culture, fashion, architecture, and film
- UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) for researchers
- The Royal Society for science and medicine
- The Royal Academy of Engineering for engineering
- The British Academy for the humanities
The UK Government issues this kind of visa in hopes of finding the “brightest and the best” from around the world. Our solicitors can help clarify that criteria and any other misconceptions about the visa below:
Misconception 1: The Global Talent visa only applies to famous and/or exceptional individuals”
Providing famous people with visas is not the purpose of the Global Talent visa. This visa has two subsections: talent endorsement and promise endorsement, each with subsections for exceptional talent. The exceptional talent subcategory is awarded to individuals with a professional classification. However, the exceptional promise classification is awarded to individuals who are still developing their career but demonstrate a significant potential. Significant potential means that the person has under five years of experience, but still demonstrates ingenuity and innovation. These people are understood as having the potential to become a global talent in the future.
Many applicants are inclined to believe that they must achieve celebrity status in order to successfully apply. Despite this, Taylor Hampton has had much success in getting clients who originally believed their achievements were not grand enough a visa. If the client can meet at least one Key Criteria and two Qualifying criteria, an endorsing body will be included to grant an endorsement, high repute or not. The thing that is actually vital in this instance would be the documents submitted to the endorsing body and picking the correct ones is something our solicitors can assist with.
Misconception 2: Tech Nation prioritises technical engineering skills over other forms of digital technology
There is a misconception around the Tech Nation endorsement that it will only be granted if the individual comes from a technical background such as an engineer or a developer. The truth is, technical skills applicants makeup only half of the successful Tech Nation applicants.
The other half of applicants tend to be business skills applicants which can range from business development professionals, product management experts, vc investments, or sales professionals. Moreover, there are many essential parts of the application which are geared to the applicants demonstrating business skills. For example, they must have a focus in digital technology and not in any of the excluded fields. As long as you can prove that you meet all the requirements of Tech Nation’s guidance there is no preference given to technical skills applicants over business skills applicants.
Again, our immigration team is more than equipt to guide you through your application and answer any questions you may have pertaining to the success rate of your application.
Misconception 3: My application calls for up to 10 pieces of evidence, but submitting 10 is not necessary.
Every enforcing body has a list of the documents required for the Global Talent UK endorsement. Generally speaking, you will need to submit a cv, personal statement, 3 letters of recommendation, and up to 10 pieces of evidence. The wording of these requirements is something many fall victim to. This is because the “up to” 10 pieces of evidence is not as much of a suggestion and more of a direct requirement. Due to this wording, many applicants submit fewer than 10 pieces of evidence and later learn that their endorsement has been refused on the grounds of lack of evidence.
You should submit as many supporting documents as possible in order to clearly highlight why and how you meet the requirements of the Global Talent UK visa. If you believe that some of your evidence may be redundant, you can add details of past achievements and future plans.
Taylor Hampton solicitors can help you pick out your documentation to ensure that you are meeting the correct criteria.
Misconception 4: The UK Government makes it easier to obtain an endorsement after the elimination of the endorsement cap”
The UK Government eliminated the annual cap on the number of Global Talent UK endorsements that can be issued. This was in hopes of attracting more talent to the UK and displaying support from the government for the arts, technology, and science post- Brexit.
The annual cap for approved endorsements used to be 2,000 for each endorsing body plus an additional 1,000 on the occasion that the cap was met. Despite this, the cap for endorsements was never previously met. Meaning, abolishing the cap has no real effect on the success rate or accessibility of an endorsement.
Global Talent Visa UK Benefits
The Global Talent visa has a greater number and stricter requirements than its other visa counterparts. It is worth mentioning, however, that there are many benefits to going through the process of obtaining this kind of visa. Some of these benefits are
- A faster route to permanent residence (ILR) within three years.
- Absences for ILR may not be counted where you conduct research overseas.
- Independence from the employer and ability to change employers.
- Potential to be employed or self-employed and start your own business.
How Can Taylor Hampton Help You?
Our solicitors have a lot of experience and can help you apply for a UK Global Talent visa endorsement in any sub-class including Tech Nation. Please do not hesitate to contact Taylor Hampton’s friendly immigration solicitors at 020 7427 5972 or submit an enquiry here.
