- Prepare evidence and lettersUsually the longest partWeeks to months
- Apply online to the Home OfficeEndorsement fee£561
- Endorsing body decidesDepends on the endorsing body2 to 8+ weeks
- Apply for the visa£205 visa fee plus healthcare surchargeWithin 3 months
Start here
Your field decides the endorsing body, and the endorsing body decides the evidence
There is no single evidence list for the Global Talent visa. Each endorsing body publishes its own rules, and a document that works for one can be worthless to another. For research, the published disciplines list decides which endorsing body covers your work, not your job title.
Digital technology
Tech Nation wants proof that others outside your employer recognise you
You can submit up to 10 documents: at least 2 for the mandatory criterion and at least 2 for each of your 2 optional criteria. Each document can be up to 3 sides of A4 and can only be used once. Your CV and 3 letters of recommendation sit outside the 10. One concrete example of a mandatory document is a talk at a high-profile digital technology event, backed by news coverage or a letter from an industry expert and an attendance estimate. Founders and senior executives in the last 5 years must also add company evidence, such as signed accounts.
What can work
- Open source work that peers say advanced the field, prizes for excellence in digital technology, published material about you in major trade publications or major media
What does not count
- LinkedIn, Medium or other self-published articles
- Internal company awards, training or certificates
- Patent applications (patents must be granted), online mentoring platforms such as ADPList, and, for optional criterion 2, talks below main stage or at events under 100 attendees
- Documents that are only a list of links
Research peer review
The Royal Society, Royal Academy of Engineering and British Academy judge your research record
All three run the same peer review structure. You must be an active researcher and hold a PhD or equivalent research experience, meaning at least three years of research in which you were the intellectual drive and produced strong outputs. The evidence is short: a CV of no more than three sides of A4 and full bibliographic references for your most significant publications. For example, a researcher in industry would list each paper with its publisher and a URL, and each patent with its full reference and the countries where it is registered.
- One letter of personal recommendation from an eminent person resident in the UK, with the author's CV
- Exceptional Talent only: a second letter from a senior member of a reputable UK organisation in your field
- Not needed: copies of publications or degree certificates
- PhD certificate only if it was awarded in the last 12 months
- Not accepted: general reference letters, or a contract in place of the required documents
- Not counted as equivalent research experience: the final stages of a PhD, work done during a PhD, or clinical practice without research achievements
Reading the rules is one thing. Knowing how they apply to your own evidence is another.
Book a free 30-minute callFunded research
UKRI checks your grant and host, not your reputation
The UKRI endorsed funder route does not peer review your career and does not ask for letters of recommendation. It checks that you work on a qualifying grant from an endorsed funder at a UK organisation that UKRI has approved. A typical evidence set is a link to the grant on an approved award database plus a letter from the director of human resources at your UK organisation.
- Grant worth at least £30,000 and covering at least 2 years
- A one-off award, or a renewable award with regular peer review
- Approved databases: CORDIS, the ERC funded project database, the Funding and tenders opportunity portal and UKRI Gateway to Research
- If the grant is not on one of them, a letter from your endorsed funder instead
- The HR letter confirms you will spend at least half your working time on the grant
Arts and culture
Arts Council England wants reviews, awards and proof of appearances from the last five years
You submit a detailed artistic CV with dates for each engagement, 3 letters of support of no more than three pages each, and no more than 10 pieces of evidence of up to 2 pages each. The evidence must come from media recognition, awards and proof of appearances. One accepted minimum is two pieces of media recognition plus one award, such as two detailed critical reviews of your work and one award won in the last five years.
Partner organisations
Film, fashion, architecture and design have their own evidence tests
Arts Council England accepts these applications, but partner organisations assess them on its behalf. Film and television is the strictest: Pact assesses under Exceptional Talent only, and Exceptional Promise is not available. Its four criteria are: a win at any time, or a nomination in the last 10 years, for an Academy Award, BAFTA (Film, Television, Craft, Cymru, Scotland and Games only), Golden Globe or Emmy; a significant and direct contribution to a win or nomination in the last 10 years; two or more nominations in the last 15 years; or international distribution sales and recognition plus listed Notable Industry Recognition Awards for at least two productions, within set time limits, with a theatrical release for films.
Boundary cases
Some fields sit between two endorsing bodies
The published lists do not always split cleanly. Computer science, artificial intelligence and machine learning appear on both the Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering lists, and the Royal Society list also has an engineering heading. The Royal Society refers non-academic digital technology to Tech Nation. In the arts, assessments cannot be shared between Arts Council England and its partner organisations, so you must build the whole application around one area of practice.
- Psychology: experimental psychology is Royal Society; social psychology and psychology as a social science are British Academy
- Geography: physical geography is Royal Society; human, economic and cultural geography are British Academy
- Archaeology: listed under both the Royal Society and the British Academy
- Screenwriting for film and television is not Literature; it falls under Pact, Exceptional Talent only
- UX/UI and digital design are placed with Tech Nation, not the Design Business Association
- Video games and music videos are only considered under the Film and TV Exceptional Talent criteria within Arts Council England's remit; technical roles in games go to Tech Nation, which lists experienced video game developers
Related guides
Keep reading
Guides applicants usually read next on this topic.
Global Talent endorsement requirements: what each endorsing body asks for
Each endorsing body sets its own Stage 1 tests, so the requirements for a software founder, a researcher and a theatre director are very different.
Read related guideTech Nation technical or business applicant: which one are you?
Find out whether Tech Nation will treat you as a technical or a business applicant, which roles are on each official list, and what evidence each one needs.
Read related guideGlobal Talent visa recommendation letters: who should write them
Find out how many letters each endorsing body asks for, who qualifies to write them and the mistakes that get letters set aside.
Read related guideApplying from outside the UK. If your press coverage or awards are not well known in the UK, the assessor will not fill the gap for you: Tech Nation asks for details of each publication and its audience, and Arts Council England only accepts full certified English translations, not web browser translations.
Article FAQ
Questions to settle before you spend time or money.
Use these answers to check the practical risks, documents, and decisions connected to this topic.
Can I use the same evidence for any endorsing body?
No. Each endorsing body sets its own document limits and evidence types, so a set built for Tech Nation will not fit Arts Council England or a research peer review.
Do the research endorsing bodies want copies of my papers?
No. They want full bibliographic references for your most significant publications, with the publisher and a URL where available.
Does Tech Nation accept articles I wrote on LinkedIn or Medium?
No. Self-published articles are not considered sufficient, and internal company awards do not count for the mandatory criterion either.
Do grants count as awards for Arts Council England?
No. Grants and bursaries do not count as awards, and student, amateur and academic work is not accepted.
I work in AI research. Which endorsing body covers me?
Computer science, artificial intelligence and machine learning appear on both the Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering lists. Non-academic digital technology work goes to Tech Nation.
I work in both theatre and film. Can I include both?
No. Your evidence and letters must relate to one area, because Arts Council England cannot share an application with Pact.
Check your field
Not sure which endorsing body your evidence belongs to?
In a free 30-minute call we check your field against the published discipline lists and look at which of your documents fit that endorsing body's rules.
Which field is your work in?