Global Talent glossary, A to Z
51 terms you will meet in a Stage 1 endorsement application, each in one or two plain sentences, with a link to the guide that goes further.
51Terms defined
6Endorsing bodies
2 of 4Tech Nation optional criteria to meet
51 of 51 terms
- Academic appointment
- A research endorsing body fast-track route for someone offered an eligible academic or research post at a UK higher education institution or research institute.Read more
- Active researcher
- The Immigration Rules require every applicant in science, engineering, humanities, social science and medicine to be an active researcher in an academic, industry or government research institution.Read more
- Appendix Global Talent
- The part of the Immigration Rules that sets out the Global Talent route, including what each endorsing body must check at Stage 1.Read more
- Arts Council England
- The endorsing body for arts and culture. It also decides applications in film and television, fashion and architecture, with advice from partner bodies in those fields.Read more
- British Academy
- The endorsing body for researchers in the humanities and social sciences.Read more
- British Fashion Council
- The partner body that advises Arts Council England on fashion applicants.Read more
- Business skills (Tech Nation)
- One of Tech Nation's two lists of roles. It covers commercial roles at product-led digital technology companies, such as sales, marketing, product and operations leaders.Read more
- Endorsed funder
- A funder on the published list whose grants qualify for the UKRI endorsed funder route.Read more
- Endorsement3 months
- The decision by an endorsing body that you meet its criteria. You then apply for the visa itself, within 3 months of the endorsement letter.Read more
- Endorsement fee£561
- The fee for the Stage 1 application, paid to the Home Office when you apply.Read more
- Endorsement review
- A request, made within a set period after a refusal, for the endorsing body to check that it followed its process. You cannot add new evidence.Read more
- Endorsing body6
- An organisation the Home Office has approved to assess endorsement applications in its field, such as Tech Nation or Arts Council England.Read more
- English language
- There is no English language requirement for the visa itself. You need to show English at B1 level when you apply to settle.Read more
- Evidence (pieces of)10
- The documents you upload to show you meet the criteria. Tech Nation and Arts Council England each allow no more than 10.Read more
- eVisa
- The digital record of your immigration status, which you view and share through a UK Visas and Immigration account.Read more
- Exceptional Promise
- The category for people at an earlier stage of their career who are recognised as potential leaders.Read more
- Exceptional Talent
- The category for people already recognised as leaders in their field.Read more
- Fast-track routes
- Research routes based on an eligible UK appointment, an approved fellowship or a grant from an endorsed funder, used instead of peer review.Read more
- Global Talent visa
- The UK visa for leaders and potential leaders in academia or research, arts and culture, and digital technology. It needs no job offer or sponsor.Read more
- Healthcare surcharge£1,035 a year
- The Immigration Health Surcharge, paid for each year of the visa so you can use the NHS. Children pay a lower rate of £776 a year.Read more
- Home Office
- The UK government department that receives both the Stage 1 and the Stage 2 applications and decides the visa.Read more
- Host organisation
- For the UKRI route, the UK research organisation that employs you on the grant. It must be approved by UKRI.Read more
- HR letter
- For the UKRI route, a letter from your host organisation's human resources team confirming your role on the grant. It replaces recommendation letters.Read more
- Indefinite leave to remain3 or 5 years
- Settlement in the UK. Global Talent holders can usually apply after 3 years for Exceptional Talent and research routes, or 5 years for Exceptional Promise.Read more
- Individual fellowship
- A research endorsing body fast-track route for someone who holds an approved fellowship.Read more
- Letters of recommendation or support0 to 3
- Letters written specifically for your application by established experts or organisations. Each endorsing body sets its own rules on how many and from whom.Read more
- Life in the UK test
- A test on British customs and history that you pass before applying to settle.Read more
- Mandatory criterion (Tech Nation)5 years
- The criterion every Tech Nation applicant must meet: recognition as a leading talent, or a potential leading talent, in digital technology in the last 5 years.Read more
- No sponsor
- Unlike the Skilled Worker visa, the Global Talent visa needs no employer sponsor and no job offer. You can change jobs or work for yourself.Read more
- OC1: Innovation
- Tech Nation optional criterion: a track record of innovation as a founder or senior executive, or as an employee on a new digital field or concept.Read more
- OC2: Recognition beyond your job
- Tech Nation optional criterion: recognition for work beyond your occupation that advances the field.Read more
- OC3: Significant contribution
- Tech Nation optional criterion: significant technical, commercial or entrepreneurial contributions at a product-led digital technology company.Read more
- OC4: Academic contribution
- Tech Nation optional criterion: research published or endorsed by an expert.Read more
- Optional criteria (Tech Nation)2 of 4
- Four further criteria, of which Tech Nation applicants must meet two.Read more
- Pact
- The partner body that advises Arts Council England on film and television applicants.Read more
- Peer review
- The research route in which experts in your field assess your record. The Royal Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the British Academy run it.Read more
- Personal statement
- Your own account of how your work meets the criteria, submitted with your evidence.Read more
- Prestigious prize
- A prize on the published list that lets its winner skip endorsement and apply for the visa directly.Read more
- Product-led company
- Tech Nation's term for a business whose primary revenue comes from its own digital product, service, platform or hardware.Read more
- Refusal
- A decision by the endorsing body not to endorse you. The letter gives the reasons, which shape whether to ask for a review or apply again.Read more
- RIBA
- The Royal Institute of British Architects, the partner body that advises Arts Council England on architecture applicants.Read more
- Royal Academy of Engineering
- The endorsing body for engineering researchers, in academia or industry.Read more
- Royal Society
- The endorsing body for researchers in the natural and medical sciences.Read more
- Skilled Worker visa
- The sponsored work visa. Many holders switch to Global Talent from inside the UK to remove the tie to one employer.Read more
- UKRI
- UK Research and Innovation, the endorsing body for researchers named on a grant from an endorsed funder.Read more
We are experts in the Stage 1 endorsement application for the UK Global Talent Visa. For immigration advice, please seek the services of an immigration solicitor.