Global Talent Visa

Guidance for applicants

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This document provides an overview of the process to apply for a Global Talent Visa. The
HR Immigration Team have provided this document as in an introduction/overview, it is not a substitute
for the comprehensive guidance which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/global-talent

Global Talent visa application process

Check your eligibility

There are four routes under which to apply for the Global Talent Visa:

 Route 1: Academic or Research Appointment - Professor/Associate Professor, Senior

Lecturer/Lecturer
 Route 2: Individual Fellowship - named researcher
 Route 3: Endorsed Funder - appointed to a role/position on a 2-year grant worth at least
£30,000
 Route 4: Peer Review - for individuals who can demonstrate exceptional talent (leader) or
promise (emerging leader)

You will need to check that you meet the eligibility criteria for the chosen route. If, as a result of
checking your circumstances against the criteria there is an issue, please inform the HR Immigration
Team as soon as possible.

Government or international scholarship agency awards

Where an applicant has received an award covering fees and living costs from a Government or
international scholarship agency in the 12 months before the date of application, the government or
agency must provide written consent to the application. The letter of consent must be on the official
letter-headed paper or stationery of the organisation or organisations, bearing the official stamp of
that organisation and issued by an authorised official of that organisation. The documents must
confirm the organisation gives the applicant consent to remain in or re-enter the UK.

Timing of visa application

 Earliest you can apply for your visa is 3 months before the start date of your employment or
date you intend to start working in the UK.
 Visa processing times vary depending on country of application and whether you use and
pay for priority services Visa processing times applications outside the UK or Visa
processing times applications inside the UK
 You are not requested to enter a start date on the visa application, so this means that the
visa will be valid from the date the decision is made on your visa application. You need to
consider this if you are applying in advance of your employment start date. For example:
o Employment start date 1st January for one year contract of employment
o You apply for a one-year visa on 1st September
o Decision made on visa application 15th September
o Visa will be valid from 15th September until 14th September the following year, which
means that you will need to apply for a visa extension to cover the remainder of your
contract

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 o Note that if you apply for a longer visa to avoid this, you will still only be reimbursed in
line with your contract

Flexibility To Choose Visa Length

The Global Talent visa allows applicants to choose the length of their visa, from one year up to five
years. If your post is permanent, you may be eligible for indefinite leave to remain so you can settle in
the UK after 3 years. If you wish to do this, please select the 3-year option when submitting your visa
application.

If you have a fixed term contract, visa reimbursement is made in-line with your contract length.
https://www.exeter.ac.uk/staff/employment/righttowork/visareimbursementscheme/

Stage 1 – The Endorsement

What documents do I need to apply for the endorsement?

For applications submitted under the fast-track routes (Academic or Research Appointment or
Endorsed Funder) the HR Immigration will provide you with the statement of guarantee and a copy of
the grant paperwork, if required. Individual Fellowships will just need to provide a copy of the grant
paperwork.

For applications submitted under the peer review route, individual applicants are best placed to identify
which evidence and documentation demonstrates their skills and experience in the best possible way.
The HR Immigration Team can provide guidance on the letters of recommendation if required.

Academic and Research Route

The Academic and Research Route was formerly the Exceptional Talent route, please select
Exceptional Talent on the application for endorsement.

Endorsement letters go to the UKRI, approved by the relevant endorsing body. The endorsing body
depends on your field of expertise and can be selected from the list here: Endorsing Bodies

Supporting Documentation

To prepare the statement of guarantee or letters of recommendation, the HR Immigration Team need
to see scanned copies of your passport, visa, and qualifications. Where possible, the documentation
obtained at interview will be used; the HR Immigration Team will confirm what paperwork is required.
You will need to retain your original documents for submission with your visa application.

Any documents that we request to see that are not in English must be accompanied by a certified
translation. The translator's credentials should be provided, along with their official confirmation that
the translation is accurate.

Qualifications

If you have not yet received your PhD certificate, you will need to obtain an academic reference from
the awarding institution on official headed paper which should clearly show your name; title of award;
date of award, confirming that it has been or will be awarded and the date that the certificate will be
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issued (if you have not yet graduated) or confirmation that the institution is unable to reissue the original
certificate or award.

How much does the Endorsement (Stage 1) cost?

The endorsement costs £524.

How long does the endorsement take?

The Home Office advises that Stage 1 of the application process (i.e. the application for endorsement)
for the Global Talent visa can take up to eight weeks from the time the Home Office receives your
application. Within these eight weeks, the relevant endorsing body will have up to 25 working days to
review your application. For applications eligible for the accelerated/fast track process for specific
peer-reviewed fellowships (Route 2) or senior academic or research appointments (Route 1), the
endorsing bodies will make a recommendation on endorsement to the Home Office normally within a
few days.

Please note that, if endorsed, Stage 2 of the application process for the Global Talent visa (i.e. the
application for the visa) will still need to be completed. The Home Office advises that Stage 2 of the
application process can take around three weeks if applying from outside of the UK, and up to eight
weeks if applying from within the UK. Applications for Stage 2 can be submitted in person at a Premium
Service Centre (PSC) in the UK or via priority or super priority services outside of the UK (where
applicable). Please note however that PSC submission is not available for Stage 1 and if you submit a
Stage 1 application at the PSC it will be rejected.

Stage Two – The visa application

Once you have obtained the endorsement you will have 3 months in which to complete stage 2 and
submit the visa application. Note that the earliest you can apply for the visa is 3 months before the
employment start date/intended date of travel to the UK.

How much does the Visa (Stage 2) cost?

The visa costs £192 plus £1035 per year Immigration Health Surcharge.

Overseas applicants

Please be aware that once you have submitted your visa application, you will not be able to apply for a
visitor visa or enter as a non-visa national, as any new grant of leave supersedes previous grants and
the Immigration Officer at the border is likely to either refuse entry or cancel the Global Talent leave
(whether granted or in process). Therefore, if you wish to visit the UK first, to search for
accommodation etc., it is advisable to do this before starting the Global Talent visa application
process.

In country applicants

You should not make plans to travel outside of the Common Travel Area (UK, Ireland, Isle of Man and
the Channel Islands (Guernsey and Jersey)) whilst your visa application is under consideration. If you do
travel, your application will be treated as being withdrawn on the date you leave the Common Travel
Area.

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Immigration Health Surcharge

The Immigration Act 2014 introduced an immigration health surcharge which came into effect on 6 th
April 2015. The surcharge takes the form of an up-front payment, by each migrant (main applicant and
dependent(s)). The process for collecting the surcharge is incorporated into the UK visa application
process, so the monies are payable upfront, along with the visa cost. The exact amount an applicant
must pay depends on the leave granted. The Immigration Health Surcharge is £1035 per year
Calculate your immigration health surcharge

https://www.gov.uk/healthcare-immigration-application

Visa reimbursement
The University of Exeter does offer visa reimbursement, which will cover the cost of the endorsement
(stage one) and the visa cost (stage two), including the Immigration Health Surcharge for the main
applicant.

Please note that the visa reimbursement scheme does not cover any additional costs related to your
visa application, including any fees related to priority service, biometric appointments, or dependant
applications.

You will be sent a visa reimbursement form via DocuSign. You will need to complete this form after you
have paid for your visa and the Immigration Health Surcharge. Once you have started work, and
depending on payroll deadlines, the visa reimbursement will be included in your first month’s salary.

Further information on the scheme is available here. Please ensure that you read this thoroughly before
making your application.

Interest Free Loan for dependant visa costs

To support international staff with visa costs, we have introduced an interest free loan scheme to help
with the cost of dependent visas for immediate family members, up the maximum of £10,000.

It will not be possible to provide the loan in advance. Loans will be paid along with the first month's
salary and repayments will be on a sliding scale:
 12 months for 1 dependent
 24 months for 2 dependents
 36 months for 3 dependents

Further information on the scheme is available here. Please ensure that you read this thoroughly before
making your application.

Outline of the visa application process

1. Apply online
You will need to apply online for yourself and your dependents, if applicable.

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 2. Make the payment
This will include the visa fee, the Immigration Health Surcharge, Biometric Fee and Priority
Service Fees, if applicable.

3. Supporting documents
Upload your supporting documents, book to attend a biometric appointment or use the ID
check app.

4. Biometric Appointment
If you can use the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app you may not be required to attend a biometric
appointment. Some applicants will still be required to make an appointment to enrol facial
image and fingerprints.

5. Entry clearance
Once your application has been approved, you will receive an email from UKVI with further
information regarding the earliest date that you can enter the UK. You will then need to make
plans to travel to the UK.

Please note that the University of Exeter’s HR Immigration Team are not qualified Immigration
Advisors as referred to on the visa application form. Therefore, please do not include our details in
the section of the application where it asks, ‘Do you have an Immigration Advisor based in the UK?’
This section should be left blank unless you have paid an independent Immigration Advisor for
immigration advice. For this reason, we are also not able to check applications before submission.

How long does the visa application take?

This will depend on where the application is made. It can vary considerably from one country to the next
but you can check how long you’re likely to wait for a decision on your visa application if you applied
from outside the UK.

https://www.gov.uk/visa-processing-times

Please carefully consider your expected travel date when the visa application is made, as you will only
have a 30-day travel window – if you do not travel within the expected period you will need to apply for
a new short-term visa to enter the UK.

Further information on what you will need to do before and after you arrive in the UK is available at
the following link: https://www.gov.uk/uk-border-control

Move to Digital Immigration System – eVisa

During 2024 UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) is developing a digital immigration system. This means
physical documents such as Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs), Biometric Residence Cards (BRCs),
passport endorsements such as indefinite leave to enter wet ink stamps and vignette stickers are being
replaced. Further information can be found at this link: Online immigration status (eVisa) - GOV.UK
(www.gov.uk)

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Evidence of right to work in the UK
Your employment is conditional upon your eligibility to work in the UK. All new employees are required to
provide satisfactory evidence of their right to work in the UK prior to the first day of work.

Please keep the HR Immigration Team informed of the progress of your visa application.

Once you have obtained your visa it is imperative that we are notified [email protected] so
that we can make arrangements to carry out the right to work document check prior to your first day of
work; so please bear this in mind when finalising your travel plans and allow time to complete the right to
work document check. Otherwise, your start date may be delayed.

If your visa is not obtained in time, your employment start date will be delayed as we are unable to allow
you to work until you can produce this evidence.

Further information
Further information about Global Talent Visa can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/global-talent

The Royal Society also has a useful overview of the Global Talent visa: https://royalsociety.org/grants-
schemes-awards/global-talent-visa/

Further information about relocating to the UK can be found here:

http://www.exeter.ac.uk/working/new/international/

November 2024

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