Global Talent is an achievement-led route in academia or research, arts and culture, and digital technology. Endorsement and eligible-prize pathways each require evidence specific to the field.
An endorsement or prize-route assessment with an evidence plan matched to the relevant decision maker.
Distinct eligibility, documentation, application steps and FAQs for each route.
Flexible permission for recognised leaders and emerging leaders in eligible research, arts and culture, and digital-technology fields. Most applicants first need an endorsement; winners of a specifically listed prestigious prize can use the prize route. The visa can support employment, self-employment and company leadership without a sponsoring employer.
Available · endorsement or eligible prizeRequirements, process & FAQsInnovator Founder is the UK route for a person who will establish and run a new business that an approved endorsing body assesses as innovative, viable and scalable. There is no minimum investment figure in the Rules; the test is the quality of the business plan and the founder's role in it. Permission is granted for three years at a time, the founder must attend contact-point meetings with the endorsing body, and settlement may be sought after three years where the business meets at least two of the growth criteria in Appendix Innovator Founder.
Established founder route with a three-year settlement routeRequirements, process & FAQsThe High Potential Individual (HPI) route gives a recent graduate of a university on the Home Office Global Universities List two years of unsponsored permission (three years for a PhD or other doctorate) to work, look for work or start a business in the UK. The qualification must have been awarded in the five years before the application and the university must appear on the list for the month and year of award. The route cannot be extended and does not lead to settlement, so its value lies in what the holder switches to before it ends.
Established unsponsored route; time-limited, no settlementRequirements, process & FAQsScale-up Worker allows a UK business that qualifies as a scale-up (annualised growth of at least 20 per cent in employment or turnover over three years from a base of at least ten employees, or endorsement) to sponsor a graduate-level worker for an initial two-year grant. The sponsorship lasts only six months; after that the worker may change employer without a new sponsor. Extensions are unsponsored and require PAYE earnings at the threshold, and settlement may be sought after five years where the earnings conditions are met.
Established route with a settlement route; sponsor eligibility is restrictiveRequirements, process & FAQsStart with your objective, background and intended activity. WG can coordinate the next assessment and the appropriate professional input.