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What do you want to know about Stage 1?
52 short guides, each answering one real question. Every one is checked against the endorsing body's published guidance.
New: Your Global Talent visa CV: what each endorsing body asks for · The Global Talent prize route: which prizes let you skip endorsement
Most asked
Start with your field
Founders, engineers, product and commercial leaders. Tech Nation assesses you. Read these in order.
- Which endorsing body fits my job title?Tech roles, research roles and creative roles, one by one6 min
- Can a data scientist apply?Tech Nation as a technical applicant, or a research route8 min
- Can a product manager apply?Business applicant rules and the product-led employer test7 min
- Which endorsing body assesses designers?Tech Nation for UX and digital, the DBA for other design7 min
- What does Tech Nation look for?1 mandatory criterion and 2 of 4 optional criteria9 min
- Am I a technical or a business applicant?Write code or manage developers? You apply as technical7 min
- What counts for each Tech Nation optional criterion?Meet 2 of 4: innovation, recognition, contribution, research8 min
- What must my Tech Nation letters include?3 signed letters from experts who have known your work for 12 months5 min
- How do I apply for Tech Nation endorsement?Apply on GOV.UK, pay £561, decision usually in 5 to 8 weeks5 min
- Should I apply as Talent or Promise?Already a recognised leader, or a recognised future leader?7 min
- Which documents do I need?CV, letters and evidence; the mix depends on your endorsing body6 min
Every question we answer
52 questions in five groups. Pick the one closest to yours.
Am I eligible?
Start here if you are deciding whether to apply.
- What is Stage 1, and how does it work?A UK visa for leaders in tech, research and the arts, with no sponsor needed7 min
- What does each endorsing body ask for?Each endorsing body sets its own test5 min
- How do I apply for endorsement, step by step?Eight steps, from the prize check to the visa6 min
- Which endorsing body fits my job title?Tech roles, research roles and creative roles, one by one6 min
- Am I ready to apply?Four checks to run before you apply6 min
- Should I apply as Talent or Promise?Already a recognised leader, or a recognised future leader?7 min
- Am I a technical or a business applicant?Write code or manage developers? You apply as technical7 min
- What makes an application strong?Right endorsing body, right category, recognition from others6 min
- What do the Appendix Global Talent rules say?The Immigration Rules behind Stage 1, in plain English5 min
- Which prizes let me skip endorsement?Won a listed prize? Skip Stage 13 min
- How do I choose a Stage 1 adviser?Avoid anyone who promises an outcome or ready-made letters5 min
- Can a data scientist apply?Tech Nation as a technical applicant, or a research route8 min
- Can a product manager apply?Business applicant rules and the product-led employer test7 min
- Which endorsing body assesses designers?Tech Nation for UX and digital, the DBA for other design7 min
- Can an engineer in industry apply?The active researcher test outside universities8 min
- Can a doctor or clinician apply?Clinical research can count; clinical practice alone does not6 min
- Which endorsing body assesses economists?British Academy for research, Tech Nation for digital roles6 min
- How do I apply for Tech Nation endorsement?Apply on GOV.UK, pay £561, decision usually in 5 to 8 weeks5 min
- Your Global Talent visa CV: what each endorsing body asks for5 min
Timing and refusals
How long a decision takes, and what to do after a refusal.
- How long does a decision take?14 working days on research fast tracks; 5 to 8 weeks for most others6 min
- Why do strong applications get refused?Evidence that is outdated, unverifiable or from the wrong people5 min
- I was refused. Review or reapply?A free review within 28 days, with no new evidence6 min
My endorsing body
What each endorsing body looks for, in its own terms.
- What does Tech Nation look for?1 mandatory criterion and 2 of 4 optional criteria9 min
- What counts for each Tech Nation optional criterion?Meet 2 of 4: innovation, recognition, contribution, research8 min
- Which research endorsing body is mine?Your discipline decides; all three run the same four routes5 min
- How does Royal Society peer review work?Active researchers in the natural and medical sciences6 min
- How does the Royal Academy of Engineering assess engineers?Active engineering researchers, in academia or industry7 min
- How does the British Academy assess researchers?Active researchers in the humanities and social sciences7 min
- How does the UKRI endorsed funder route work?A fast track for researchers on an endorsed funder grant7 min
- What does Arts Council England accept?Professional artists, with partner bodies for film, fashion, architecture and design8 min
- How does Pact assess film and television?Film and television, under Exceptional Talent only5 min
- What evidence fits my field?Each endorsing body wants a different kind of proof8 min
After endorsement
The visa, costs, switching and settlement, from GOV.UK. We help with Stage 1 only.
- How long is my endorsement letter valid?What the letter is, and 3 months to use it4 min
- I am endorsed. How do I apply for the visa?Apply for the visa within 3 months of your endorsement letter5 min
- How much does the visa cost in total?What you pay at each stage, plus the healthcare surcharge5 min
- Can I switch to Global Talent inside the UK?Possible from most visas, including Skilled Worker4 min
- When can I settle: after 3 or 5 years?After 3 or 5 years, depending on how you were endorsed6 min
- How does Global Talent compare with Skilled Worker?Sponsor and salary rules against endorsement, side by side7 min
- Global Talent or Innovator Founder?One endorses you, the other your business idea5 min
- What has changed in the rules recently?Every rule and fee change in 2025 and 2026, dated7 min
Evidence and letters
What to send, how to present it and who should write for you.
- Which documents do I need?CV, letters and evidence; the mix depends on your endorsing body6 min
- How do I present my evidence?Recent, readable, your own work and within the page limits7 min
- Who should write my letters?Experts your endorsing body accepts, writing for this application8 min
- What must my Tech Nation letters include?3 signed letters from experts who have known your work for 12 months5 min
- What must my research peer review letters include?1 letter for Promise, 2 for Talent, from eminent experts5 min
- What must my Arts Council England letters include?Exactly three, each from a different organisation or person5 min
- Can my referee ask me to draft the letter?The letter must be the author's own words and opinion8 min
- How do I write the personal statement?Part of the online form, not a separate upload5 min
Innovator Founder
Starting a new UK business: the endorsement, the four tests and the business plan.
- Innovator Founder visa endorsement: how it works, step by stepFour tests, three endorsing bodies, then the visa4 min
- Innovative, viable, scalable: what Innovator Founder endorsing bodies testWhat each test means, and the ideas that fail4 min
- Innovator Founder business plan: what to includeThe sections an endorsing body expects to see3 min
- Innovator Founder endorsing bodies in 2026: which accept new applicationsOnly three take new applications from anyone3 min
- Global Talent or Innovator Founder?One endorses you, the other your business idea5 min
Not sure which question is yours?
Answer a few questions about your profile and see which endorsing body and category fit you.
Reading about it is useful. Hearing what applies to your own profile is faster.
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Cannot find your answer?
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Glossary: the terms you will meet
- Stage 1 (endorsement)
- The first part of most Global Talent applications. An endorsing body assesses your evidence and decides whether to endorse you.
- Stage 2 (visa application)
- The application to the Home Office for the visa itself, made after you are endorsed, or directly if you have won an eligible prestigious prize.
- Endorsing body
- An organisation the Home Office has approved to assess endorsement applications in its field, such as Tech Nation or Arts Council England.
- Exceptional Talent
- The category for people already recognised as leaders in their field.
- Exceptional Promise
- The category for people at an earlier stage of their career who are recognised as potential leaders.
- Mandatory criterion (Tech Nation)
- 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.
- Optional criteria (Tech Nation)
- Four further criteria, of which Tech Nation applicants must meet two.
- Letters of recommendation or support
- Letters written specifically for your application by established experts or organisations. Each endorsing body sets its own rules on how many and from whom.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Product-led company
- Tech Nation's term for a business whose primary revenue comes from its own digital product, service, platform or hardware.
- Prestigious prize
- A prize on the published list that lets its winner skip endorsement and apply for the visa directly.
- 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.
See all the terms in the full glossary, A to Z
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.