The Global Talent Visa – The Fast Track to Success

Don’t be fooled by the new fast-track global talent visa route – an article looking at the global talent visa and your alternative business immigration solutions.

UK immigration solicitors know that the uptake on the UK global talent visa hasn’t been great. That’s not because there aren’t people of ‘’global talent’’ from overseas wanting to come to the UK. It is the complete opposite. However, quite frankly, the global talent visa title deters many worthy candidates from applying to the Home Office for the visa, as they assume that they and their talents aren’t worthy or truly global. With the introduction of the fast-track global talent visa, our UK business immigration solicitors take another look at the global talent visa to show you that you may be more talented than you think and that you have more than one business visa option.

UK London based immigration solicitors

London based OTS Solicitors specialise in business immigration law. For expert business immigration law advice contact OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.

The global talent visa fast track route

The UK government has reformed the global talent visa route for fast-track applicants. By doing so, UK immigration solicitors fear that the global talent visa will give the impression of being out of the reach of many eligible visa applicants. That simply isn’t the case. That’s why UK immigration solicitors are urging potential business visa applicants to take a closer look at the global talent visa and not be put off by its title.

So, what is the fast-track global talent visa? In May 2021 the Home Office announced the new fast-track global talent visa route for those who meet the global talent visa eligibility criteria and who also happen to be award or prize winners.

For those contemplating a global talent visa application the process just got a bit easier if you happen to be a Nobel prize winner or the holder of a Golden Globe or even the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering.

If you have evidence of your receiving that type of award (or one included on the Home Office published list of awards) then you can skip the global talent visa endorsement stage by an endorsing body and move straight to the Home Office approval stage. However, don’t all rush, as the Home Office issued list of eligible prizes for the fast-track global talent visa is very precise. If you are a BAFTA award winner, don’t bother applying for fast-track status unless you were awarded best film actor or actress or film director. ‘’Best supporting’’ just isn’t good enough.

Is the newly opened fast-track global talent visa a big deal?

The newly opened fast-track global talent visa isn’t a big deal according to  Hans Sok Appadu , business immigration solicitor and partner who heads the business immigration team at OTS Solicitors. Hans Sok Appadu says:

‘’Whilst the fast-track global talent visa may be of interest to a tiny proportion of award-winning people looking to come to the UK, the reality is that if you have a global talent, but you aren’t an award winner, then provided you have a well-prepared global talent visa application, the endorsement stage by independent body normally only takes a week or two. Fast-tracking therefore isn’t saving visa applicants a significant amount of time.

‘’ If anything, the announcement of a fast-track global talent visa route may even put global talent visa applicants off from making an application because they will assume that the non-fast-track global talent visa route will be slow and cumbersome. With the right specialist legal advice, it isn’t. A global talent visa can be secured within a matter of weeks’’

Is the global talent visa the best option for you?

You really don’t need to be a Nobel prize winner or BAFTA award winner to apply for a global talent visa. If you are a specialist and a bit of an expert in the fields of :

• Architecture
• Arts and culture and film and TV
• Digital technology
• Engineering
• Fashion
• Humanities
• Medicine
• Science

Then you may meet the eligibility criteria for a global talent visa.

Although, unless you are a fast-track global talent visa applicant, there will be a two-stage application process for the global talent visa;

• Endorsement by a specialist industry body that is independent of the UK government and then
• The Home Office approval stage.

However, despite the non-fast track two stage application process, there are significant advantages to the global talent visa rather than other types of business or work visa. For example:

• There is no cap or quota on the number of global talent visa applicants each year.
• You do not need to have a sponsoring employer or a UK job offer. That gives far greater flexibility than the skilled worker visa or the intra company transfer visa.
• You do not need to be coming to the UK to set up a subsidiary or branch office of an overseas company so there aren’t as many constraints as the sole representative visa.
• If you are planning to come to the UK to set up your own business the global talent visa offers greater entrepreneurial and business flexibility than the start-up visa or the innovator visa.
• Unlike the investor visa you don’t need significant sums to invest in the UK to secure your visa.
• Like some other types of business visa, the global talent visa can lead to accelerated settlement in the UK so you can secure indefinite leave to remain and ultimately British citizenship more quickly than some other business visa routes.

The reality is that it is when it comes to choosing the best UK business visa it really pays to look at your personal and business circumstances as well as your goals. If you are a top vaccine researcher or specialist doctor then a skilled worker visa may well be your best option as securing a sponsoring employer and a quick visa isn’t likely to be an issue for you. Likewise, if you have the available funds to tie up in investments in the UK, the investor visa may give you the greatest degree of flexibility and accelerated settlement (provided you can accept investment constraints to comply with investor visa rules until such time as you can apply for settlement).

At OTS Solicitors we firmly believe that it is best to get your business visa application right first time. So, whether you are a Nobel prize winner or an entrepreneur looking to set up business in the UK give us a call to discuss your best business visa solutions.

UK and London based immigration solicitors

London based OTS Solicitors specialise in business immigration law and are recommended in the two leading law directories, Chambers Guide to the Legal Profession and Legal 500.

For expert business immigration law advice contact OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online. Appointments are available by phone or video call.