The UK Global Talent visa route for leading geographers
Nick Nason is a solicitor at Edgewater Legal regularly providing advice to clients applying under the Global Talent immigration route. Below, he outlines how geographers could qualify, with some top tips towards the end of the article.
You may be eligible to apply for a UK visa if you are acknowledged as an exceptionally talented Geographer (or one who shows exceptional promise). This includes geographers demonstrating exceptional talent or promise within Economic, Historical or Human Geography.
Visa outline
With a Global Talent visa, you can live and work in the UK for up to 5 years. It is also a pathway to applying to settlement (and British citizenship after that).
To apply for the visa, you typically need endorsement by the British Academy. You would need to complete an online form, and provide supporting evidence to show how you meet the criteria.
Those endorsed by the British Academy can then go on to make the visa application. Those on the Exceptional Talent route can sometimes apply for accelerated settlement after 3 years. Those at an early stage in their career – Exceptional Promise – are usually eligible after 5 years.
Peer review
There are four ways to be endorsed, but we are concentrating on Route 4: Peer Review, as this doesn’t require a pre-existing offer of a position, fellowship, or funding.
However, please be aware that if you have been offered an eligible academic or research position in the UK (Route 1), a qualifying fellowship (Route 2), or you are a key part of an approved funding grant from UKRI (Route 3), you should investigate these other routes.
If you hold a prestigious prize (listed at the end of this article), you can apply for a Global Talent visa without obtaining an endorsement from the British Academy.
Basic eligibility
You must have a PhD or equivalent research experience (including industrial or clinical research) and be an active researcher (for example in a university, a research institute or industry).
To apply as someone with Exceptional Promise – i.e. that you have the potential to be a leader in geography – you must, in addition, be at an early stage of your career.
Experts in your field will peer review applications, assessing the strength of the evidence to determine if your application demonstrates Exceptional Talent or Exceptional Promise.
Your application will be evaluated through peer review based solely on the required evidence you provide.
Detailed criteria
The peer review assessment looks at the following criteria to determine whether your application contains sufficient evidence of your recognition as an Exceptional Talent and a leader in the field, or as someone showing Exceptional Promise and being a potential leader in the field:
- Your track record, career history and contributions to the field to date, including your international standing; the significance of your publications, prizes and research funding awarded; patents, licenses, spinouts or other forms of intellectual property and the impact of past innovation activity, in an organisation, academia or as an individual (as applicable);
- The strength of the supporting statements in your letters of support; and
- The expected benefits of your presence in the UK in terms of the contribution to UK research and innovation excellence and to wider society, including potential economic benefits from exploitation of intellectual capital.
Ultimately, they are looking for compelling evidence showing a high degree of originality, creativity, independence, and intellectual leadership in research and innovation.
Consideration is given to the merit, novelty, significance, and quality of your research and innovation vision, as well as how it has advanced (or is expected to advance) the field.
You should also provide a clear and credible plan for what you will expect to do in the UK and how you will contribute to UK research and innovation excellence.
What documents do you need to submit?
You must complete an online application form, and upload a short CV (maximum 3 sides). You will need to provide details of your qualifications, along with any fellowships and grants awarded, significant publications, prizes and/or patents.
The main evidence is a letter of personal recommendation from an eminent person resident in the UK supporting your application. The letter writer must be familiar with your work and contribution to geography, and must be qualified to evaluate your claim to being exceptionally talented, or showing exceptional promise.
In Exceptional Talent applications only (i.e. not for Exceptional Promise applicants), a second letter must be provided from another eminent person who is a senior member of a reputable UK organisation concerned with research or innovation in geography.
You are allowed to submit additional evidence to demonstrate how you meet the endorsement criteria if you feel this would be beneficial.
Content of the supporting letter(s)
This should be signed, dated, and on headed paper (if applicable) from an ‘eminent’ person resident in the UK. This person must also be a leader in your field and the letter must cover:
- how they know you;
- details of your achievements in your field;
- how, in their opinion, you show exceptional talent or exceptional promise;
- how you would benefit from living in the UK; and
- how you are likely to contribute to UK research or innovation and to wider society.
If applying as an Exceptional Talent (and therefore must provide a second letter), the second letter must be from a different eminent person in your field who is a senior member of a reputable UK organisation widely acknowledged as having expertise in geography. It must include:
- a statement confirming that the author is a senior member of a reputable UK organisation concerned with research or innovation in your specific field;
- why the author considers your work shows Exceptional Talent and how you are likely to contribute to UK research or innovation excellence and to wider society; and
- a statement confirming the objectivity of the author’s assessment
Be sure to include contact details for the authors in the letters.
Application tips
The endorsing bodies do not provide any kind of pre-assurance. My usual advice for anyone applying is:
- If you think you might have a shot, it’s worth applying. The Global Talent route is the golden ticket of UK visas in what is otherwise a miserable and defensive vista for international talent. Compared to visa routes (even other streams within Global Talent e.g. Tech Nation), the documentary requirements are relatively light, and the costs for endorsement application relatively low
- Don’t feel restricted by the minimal documentary requirements: we have assisted clients who have provided letters or other documents from multiple sources, many more than the one or two mandatory letters required.
- Pay attention to the guidance – it’s there for a reason! The letters need to cover the specified information as summarised above, and in particular, why and how you are considered to be a leader or showing exceptional promise within the field
- The bigger the profile of the letter writer, the more weight their evidence will carry. The more senior and eminent the author is in your field of research or innovation the stronger the letter will be considered to be.
Prestigious prizes list
As referred to above, you will be eligible to apply for a Global Talent visa without the need to obtain an endorsement if you are the holder of any of the following qualifying prizes, and the prizes has not been withdrawn or suspended.
| Qualifying Prize | Name of Awarding Body |
|---|---|
| Abel Prize | Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters |
| AF Harvey Engineering Research Prize | Institute of Engineering and Technology |
| Annual Review Prize Lecture | Physiology Society |
| Bakerian Medal and Lecture | Royal Society |
| Balzan Prize | International Balzan Prize Foundation |
| Benjamin Franklin Medal | Franklin Institute |
| Berggruen Prize for Philosophy and Culture | Berggruen Institute |
| Blue Planet Prize | Asahi Glass Foundation |
| Cadman Award | Energy Institute |
| Centenary Prize | Royal Society of Chemistry |
| Charles Stark Draper Prize for Engineering | US National Academy of Engineering |
| Copley Medal | Royal Society |
| Crafoord Prize | Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and Crafoord |
| Croonian Medal and Lecture | Royal Society |
| Davis Medal | IChemE |
| Distinguished Fellowship | British Computing Society |
| Faraday Medal | Institute of Engineering and Technology |
| Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ Prize | National Academy of Engineering |
| Fields Medal | International Mathematical Union |
| Fyssen International Prize | Fondation Fyssen |
| Gold Medal | Institution of Civil Engineers |
| Honorary Membership | British Ecological Society |
| Holberg Prize | Holberg Committee |
| Humboldt Research Award | Alexander von Humboldt Foundation |
| IEEE Medal of Honor | Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers |
| INCOSE Pioneer Award | International Council on Systems Engineering |
| Individual Gold Medal | Royal Aeronautical Society |
| International Award | Biochemical Society |
| International Medal | Institution of Civil Engineers |
| Isaac Newton Medal and Award | Institute of Physics |
| IStructE Gold Medal | Institution of Structural Engineers |
| J J Thompson Medal for Electronics | Institution of Engineering and Technology |
| James Watt International Medal | Institution of Mechanical Engineering |
| Japan Prize | The Japan Prize Foundation |
| John W. Kluge Prize for Achievement in the Study of Humanity | John W. Kluge Centre |
| King Faisal Prize – Medicine | King Faisal International Fund |
| King Faisal Prize - Science | King Faisal International Fund |
| Kyoto Prize – Advanced Technology | Inamori Foundation |
| Kyoto Prize – Basic Science | Inamori Foundation |
| Kyoto Prize – Arts and Philosophy | Inamori Foundation |
| Lasker-Debakey Clinical Medical Research Award | Lasker Foundation |
| Lasker-Koshland Special Achievement Award in Medical Science | Lasker Foundation |
| Lasker-Bloomberg Public Service Award | Lasker Foundation |
| L’Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science | L’Oréal-UNESCO |
| Louis-Jeantet Prize | The Louis-Jeantet Foundation |
| Lovelace Medal | British Computing Society |
| Melchett Award | Energy Institute |
| Mensforth Manufacturing Gold Medal | Institution of Engineering and Technology |
| Millennium Technology Prize | Technology Academy Finland |
| Mountbatten Medal | Institution of Engineering and Technology |
| Nine Dots Prize | Kadas Prize Foundation |
| Nobel Prize - Chemistry | The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences |
| Nobel Prize - Economic Science | The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences |
| Nobel Prize - Literature | The Swedish Academy |
| Nobel Prize - Physics | The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences |
| Nobel Prize - Medicine | Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet |
| President’s Award | Energy Institute |
| Prince Philip Medal | Royal Academy of Engineering |
| Princess Royal Silver Medal | Royal Academy of Engineering |
| Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering | The Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering Foundation |
| Rayleigh Medal | Institute of Acoustics |
| Robert Koch Award | Robert Koch Foundation |
| Robert Koch Gold Medal | Robert Koch Foundation |
| Vane Medal | British Pharmacological Society |
| W H Pierce Prize | Society for Applied Microbiology |
| Wolf Prize - Agriculture | Wolf Foundation |
| Wolf Prize - Arts | Wolf Foundation |
| Wolf Prize – Chemistry | Wolf Foundation |
| Wolf Prize – Mathematics | Wolf Foundation |
| Wolf Prize - Medicine | Wolf Foundation |
| Wolf Prize - Physics | Wolf Foundation |
We regularly review and manage Global Talent visa applications. Please do not hesitate to contact us at Edgewater Legal for further information about how we might be able to assist.