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Applying for a Global Talent visa: peer review route

Understand the eligibility and application requirements of the Global Talent Visa − Peer Review Route.

Stage 1 − Endorsement application

If you are not eligible for endorsement via the first three routes, you can seek endorsement by peer review from the Royal Society, British Academy or Royal Academy of Engineering.

You must meet the following mandatory criteria before your application is put forward for peer review assessment.

Exceptional Promise (Potential Leader)

  • You have a PhD or equivalent research experience (including industrial research)
  • You can provide a dated letter of personal recommendation from an eminent person resident in the UK supporting your application. They must be familiar with your work and contribution to your field, and qualified to assess your claim that you have the potential to be a world leader in your field
  • You are at an early stage in your career
  • You have been awarded, hold or have held in the past five years, a prestigious UK-based Research Fellowship, or an international Fellowship or advanced research post judged by the competent body to be of equivalent standing

Exceptional Talent (Leader)

  • You are an active researcher in a relevant field, typically within a University, research institute or within industry
  • You have a PHD or equivalent research experience
  • You can provide a dated letter of personal recommendation from an eminent person resident in the UK supporting your application. They must be familiar with your work and contribution to your field, and qualified to assess your claim that you have the potential to be a world leader in your field
  • You meet one of more of the following qualifying criteria:
    • you are a member of your national academy or a foreign member of academies or other countries (in particular any of the UK national academies)
    • you have been awarded a prestigious internationally recognised prize
    • you can provide a written recommendation from a senior member of a reputable UK organisation concerned with research in your field

Meeting the qualifying criteria does not necessarily mean that you will meet the endorsement criteria. Your application will be peer reviewed by experts in your field who will look at the strength of the evidence to determine if your application demonstrates exceptional talent or exceptional promise. They will assess you solely on the evidence you provide.

The peer review assessment will consider the following criteria:

Exceptional Talent (Leader)

  • If you have won a prestigious prize or award
  • If you have secured significant funding for your work in the past ten years
  • If you are regarded as a leader in your field

Exceptional Promise (Potential Leader)

  • If you have provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate you have the potential to be a future leader in the field
  • The level of additional funding secured during or following tenure of a relevant fellowship
  • If you have provided evidence of a relevant prize or award for early career researchers
  • The significance of your contribution to your field relative to your career stage

For both Exceptional Talent (Leader) and Exceptional Promise (Potential Leader)

  • Your track record/career history (including your international standing, the significance of your publications, prizes and research funding awarded, patents, and the impact of past innovation activity in a company, academia or as an individual)
  • The strength of the supporting statements in the letter of personal recommendation, and evidence in relation to qualifying criteria, including a written recommendation from a reputable UK organisation concerned with research in your field (if relevant)
  • The expected benefits of your presence in the UK in terms of the contribution to UK research excellence and to wider society, including potential economic benefits from exploitation of intellectual capital

For full details on the documentation you need to submit as part of your peer review endorsement application, visit the Royal Society website. If you need a qualifying letter of personal recommendation for the Exceptional Talent (Leader) route, please contact the Staff Immigration Team hr-visas@bath.ac.uk.

As part of the online endorsement application, you’ll be asked to enter your personal details and 'if you are applying under exceptional talent or exceptional promise criteria'. Here you need to select which category you fall under. You’ll need to upload the relevant documentation (as detailed on the Royal Society website) to complete your application. No other documents are required at this stage.

You should receive notification by email within approximately four to eight weeks on whether your endorsement has been successful.

Once you receive your endorsement confirmation, you can apply for your visa. You must do so within three months of receiving your letter.

Stage 2 − Apply for entry clearance or permission

You must apply online for a Global Talent Visa. How you apply depends on whether you are:

After you apply

Please refer to our guidance on applying for a Global Talent visa for further details.

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