Everything people ask us, before they ask us.

No. Global Talent is specifically designed for individuals who don't need a UK sponsor or job offer. You can be employed, self-employed, run a company, freelance, the visa is tied to you, not to any employer.

Talent is for established global leaders with 5+ years of relevant experience and recognition in 2+ countries. Promise is for early-career applicants under 5 years' experience but with a clear trajectory. Talent gets you ILR after 3 years, Promise after 5 years.

Tech Nation for digital tech; Royal Society for sciences and medicine; Royal Academy of Engineering for engineering; British Academy for humanities and social sciences; UKRI for fellowship-led research; Arts Council England (with PACT for film/TV, RIBA for architecture, BFC for fashion). Take our free route-specific test for a personalised pick.

Yes, commonly. A tech founder with patents could apply via Tech Nation or Royal Academy of Engineering. A scientist who's also a startup founder could go either way. The right pick changes evidence load and timeline. We map this on the consultation.

Not at the visa stage. CEFR B1 English (and the Life in the UK test) is required only when you apply for ILR.

No, in most circumstances. There's no minimum salary requirement and no maintenance funds threshold for the Global Talent Visa, unlike Skilled Worker.

No. You can apply from inside or outside the UK. Standard processing for Stage 2 from outside is 3 weeks; from inside it's 8 weeks.

Preparation with us: 1–4 weeks. Stage 1 endorsement: up to 8 weeks (UKRI Endorsed Funder is often days). Stage 2 visa: 3 weeks outside UK / 8 weeks inside, reducible to 5 working days outside / next-working-day inside with priority. End-to-end most cases land in 6–14 weeks.

No, you can file Stage 2 within 3 months of receiving endorsement. Useful if you want to lock in endorsement before paying the IHS or relocating.

An optional Home Office add-on for Stage 2: 5 working days from outside the UK, next-working-day inside. Costs an extra fee paid to the Home Office. Recommended where timing matters.

You choose between 1 and 5 years. The visa can be extended in 5-year blocks indefinitely; extensions are straightforward where you've used the visa to work in your endorsed field.

It varies by endorsing body. As a baseline: passport, CV (in the body's specified format), personal statement (where required), 1–3 recommendation letters, and up to 10 supporting evidence documents. We produce a tailored checklist on engagement.

Talentvisa legal fee: £4,150 + VAT (Tier 04, all-inclusive). Government fees, paid separately to the Home Office: endorsement £561, visa application from £766, IHS £1,035 / person / year, plus biometric and any priority service. See /pricing for the full breakdown.

Strategy & right-body selection · personal statement & CV drafted from scratch · up to 10 evidence documents produced for you · referees coached · Stage 1 endorsement filing · Stage 2 Home Office visa application · up to 3 dependants included · biometric and priority booking guidance · free Endorsement Review if Stage 1 is refused.

Yes. The £250 + VAT lawyer consultation fee is credited in full against the £4,150 + VAT package fee if you go on to engage us.

Most firms bill hourly, which means the worse-prepared your evidence, the more they earn. Fixed fee aligns us with the outcome: faster, cleaner builds make us more profitable, not less. And there are no surprise bills.

Up to 10 supporting documents plus 1–3 recommendation letters, depending on the body. Quality and traceability matter more than quantity. A tightly argued 8-document case beats a sprawling 15-document one.

Foreign-language evidence is acceptable; we provide certified translations as part of the build.

Yes, with a referee letter from a senior figure attesting to your individual role. The risk is a refusal where the assessor can't separate your contribution from the group's. Our build coaches your referees specifically on this.

Some bodies weight it (newer Tech Nation criteria, BFC for influencer-style designers). Most weight traditional editorial press and institutional support more heavily. We use social only as supporting evidence.

For science/humanities/UKRI routes, yes, significantly. For Tech Nation, less so, product-led metrics (ARR, downloads, equity events) carry more weight.

3 years on Exceptional Talent (any field) or 5 years on Exceptional Promise (any field). You'll need continuous lawful residence, UK earnings in your endorsed field, the Life in the UK test, and CEFR B1 English.

Yes. For naturalisation you need 5 years' total lawful UK residence and to have held ILR for at least 12 months. So if you reach ILR fast (3 years on Talent), you still need to wait until you've completed the 5-year residence period before citizenship.

Yes. Absences over 180 days in any 12-month period can break continuity. We map this for every Sterling Max client at engagement.

Often yes, lawful UK time on Skilled Worker, Innovator Founder, HPI, Student or Graduate visas can be combined with Global Talent residence to meet the 3- or 5-year ILR test. Example: 2 years on Skilled Worker + 1 year on Exceptional Talent = ILR straight away.

Yes. Spouse, civil partner or unmarried partner (with 2+ years cohabitation), plus dependant children under 18.

Yes. Dependants on your Global Talent Visa have full and unrestricted right to work and study, including being employed, self-employed, or starting their own company, without sponsorship.

Up to 3 dependants are included in the £4,150 + VAT Tier 04 fee. Each dependant pays their own Home Office application fee and IHS separately.

Unmarried partners qualify with evidence of 2+ years' cohabitation (joint tenancy, shared bills, joint accounts, etc.). We help compile this evidence as part of the family build.

You have one chance to challenge it: the Endorsement Review: a single written submission decided on paper within ~28 days. No second hearing. For Tier 04 clients we draft and file the ER at no extra legal fee.

You can re-apply with new evidence after the cooling-off period. Tier 04 clients get a £1,150 + VAT refund if the ER is refused. Or you can skip the ER and take the refund straight away.

Almost never insufficient achievement, usually achievement evidenced under the wrong criterion. Choosing the right endorsing body and framing evidence in that body's language is the single biggest predictor of success.

Rarely. Stage 2 is largely a check that you're who you say you are and have the right documents. Refusals at Stage 2 are usually administrative (missing TB test, biometric issue) and easily fixed.

Sterling Law: an SRA-regulated firm (SRA №630147), Legal 500 recognised, with 52 legal professionals at Temple Chambers, London. Talentvisa is the assessment and AI-product layer; the regulated legal services are delivered by Sterling Law and its immigration brand Sterling Max.

Yes, through Sterling Law. We're authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under SRA №630147, and authorised under the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA, formerly OISC).

It mirrors each endorsing body's published criteria and the patterns we see in real applications. It won't replace a strategy call, but it gets you 80% of the way to knowing whether to apply.

The AI report (£100) scores three signals (your test, CV and LinkedIn) through a deterministic rubric and emails you a PDF in 24h. The lawyer consultation (£250 + VAT) is a live 1-hour senior-solicitor session with written strategy. Neither drafts application documents, that's Tier 04 only.

You take the free test, answer 10–20 follow-ups with the AI, send your CV and LinkedIn URL. A deterministic rubric, not a generic chatbot, scores all three signals against the endorsing body's criteria. PDF emailed in 24h.