17 June 2022

The Home Office Analysis and Insight team, in conjunction with Ipsos UK, has published a report exploring applicants’ experiences of navigating the Global Talent visa process. The report sheds light on the pull factors to the route, the profile of applicants and satisfaction with the application process. It also makes a series of recommendations for improving the route.

Pull factors
Most visa holders (80%) said the Global Talent visa had partly influenced their decision to relocate to the UK. However, 66% of visa holders said they would have applied for a different visa had the Global Talent visa not been available. Indeed, the most important factors influencing visa holders’ decisions to relocate to the UK were career (74%), professional environment (65%), and fitting into the UK (34%). The Global Talent visa ranked in fifth place in terms of pull factors.

Of those whose decision was in part influenced by the Global Talent visa, they were particularly attracted to the route as it leads to settlement (78%) and the application process involves being endorsed by a recognised body in their field (77%). Individuals were also attracted to the route because of the ability to extend their permission to stay (62%) and to accelerate their application for settlement (60%).

Discovering the route
The majority of visa holders (23%) discovered the route through their university or institution, followed closely by those who learnt about it through a friend or family (22%). Only 14% of respondents heard about the route through a colleague or peer within their professional network and just 1% discovered the route on the website of an endorsing body. This was a key area for improvement highlighted by the report.

Application process
Satisfaction rates among visa holders were high, with 93% being satisfied with the overall process and 92% being satisfied with the endorsement process. Almost half of applicants (47%), however, thought that clearer guidance was needed on the information applicants were required to provide as part of the application process. The report made numerous recommendations on how to improve this, including the publication of precedent recommendation letters, templates for uploading evidence, and information on the expertise of the person reviewing applications so applicants know whether to include technical explanations of their evidence.

Whilst the majority of visa holders (63%) thought the application fee (£623) was fair, more than half (59%) thought the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) was unfair. The IHS costs applicants up to £624 per year and has been repeatedly criticised since its introduction in 2015, with opponents arguing that migrants are effectively taxed twice for using the NHS given that some of their income and national insurance contributions are allocated to the NHS. Whilst the report does not recommend scrapping the IHS, it does recommend introducing an option to stagger payments and including the fees more prominently in the guidance (as well publishing the rationale for each of the fees). The current GOV.UK guidance on the IHS explains what, when and how individuals must pay the IHS but gives no information on what the fee is used for and the benefits individuals enjoy from paying it.

Work status and earnings
The vast majority of visa holders are employed (95%), with almost all respondents (99%) believing that their current role matches their skills and experience. Of those employed, three quarters are in full-time employment and one in six (17%) are self-employed. A small percentage of visa holders are employed part-time (3%) or unemployed (2%).

There is no salary requirement for the Global Talent route, with the result that salaries range from under £15,600 (4%) to in excess of £150,000 (3%). Almost half of visa holders (49%) are earning between £31,200 and £51,999 and a little more than a fifth (22%) are earning between £52,000 and £149,999. Interestingly, 60% of visa holders working in the digital technology field and endorsed by Tech Nation are earning between £52,000 and £149,999. Tech Nation endorsees also make up the 3% of visa holders earning in excess of £150,000. Visa holders working in creative industries (57%) and those endorsed by Arts Council England (53%) are more likely than average to be earning less than £31,199.

Survey respondents stated that the fact that the route was unsponsored – and that they were not tied to an employer – gave them more opportunities to negotiate pay and promotion. Contrast this to the likes of the Skilled Worker route, where employees are affectively locked into their employment (unless they can find an alternative sponsor).