You can apply for a Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) visa if you’ve been endorsed in your field in science, humanities, engineering, medicine, digital technology or the arts as:
You must also be from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland.
There’s a 2-stage application process to get this visa.
You first need to apply to the Home Office for endorsement as a leader or an emerging leader in your particular field.
Then, once you have been endorsed, you can apply for the visa.
There are limited places available under this visa category, with 500 places released on both 6 April and 1 October each year.
After you get your endorsement, the earliest you can apply for a visa is 3 months before you travel.
Check the guide to processing times to find out how long getting a visa might take in your country.
You can stay in the UK for up to:
You can choose how long you want to apply for, up to the maximum time allowed. You only have to pay the healthcare surcharge for the amount of time you choose to stay.
You can apply to extend this visa for another 5 years.
You can apply for settlement once you’ve been in the UK for 5 years.
You can:
You can’t: