Problem Statement

Being on a skilled worker visa in the UK means I have to always have a sponsor to be in the UK until I get my ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain).

The challenge is if for some reason I stopped working at my current company, I’d need to find another sponsor in 2 months (to be confirmed), which is a very small window.

This makes my stay in the UK more fragile than I’m comfortable with, and also places a limitation on:

• the types of companies I can work with (they’d have to offer visa sponsorship)
• The amount of extracurricular activities I can do.

Proposed Solution

The UK offers another type of Visa that’d not require sponsorship: The global talent visa. If someone can prove they’re skilled enough, they can get it.

key considerations

• There are 2 types of global talent visa:
• Exceptional talent
• 3 years to ILR, 2 more to citizenship
• Exceptional promise
• 5 years to ILR, 1 more to citizenship (same as skilled worker)
• How much does the application cost?
• TBD
• Application fee
• Processing fee
• Health surcharge

Resources

• Arabic podcast by a global talent visa recepient, including actionable advice from other recipients.