EXCLUSIVE: ACE endorses 2,600 visas for ‘outstanding’ talent

Growing numbers of 'outstanding' individuals within the international arts and culture community are being endorsed by Arts Council England to proceed with a visa application, according to data shared with Arts Professional.

The Global Talent Visa, which was known as the Tier 1 Exceptional Talent visa until 2019, is available to leaders or potential leaders in the fields of academia or research, arts and culture and digital technology.

ACE is the government’s chosen endorsing body for arts and culture applications, meaning it assesses evidence of someone’s talent or promise and endorses those that meet the government’s criteria, before sending the application back to the Home Office, which makes a final decision on whether or not to grant a visa.

READ MORE:

ACE is responsible for assessing applications relating to combined arts, dance, literature, music, theatre and visual arts. The arts and culture visa route also includes fashion, architecture, film and TV, which are endorsed by other bodies.

Figures from ACE show that since the scheme began in 2011, it has considered 3,450 applications for the arts and culture stream of the Global Talent Visa.

Of these ACE has endorsed 2,622 visa applications. Last year (2022) saw the highest number of endorsements on record, with 563 – an increase of 41.5% on the previous record of 398 recorded in 2020.

For the eight months up to 31 August this year, a total of 417 applications have been endorsed by ACE, indicating that last year's total could be exceeded.

While the number of endorsements has generally increased year-on-year, the percentage of applications ACE has endorsed each year has varied greatly. In 2011, it was as little as 15% but was as high as 89% in 2020.

In total, the funder has endorsed 76% of all applications it assessed since the inception of the visa scheme.

To apply for endorsement, an applicant must provide three letters of recommendation from experts in their field and up to 10 pieces of evidence of work that is published or performed internationally, which should include media recognition, awards and appearances or exhibitions.

ACE will endorse an application where the evidence is judged to be 'outstanding'. A decision must be given to the applicant within eight weeks.

An endorsement from ACE is not a guarantee a visa would be granted and only completes stage one of the visa process.

Upon endorsement, the applicant can complete stage 2 of the Global Talent Visa with the Home Office, leaving the decision of whether or not to grant a visa down to the Home Office only.

Granted visas

The Home Office told Arts Professional published immigration statistics do not breakdown successful visa applications by route.

Data shared on the government’s website state that for the year ending June 2023, across all routes there was a 76% increase in the number of Global Talent visas granted, totalling 3,901.

This figure consists of all streams of the Global Talent Visa. As ACE endorsed 563 applications last year, it is likely the arts and culture route accounts for a relatively small proportion of all visas granted under the scheme.

According to guidance published on migration specialist’s Global Citizens Solutions website, Global Talent Visa applications have a success rate of between 50% and 60% across all routes.

A Global Talent Visa grants the recipient up to five years at a time to live and work in the UK and can be extended. The recipient can be an employee, self-employed or director of a company and bring a partner and/or children to the UK as dependents, if they are eligible. The recipient can also apply for indefinite leave to remain during the visa period.

The two-stage process costs the applicant £623 in total, £456 for the endorsement and £167 upon application for the visa.

In 2021, the government launched a fast-track version of the Global Talent Visa, allowing prize-winning researchers in fields including arts and culture to apply for the Global Talent Visa with the Home Office without endorsement.

Then-Home Secretary Priti Patel said the fast-track option would give prize winners “freedom to come and work in our world-leading arts, sciences, music and film industries as we build back better”.

In August, an investigation by Research Professional News revealed only three visas had been granted under the fast-track route: two in 2022 and one this year.

The Home Office did not reveal in which research field the successful applicants had qualified for the fast-track visa.