Findings

Recommendations

The UK’s global talent offer comprises a range of immigration routes (see Figure 1) that life sciences talent and employers can access. These include long-term routes, such as the Skilled Worker and Global Talent visas, and shorter-term routes, such as the UK-Swiss Mobility Agreement, which cater to different occupations, skills, and business needs. Additionally, some immigration routes are renewable and provide global talent (and their dependants) with a route to settlement in the UK. 

While the UK’s published migration statistics are categorised by role rather than employer, broader trends applicable to the life sciences sector can be identified from the data related to Professional, Scientific, and Technical Activities (see Figure 2).

Figure 1. UK immigration routes relevant to global life sciences talent

It should be noted that global life sciences talent will be only a portion of this migration activity in Figure 2 (though a significant one, given the R&D intensity of the sector²⁵). In addition, Figure 2 will not include global life sciences talent working in fields outside of R&D, such as manufacturing and business development. Nonetheless, Figure 2 suggests that the majority of global life sciences talent enters the UK via the Skilled Worker visa.

To assess the competitiveness of the UK’s global talent offer for the life sciences, this report will pay particular attention to the Skilled Worker visa, the immigration routes the government is positioning as alternatives to the Skilled Worker route for top talent (namely, the Global Talent and High Potential Individual visas),²⁶ and the potential role of international talent mobility agreements.

Figure 2. Visas granted across Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities²⁷

Skilled Worker visa

The Skilled Worker visa is the route most used by employers across the economy to sponsor foreign nationals to work in the UK, with 57,858 visas granted to main applicants in 2024.²⁸

Eligibility is determined using a points-based system that awards applicants points if they meet specific requirements. These requirements vary based on occupation, but proficiency in English, a job offer from a sponsoring employer, and a minimum annual salary of £41,700 (as of 22 July 2025) are common baseline requirements that help applicants meet the 70-point minimum threshold for eligibility.

Employers who sponsor individuals face a range of fees, including the Certificate of Sponsorship (£525)²⁹ and the Immigration Skills Charge (£364 per year for charitable and small sponsors and £1,000 per year for medium to large sponsors³⁰). Employers may also decide to meet the cost of fees levied on applicants, such as the Immigration Health Surcharge (£1,035 per year for adult applicants and £776 per year for child applicants³¹). These costs are typically paid upfront and can be refunded only in limited circumstances, so employers take on financial risk while the visa application is processed.

The increased use of the Skilled Worker visa after EU-exit has made it a target for past governments’ efforts to reduce net immigration, which have included increasing salary thresholds and rationalising the Shortage Occupation List. These reforms made the Skilled Worker visa harder to access and significantly more expensive, in part, to discourage employers from using it as an immigration route.

Figure 3. Number of Skilled Worker (formerly Tier 2) and Skilled Worker Health and Care visas granted per year (main applicant only)³³

Early data and feedback from life sciences employers suggest these reforms are having an effect. Between 2023 and 2024, the total number of Skilled Worker visas granted to main applicants fell by 11.5%, and this number is forecast to be below 40,000 visas in 2025 (see figure 3). For comparison, the number of Health and Care Worker visas granted to main applicants fell by 81% in the same period.³²

These trends are likely to be amplified by changes announced in May 2025 by the current government (see box 1), which similarly aims to reduce net immigration by discouraging employers from using the Skilled Worker visa and other immigration routes.

These reforms will likely, as intended, materially reduce the attractiveness and viability of the Skilled Worker visa as an immigration route to global life sciences talent and their employers. Accordingly, the relative attractiveness of alternative routes, such as the Global Talent and High Potential Individual visas, will likely increase, as these reforms will accentuate their advantages over the Skilled Worker visa (for example, neither visa requires an employer to pay the Immigration Skills Charge³⁶ or Certificate of Sponsorship fee).

The Skilled Worker visa will, despite the reforms, remain the highest volume working visa utilised by employers across the economy. However, we anticipate that life sciences employers will increasingly look to the Global Talent and High Potential Individual visas, thereby increasing those visas’ influence on the overall competitiveness of the UK’s offer to global life sciences talent. This report will, therefore, examine both visas in greater detail and how the government can better utilise them to attract top talent to the UK.

Global Talent and High Potential Individual visas

Are these visas successful?

The Global Talent visa is aimed at talented individuals who are – or have the potential to be – leaders in their field (academia and research, arts and culture, or digital technology). The visa targets specific applicants, rather than roles. Each of the visa’s three fields has its own criteria to determine an applicant’s eligibility based on their current or potential skills and expertise. For example, applicants who apply via the academia or research field can demonstrate their eligibility by being endorsed by an endorsing body, such as the Royal Society,³⁷ or having won a prestigious prize.³⁸

The High Potential Individual visa is aimed at graduates from top universities outside the UK who have demonstrated high academic achievement and potential for professional success. The visa, too, does not target specific roles or sectors and, like the Global Talent visa, does not require a job offer. Instead, eligibility is based on having been awarded a qualification from a university that appears on the government's list of eligible institutions. For example, someone who graduated with a biochemistry degree from Harvard University in the past five years would be eligible for a High Potential Individual visa, provided they could also meet the visa’s English language and personal finance requirements.

Figure 4. Visas granted across the Global Talent and High Potential Individual routes (main applicant only)⁴⁰

The Global Talent and High Potential Individual visas grew rapidly after their introductions in 2020 and 2022, with the number granted rising by 444% and 66%, respectively, by 2023 (see Figure 4). Since then, however, the growth rate of both visas (across all endorsement routes) has plateaued, with the number granted in 2024 falling by 5% and 19%, respectively. Furthermore, data for the first half of 2025 indicates that the Global Talent and High Potential Individual visas are unlikely to significantly surpass their 2024 levels of uptake, suggesting this plateau may continue.

Much of the growth seen in the Global Talent and High Potential Individual visas can be attributed to the features that distinguish them from other UK visas. These advantages include lower costs for employers and greater flexibility for visa holders. For example, unlike the Skilled Worker visa, the Global Talent visa is non-sponsored, meaning visa holders are not tied to a specific employer and can work in the UK for up to five years as an employee, as self-employed, and/or as a director of a company. Research commissioned by the Home Office found that this flexibility was the leading reason why 66% of Global Talent visa holders applied for the scheme.⁴² The High Potential Individual visa is even more flexible because it does not require a sponsor or endorsement, which was the most cited reason for applying for it.⁴³

Yet despite their increasingly accentuated advantages over the Skilled Worker visa, uptake of the Global Talent visa and the High Potential Individual has plateaued.

Why has the Global Talent visa plateaued?

There are two possible factors at play.

Firstly, uptake of the Global Talent visa has been concentrated in academia. A government survey conducted in 2024 found that “the most common way in which visa holders had heard about the Global Talent visa was through their university or institution (27%), followed by their professional network (23%)”.⁴⁴ This suggests that academia has been effective at promoting and using the Global Talent visa, to retain critical talent in the UK, this uptake may now have reached a point of saturation from which further growth is much harder to realise without increasing uptake from other types of employers, such as companies.

Secondly, an issue commonly raised by stakeholders in the roundtables organised for this report is that many potential applicants perceive the Global Talent visa’s eligibility criteria as inaccessible (see box 2). This perception may have also contributed to the Global Talent visa’s concentration in academia (67% of visa holders are in academic roles⁴⁵), and it is discussed in detail in chapter 3.

Given the importance of discovery science and pre-clinical research to the UK’s competitiveness in life sciences, the Global Talent visa’s success in attracting world-class academic talent is welcome and aligns with the policy’s strategic purpose.

However, the Global Talent visa’s success is at risk of being restricted by a prevailing perception that the visa is accessible only to the most prestigious global talent, such as the winners of notable academic awards like the Nobel Prize. This is restricting its uptake outside of academia, limiting its potential to attract the world’s top talent to the UK and contribute towards the government’s goal of making it Europe’s top life sciences economy by 2035.

Therefore, it is encouraging that the government’s Industrial Strategy, Life Sciences Sector Plan, and Immigration White Paper all recognise the vital contributions of global talent in achieving its goals for economic growth and population health. In particular, the commitment in the Immigration White Paper to streamline the Global Talent visa and increase its uptake46 is a welcome recognition that this risk requires decisive government action.

Why has the High Potential Individual visa plateaued?

These factors contributing to the stalled growth of the Global Talent visa do not apply to the High Potential Individual visa, as its eligibility criteria are not perceived as so restrictive and most of its visa holders work outside of academia. A different government survey from 2024 showed that 49% of High Potential Individual visa holders in employment work in professional occupations, rising to 89% among visa holders in employment with a doctorate.⁴⁷ Furthermore, just 13% of High Potential Individual visa holders in employment work in education, which includes those working outside of Higher Education providers such as universities.⁴⁸ That a far greater proportion of High Potential Individual visa holders are exposed to the private labour market, compared with Global Talent visa holders, may help to explain its decline in uptake.

Of the High Potential Individual visa holders surveyed, 17% were still looking for work as of mid-2024.⁴⁹ In addition, 24% of all High Potential Individual visa holders were not doing what they had planned to do when applying for the visa, and of these people: 47% reported issues finding work; 34% found work but at a lower pay level than expected; and 33% found work but at a lower skill level than expected.⁵⁰

Given the survey’s timing, it is probable that most of the surveyed visa holders acquired their High Potential Individual visa before 2024, when it was growing rapidly in uptake and sentiment about the UK economy was higher.⁵¹ Therefore, instead of its reputation or criteria, a more likely cause of the High Potential Individual visa’s stalled growth is that potential applicants were deterred by growing pessimism about the UK jobs market.

The High Potential Individual visa’s status as a short-term visa, with a duration capped at two years (or three for PhD holders), compounds the challenges arising from declining economic sentiment. The visa cannot be extended, and time spent on it does not lead to permanent residence, so visa holders pursuing longer-term work in the UK must switch to another visa category after their visa term ends. Nearly half (44%) of surveyed High Potential Individual visa holders choose not to do this, stating they do not plan stay in the UK after their visa expires.⁵² Therefore, the visa’s brief duration reinforces the likelihood that near-term perceptions of labour market conditions have a direct and impact on global talent’s use of the High Potential Individual visa.

Consequently, while the government’s commitment⁵³ to increase uptake of the High Potential Individual visa is welcome, it is likely that raising confidence in the UK economy will have a greater impact on uptake than reforming the visa itself. In particular, improved sentiment among graduates of the world’s top universities about their employment opportunities in the UK’s growth sectors, such as life sciences, will be crucial to boosting uptake. Of course, expanding the visa’s criteria will enlarge the pool of potential applicants and help to increase uptake (especially among graduates of universities outside the United States, which comprise 58% of visa holders⁵⁴), but this reform is not as urgent or as likely to be as impactful on the UK’s offer to global life sciences as reforming the Global Talent visa.

Mobility agreements

Global talent can also access a range of mobility agreements, such as the India Young Professional Scheme and youth mobility schemes, to live and work in the UK temporarily.

For instance, the UK-Switzerland Services Mobility Agreement (SMA) allows UK professionals to work in Switzerland for up to 90 days without the need for a work permit. In return, Swiss professionals can fulfil contracts in the UK by obtaining the Service Supplier (Global Business Mobility) visa.

Since its introduction in January 2021, more than 4,000 UK professionals (primarily business consultants, IT professionals, and engineers) have used the SMA to offer their services in the Swiss market.⁵⁵ In contrast, uptake of the Service Supplier (Global Business Mobility) visa has been low, with just 221 granted since its introduction.⁵⁶ This low level of uptake likely reflects the SMA’s inability to meet the talent needs of UK employers, including the life sciences sector, as talent required for longer than 6 to 12 months is better served by other immigration routes, such as the Skilled Worker visa. Yet this is a missed opportunity for bilateral talent mobility and UK competitiveness, and the government could negotiate improvements to the SMA in future talks with Switzerland.

The UK’s network of youth mobility agreements has much higher uptake than schemes like the SMA. Under these agreements, adults up to the age of 30 or 35 can apply for a sponsor-free visa to live and work in the UK for up to 2-3 years.⁵⁷ The UK granted 24,437 of these Youth Mobility Scheme visas to global talent across 13 countries in 2024, including key life sciences peers such as Australia, Canada, and Japan.⁵⁸ The visa’s minimal eligibility criteria (other than age) provide life sciences employers with a highly flexible route to recruit early-career talent.

This flexibility was a key reason why, in April 2024, the European Commission proposed a youth mobility agreement between the UK and the European Union (EU) that would allow 18 to 30-year-olds to apply for a visa lasting up to 4 years.⁵⁹ This proposal remains under discussion between the UK government, which initially rejected it, and the European Commission. In particular, the question of whether the proposed visa would have an annual cap remains unresolved at the time of writing and is a critical bottleneck to finalising an EU-UK youth mobility scheme.

To answer this question, Figure 5 provides a comparative analysis of immigration routes that are competing with the UK’s Global Talent visa to attract and recruit the world’s top life sciences talent. This analysis is then used to determine the Global Talent visa’s relative competitiveness across different elements of these immigration routes, such as their breadth of eligibility criteria and speed of visa processing, which informs the report’s later recommendations for how the government should improve the Global Talent visa’s competitiveness in order to attract more of the world’s top life sciences talent to the UK.

Figure 5. International comparison of visas targeting global life sciences talent

Visa	Description	Eligibility criteria	Processing time	Cost	GBP equivalent (approx.)	Visa length	Extendable	Time counts towards settlement	Accelerated route to settlement	Allows dependants
Global Talent Visa	For individuals recognised as leader or potential leader in one of the following fields: • academia or research • arts and culture • digital technology	• Awarded an eligible award in qualifying field • An eligible job offer as an academic or researcher • An individual fellowship • A research grant that is approved by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)	2-5 weeks (endorsement) 3-8 weeks (visa processing)	Endorsement: GBP 524 Visa: GBP 192 Immigration Health Surcharge: GBP 1,035 (per year applied for)	GBP 3,821 (3 years) GBP 5,891 (5 years)	Up to 5 years	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Australia  National Innovation Visa	For individuals with an internationally recognised exceptional achievement	Recognised records of exceptional achievement • Approved nominator • Health requirement and character requirements • No debt to the Australian government • Sign Australian values statement	Up to 11 months	AUD 4,840	GBP 2,360	Permanent	Permanent	Yes	No	Yes
Researchers	For individuals who will conduct research at a recognised institution in Belgium	• Obtain authorisation for research by recognised research organisation • Have the required qualification certificate or degree • Have an offer of employment with a Belgian research institute, that's recognised by the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office	4-8 weeks	EUR 350 (depends on length of stay)	GBP 295	3 years	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Global Skills Strategy	For high-skilled workers who will contribute to the Canadian economy in a variety of industries including Tech	• Skilled work experience • Education requirements • Job offer under qualified occupation	Up to 6 months	CAD 1,040	GBP 560	3 years	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
China Talent Visa	Issued to foreign high-level personnel and much-needed highly talented people	• Achievements in professional fields recognised internationally, including Nobel Prize winners • Scholars from Academy of Science or Academy of Engineering in foreign countries, • Professors and vice professors taking a position in the world's top 200 universities	2-3 weeks	No cost	NA	180 days duration of stay for one time entry (multi entry visa 5-10 years)	Yes	Yes	Yes (in some regions)	Yes
Research Permit	A residence permit for researchers conducting academic work in Germany	• Offer of employment from a recognised research institution • Have either a PhD or qualification that will allow you to start a PhD programme • A hosting agreement with a recognised research institution • Sufficient funds • Health insurance	6-12 weeks	EUR 100-200	GBP 145	Usually 1 year (aligned with research contract)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Talent Chercheur	For individuals who come to France for a recognised research institution	• Coming to France to conduct research or teach at the university level • An agreement with the institution for no more than 4 years • At least a master’s degree	3 to 8 weeks	EUR 269	GBP 225	3 years	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Residence Permit for research	For individuals who will conduct research at a recognised institution in Italy	• Signed hosting agreement with an authorised research organisation • Either a PhD or a qualification that will allow an individual to start PhD study	2-4 months	EUR 116	GBP 100	1 year	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Highly Skilled Professional Visa	Working visa aiming to attract highly skilled professionals to come to work in Japan	Individuals performing: • Advanced academic research activities: research or education based on contract with public or private organisations in Japan • Advanced specialised/technical activities: natural sciences or humanities • Advanced business management activities	2 to 4 weeks	JPY 4000	GBP 20	5 years	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Scientific Research Residence Permit	For highly skilled individuals who want to engage in research activities	• Working as a paid scientific researcher or doctoral candidate • Work as an unpaid research or doctoral candidate • Have a higher education degree required for PhD study • Have a Dutch employment contract or hosting agreement with the research organisation	2-8 weeks	EUR 243	GBP 205	Valid for the length of job contract (up to 5 years)	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Temporary Residence Permit for Scientific Research	For individuals who want to go to Poland and conduct scientific research	• At minimum, master's degree that allows you to start a PhD • Hosting agreement with an approved research organisation in Poland	2-4 months	PLN 340	GBP 70	3 years	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
E3 research	For individuals who want to seek to engage in high technology research and development	• Degree certificate of documents proving professional experiences • Documents related to the inviting institution/company • Employment contract	2-6 weeks	KRW 60,000	GBP 30	1 year	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Researcher visa	For researchers who want to engage in training, research and development and innovation	• Documentation to prove professional qualifications for the role • Sufficient financial resources • Must be in the following role: research staff, scientific and technical staff who carry out scientific research, development and technological innovation, teaching staff hired by universities, higher education and research bodies or institutions	10 days	EUR 80	GBP 65	1 year	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Golden Visa for Global Talent	For top talent to live and work in the UAE while enjoying exclusive benefits	• Hold an elevated or directorial role in the company • At minimum undergraduate degree from an accredited university • Hold current position for the last 5 years • Earn at least AED 30,000 annually (expected to increase to AED 50,000) • Have a valid work contract • Have to secure their certificate of equivalency	Up to 8 weeks	AED 2,800	GBP 590	10 years	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
O-1 Temporary Visa	For individuals with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics, or has demonstrated a record of extraordinary achievement	• Petitioner - a US agent, employer or foreign employer through a US agent must file for Form-129 for applicant • Written advisory opinion from a peer group/individual with extraordinary achievements in the same field • Contract between the beneficiary and the petitioner • Demonstrate a level of expertise	6 to 7 months	USD 460	GBP 355	Up to 3 years	Yes	No	No	No

Number of visas issued

The uptake of different countries’ visas, which have differing eligibility criteria, provides only a limited view of their respective competitiveness.  Additionally, most of the visas in Figure 5 do not provide data on how many visas are issued each year.

However, we can yield some insights on competitiveness from those visas that do provide this data (see Appendix 1). For instance, the Global Talent visa (4,110 visas issued in 2023) is closest in volume to the visas offered by France (4,650 in 2023) and South Korea (5,800 in 2023). In terms of applications and Expressions of Interest (EOI), the Global Talent visa likely surpasses Australia’s visa (which received around 1,880 EOIs as of December 2024) but probably lags behind Canada’s (which received 22,120 applications in 2021 alone).

This data suggests that the Global Talent Visa could attract more talent to the UK, possibly reaching levels comparable to France’s Talent Chercheur visa, if it became more competitive and addressed the factors that have limited its growth, including underutilisation outside of academia and myths about its accessibility. To better understand how the government can make the Global Talent visa more attractive to global life sciences talent, the rest of this section provides a qualitative analysis of its strengths and weaknesses relative to its competitors.

Eligibility criteria

At first glance, the Global Talent visa’s eligibility criteria are broader and more flexible than those of its competitors. Applicants can apply either as an exceptional leader in their field or as a potential future leader showing exceptional promise. This flexibility makes the Global Talent visa accessible to both established professionals and emerging talent in the life sciences sector. The Global Talent visa’s evidential requirements are similarly flexible. For example, in the research and innovation fields, applicants can apply receive endorsement via a job offer, individual fellowship, research grant or (in the absence of these) successful submission to a peer review by the applicable endorsing body.63 Applicants can also receive endorsement by winning a specified prestigious prize,64 though the volume of these applications is significantly smaller than those using the aforementioned routes. This flexibility allows global life sciences talent to apply for a Global Talent visa without a confirmed job offer or research grant, expanding the pool of potential applicants and facilitating cross-sectoral exchanges, such as moving from academia to industry. While the eligibility criteria of the Global Talent visa’s competitors vary from visa to visa, there are overarching differences that demonstrate the UK route’s comparative advantage over them:

• Australia’s National Innovation visa and the United States’ O-1 visa also target life sciences talent with exceptional achievements, but applicants for either must have a nominator or petitioner (such as an employer). In contrast, Global Talent visa applicants can apply without endorsement if they have received a prestigious award specified by the UK government.
  
  
• The visas offered by Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands require applicants to meet a baseline of formal education (such as a master’s degree or PhD) and have a job or research position offered at an eligible research organisation. In contrast, Global Talent visa applicants can apply without postgraduate education if they go through the digital technology route.
  
  
• The United Arab Emirates’ Golden Visa for Golden Talent is more flexible than these visas, as it does not require applicants to have a postgraduate education or work for a research organisation, but its salary requirement may pose a barrier to emerging life sciences talent. In contrast, Global Talent visa applicants do not need to meet a minimum salary threshold (a key differentiator from the Skilled Worker visa), though they must possess sufficient funds to pay upfront fees, such as the Immigration Health Surcharge.

However, despite this supposed flexibility, stakeholders from across the life sciences sector reported that the eligibility criteria of the Global Talent visa are a key shortcoming of the UK’s offer:

The complexity and inaccessible language of the eligibility criteria are of particular concern because, according to some stakeholders involved in endorsing Global Talent visa applicants, it leads to a substantial proportion of applicants to apply via the peer review process. One potential explanation for this trend is that applicants fear they will fail to qualify via the visa’s other routes, due to the myths described in box 2, and thus perceive the peer review process as a more flexible and lower-risk route – despite evidence from other stakeholders stating the peer review carries a higher risk of rejection.

This is a problem because peer-reviewed applications are highly resource-intensive for endorsing bodies and take longer to administer than the other routes. Overreliance on peer review, as reported by endorsing bodies, contributes to delays in visa processing times and reduces the Global Talent visa’s efficiency as an immigration route.

This inefficiency is exacerbated by the Home Office not publishing aggregated data of the success rates of the Global Talent visa’s three different fields and their varying routes to endorsement. Providing this data could address the information failure described above and better inform potential applicants. Additionally, it could help endorsing bodies to learn from other fields and endorsing bodies, thereby facilitating the exchange of best practice and improvements in the visa’s administration.

Expanding the number of endorsing bodies is not a straightforward solution to streamlining the visa. The work required to operate as an endorsing body is substantial and complex, and the role is a voluntary position, meaning this additional workload is not accompanied by extra financial aid. Consequently, the immigration system’s capacity to make endorsement decisions for the Global Talent visa is constrained in terms of both volume and range of applications.

An example of this limited range is the Global Talent visa’s digital technology route. While this route may allow some non-academic life sciences talent, such as machine learning experts, to apply for the visa, its explicit exclusion of applicants with "experience of managing large corporate teams"⁶⁵ will prevent a sizeable proportion of life sciences talent from doing so. This limitation is particularly restrictive for talent with experience working in the pharmaceutical industry, which is predominantly composed of large multinational companies, and risks deterring C-suite and other roles that could improve the UK’s ability to scale-up and commercialise life sciences innovations.

In summary, the visible flexibility of the Global Talent visa should push it far ahead of its narrower scoped competitors, but its complexity contributes to a widespread perception of it being inaccessible, limiting its uptake outside of academia and resulting in an immigration system that is slower than it needs to be. Streamlining the Global Talent visa’s eligibility criteria, without diluting its purpose of attracting the very best to the UK, will be critical to achieving the government’s ambitions for the visa, as set out in the Immigration White Paper.

Steps to accomplish this and other improvements to the Global Talent visa’s competitiveness are outlined in the report’s recommendations.

Processing time

Applicants for the Global Talent visa can encounter processing times ranging from 5 to 13 weeks. This sizeable level of variability is due, in part, to the inefficiencies described above, as well as differences between the different application routes:

• Applications based on receipt of a prestigious prize can bypass the first stage (endorsement), thereby reducing the total application process by 2 to 5 weeks.
  
  
• Applications based on endorsement go through the first stage and are typically processed within 2 weeks of submission, allowing them to proceed to the second stage. However, for endorsement based applications requiring a peer review, processing times are extended to approximately 5 weeks ⁶⁶ to allow for the additional evidence to be processed.⁶⁷
  
  
• Applications that reach the second stage can face varying processing times depending on whether the application is inside (up to 8 weeks) or outside of the UK (up to 3 weeks).
  
  
• All of these timeframes are also indicative and subject to change, which introduces further scope for variable and unpredictable processing times.

When compared with its competitors, the Global Talent visa’s processing time is middle of the range. Spain (10 days), Japan (2-4 weeks), and China (2-3 weeks) are the fastest immigration routes open to global talent, far outpacing the UK’s typical range of 5-13 weeks (or 3-8 weeks with a prize). However, the UK is much faster than the United States (6-7 months) and Australia (up to 11 months), both of which are major competitors in clinical trials⁶⁸ and other fields of life sciences research.

Cost

The cost of applying for a visa, alongside additional levies such as health insurance fees, is a major consideration for top global talent when deciding where to emigrate. Cost can be particularly influential when attracting life sciences talent into the university and research charity sectors, where salaries are lower compared with industry, as these costs consume a greater portion of their income.

The Global Talent visa is the most expensive of the visas assessed in this report, costing around £3,821 (3 years) or £5,891 (5 years) for one applicant with no dependants. This cost includes recent increases in the Immigration Health Surcharge,⁶⁹ which is paid in full and upfront when applying for the visa.

For comparison, Australia’s National Innovation visa (the second-most expensive visa) is only 61% of the cost of a 3-year Global Talent Visa and has the added benefit of being permanent. The vast majority of competing visas operate with far lower application costs, ranging from the United Arab Emirates (approximately £590) to Japan (approximately £20).

Therefore, the Global Talent visa’s application fees and the Immigration Health Surcharge make the UK’s offer to global life sciences talent decidedly less competitive, particularly talent working outside of industry. While reducing these costs would improve the UK’s competitiveness, the political sensitivity of immigration and the current fiscal environments means it is highly unlikely the government will lower application fees or the Immigration Health Surcharge. However, this should not prevent policymakers from gathering more evidence on how these costs deter the world’s top global talent from working in the UK and, in turn, impact delivery of the government’s growth agenda. Policymakers should gather more evidence on how these costs deter the world’s top global talent from working in the UK and, in turn, impact delivery of the government’s growth agenda.

Visa duration and extendibility

Unlike its competitors, the Global Talent visa offers multiple visa durations: 3 years and 5 years. Not only is this more flexible, but it is also more generous. Of 14 comparator visas, only China (510 years), the United Arab Emirates (10 years), and Australia (permanent) offer visas that can last longer than the Global Talent visa. In contrast, four visas (Germany, Italy, South Korea, and Spain) last just 1 year. Therefore, the Global Talent visa holds an advantage over most of its competitors, offering both flexibility for shorter-term contracts and longer-term stability for global talent.

Lastly, all of the visas assessed in this report are extendable. As a result, extendibility has effectively become a global standard that visas must meet to successfully compete for the world’s top talent.

Settlement and dependants

Like visa extendibility, the ability to use time spent on a visa aimed at global talent to permanently settle in a country has become a widespread norm – though not a universal one. The Global Talent visa is highly competitive in this regard, offering an accelerated route to settlement in 3 years⁷⁰ instead of 5 years (soon to be replaced with a 10-year minimum, net contributions). Of the 14 comparator visas, only three offer an accelerated route to settlement: China’s Talent Visa (3 years instead of 5 years, in certain regions);⁷¹ Germany’s Research Permit (4 years instead of 5 years);⁷² and Japan’s Highly Skilled Professional visa (1 year instead of 10 years, using a points-based system).⁷³

Not only does this make the Global Talent visa more competitive than visas offered by countries that do not offer an accelerated route to settlement, such as Canada and Australia, but it also puts it far ahead of the United States’ O-1 visa, which does not provide any route to settlement.

The importance of the Global Talent visa’s accelerated route to settlement cannot be overstated, as it plays a major role in drawing top talent to the UK despite the visa’s competitive weaknesses, such as its high cost. For instance, a government survey conducted in 2024 found that 95% of Global Talent visa holders intended to apply for settlement in the UK once eligible.⁷⁴ The accelerated route is likely to become even more attractive after the government enacts its plan to increase the time requirement for settlement from 5 to 10 years, so preserving it is vital to ensuring visa remains competitive.

Finally, all of the visas assessed in this report allow applicants to bring dependent family members, thus creating an additional global standard for visas targeting top talent.

Overall competitiveness

This report’s findings show that, despite its strengths, the Global Talent visa attracts less talent than similar visas offered by the UK’s competitors and has the potential to be more competitive.

The Global Talent visa’s accelerated route to settlement is arguably its greatest advantage, putting it ahead of nearly all 14 comparator visas, and upcoming reforms could strengthen it even further. The visa’s flexible duration, extendibility, and support for dependants are also key strengths, as they ensure the UK’s global talent offer keeps pace with those of its competitors. Similarly, the visa’s processing time is adequate, neither faster nor slower than most of its competitors, but could be more competitive if its processes were streamlined.

However, these strengths are undermined by the Global Talent visa’s two competitive weaknesses, which threaten the government’s ambition to “promote growth [by] ensuring that the very highly skilled have opportunities to come to the UK and access our targeted routes for the brightest and best global talent”:⁷²

1. The visa’s eligibility criteria do not meet the needs of industry or endorsing bodies, as their complexity contributes to a misperception of the visa’s accessibility and inefficiencies in the immigration system, making the criteria’s flexibility a competitive liability and not a strength.
   
   
2. The visa’s high up-front costs reduce its competitiveness relative  equivalent visas in peer nations, especially when targeting top life sciences talent with dependants, as this multiplies the financial burden of fees such as the Immigration Health Surcharge.

Without government intervention, these weaknesses will continue to constrain uptake of the Global Talent visa, despite the government’s Immigration White Paper placing the visa at the heart of its plan to boost economic growth by attracting top talent to growth sectors like the life sciences.

Improving the competitiveness of the UK’s offer to global life sciences talent, which is vital to achieving the government’s ambitions for sector growth, does not need to come at the expense of the government’s manifesto pledge to lower net immigration and balance day-to-day spending. Instead of proposing widespread reforms to the immigration system or expensive cuts to fees such as the Immigration Health Surcharge, this report sets out targeted and low-cost recommendations across three domains of the UK’s global talent offer:

Recommendation 1: Enhance the Global Talent visa’s competitiveness

Streamline the application routes

The Global Talent visa’s application routes and their differing eligibility criteria are overly complex, resulting in too many applicants applying via the resource-intensive peer review process out of fear they will fail to qualify via more efficient processes. Consequently, the visa’s delivery is less efficient than it should be, leading to slower processing times than those offered by many competing visas.

Streamlining the Global Talent visa’s application routes, such as by merging routes together and adding greater flexibility to their eligibility criteria, should reduce the complexity faced by applicants. In turn, this change should make it easier for applicants (and endorsing bodies) to navigate the system and identify (and recommend) the optimal application route to use, thereby reducing reliance on the peer review process. Streamlining would also align with the government’s commitment to make the Global Talent visa “simpler and easier for top scientific and design talent to use”.⁷⁵

A recent agreement between the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)⁶⁶ is a practical example of this streamlining. Specifically, UKRI has made it simpler for AMRC member charities to register as endorsed research funders, allowing recipients of their research grants to apply for the Global Talent visa without using the lengthy peer review process. The Home Office, in partnership with UKRI, could explore applying the lessons learned from the AMRC-UKRI agreement to other parts of the life sciences sector, plus the seven other growth sectors. For example, allowing members of trade associations in R&D-intensive sectors to fast-track the endorsement of applicants with a job offer could increase the industry’s uptake of the Global Talent visa.

Publish data on application outcomes

Another factor that contributes to the inefficient delivery of the Global Talent visa is the lack of published data on applicants’ success rates, which contributes to the complexity faced by applicants and their reliance on the peer review process. Applicants would be better informed of the visa’s application routes if they could view this data (in aggregate), and it could also persuade more of them to apply via more efficient endorsement routes, such as the job offer route. Developing a public dashboard on Global Talent visa application outcomes across the three fields and their endorsement routes would achieve this effect. Furthermore, this dashboard would progress the Industrial Strategy’s commitment to “continuously monitor and evaluate the effectiveness”⁶⁷ of government policymaking.

Preserve the Global Talent visa’s existing strengths

To ensure the UK’s offer keeps pace with its competitors, the government must preserve the Global Talent visa’s competitive strengths while it reforms the wider immigration system. Specifically, the Global Talent visa’s 3-year accelerated route to settlement and flexible and extendible duration, and support for talent to bring their dependants with them must not be diluted or removed.

Recommendation 2: Adopt a pro-growth approach to talent mobility

The Global Talent visa is just one element of the UK’s offer to global life sciences talent. Providing employers and global talent with greater awareness and understanding of the UK’s immigration routes is vital to making its offer more competitive. Additionally, reducing the immediate upfront costs to applicants would address a persistent and high-profile weakness in the UK’s global talent offer.

Promote the UK’s global talent offer

If the government wants to achieve its ambition to “double the number of workers that an overseas business can send to the UK with the aim of establishing a presence in the UK”,⁷⁸ it must ensure that industry understands the immigration routes available. Therefore, a government campaign of industry engagement, ranging from UK-based SMEs to globally headquartered multinational companies, should be implemented to promote these routes. Particular focus should be placed on the Global Talent and High Potential Individual visas, which could include providing clearer guidance on their purposes and eligibility criteria. Furthermore, the government could work with trade associations, such as the ABPI, and cross-departmental bodies, such as the Office for Life Sciences and the Office for Investment, to disseminate this campaign.

Align settlement reform with the growth agenda

In addition to retaining the Global Talent visa’s accelerated route to settlement, the government should consider how reform of settlement could impact the attractiveness of other immigration routes targeting the world’s top talent and any knock-on effects on growth. For instance, the government could accelerate the route to settlement of Skilled Worker visa holders and their dependants if they work in one of the Modern Industrial Strategy’s eight growth sectors, which would maintain the route’s competitiveness while remaining aligned with the shift to a points-based settlement model.

Recommendation 3: Advance talent mobility in bilateral negotiations

Finally, as the government progresses negotiations with Switzerland, the European Commission and European Union, and other countries or trading blocs, it should explore and pursue opportunities to enhance the mobility of global life sciences talent. This could include: establishing or streamlining talent mobility schemes, such as an EU-UK youth mobility scheme; agreeing mutual recognition of standards and qualifications in regulated roles, such as Qualified Persons involved in batch release for medicines; expanding the range of temporary work visas targeting the eight growth sectors, such as life sciences; and considering practical barriers to talent mobility, such as expanding the use of eGates in airports, in future negotiations.

1. UK Government, ‘Life Sciences Sector Plan’, July 2025
   
   
2. Office for National Statistics, ‘Business enterprise research and development UK: 2023’, December 2024
   
   
3. ABPI, ‘Creating the conditions for investment and growth: Pharmaceutical industry investment competitiveness framework 2025’, September 2025
   
   
4. Lightcast, ‘Life Sciences 2035: Developing the Skills for Future Growth’, March 2025
   
   
5. UK Government, ‘Life Sciences Sector Plan’, July 2025
   
   
6. Lightcast, ‘Life Sciences 2035: Developing the Skills for Future Growth’, March 2025
   
   
7. Office for National Statistics, ‘Business enterprise research and development UK: 2023’, December 2024
   
   
8. European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, ‘The Pharmaceutical Industry in Figures 2025’, August 2025
   
   
9. Frontier Economics, ‘The value of industry clinical trials to the UK, extended report’, December 2024
   
   
10. Office for Life Sciences, ‘Bioscience and health technology sector statistics 2021 to 2022’, May 2024
    
    
11. Medicines Manufacturing Industry Partnership, ‘Follow the green, high-tech road’, June 2023
    
    
12. IFPMA, ‘Always Innovating: Pharmaceutical Industry Facts & Figures’, December 2024
    
    
13. Frontier Economics, ‘The value of industry clinical trials to the UK, extended report’, December 2024
    
    
14. PwC, ‘Life Sciences Superpower’, June 2022
    
    
15. Office for Life Sciences, ‘Life sciences competitiveness indicators 2024’, July 2024
    
    
16. ABPI, ‘How skills requirements are changing’, June 2023
    
    
17. Lightcast, ‘Life Sciences 2035: Developing the Skills for Future Growth’, March 2025
    
    
18. Lightcast, ‘Life Sciences 2035: Developing the Skills for Future Growth’, March 2025
    
    
19. ABPI, ‘How skills requirements are changing’, June 2023
    
    
20. ABPI, ‘How skills requirements are changing’, June 2023
    
    
21. Lightcast, ‘Life Sciences 2035: Developing the Skills for Future Growth’, March 2025
    
    
22. GBM – maximum duration is 5 years in any 6-year period, unless salary is over £73,900 when the maximum duration is 9 years in any 10-year period
    
    
23. Graduate – maximum duration is to be reduced to 18 months under the NPI
    
    
24. Youth Mobility – May extend in country for a further 12 months if applicant is from Australia, Canada or New Zealand
    
    
25. European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, ‘The Pharmaceutical Industry in Figures 2025’, August 2025
    
    
26. Home Office, ‘Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper’, May 2025
    
    
27. Home Office, ‘Sponsored work visas by occupation and industry, year ending June 2025 (Occ_D02: Filtered for Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities)', August 2025
    
    
28. Home Office, Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes, detailed datasets, year ending June 2025, August 2025
    
    
29. UK Visas and Immigration, Home Office immigration and nationality fees: 9 April 2025 (Sponsorship)’, April 2025
    
    
30. UK Government, ‘UK visa sponsorship for employers: Immigration skills charge', September 2025
    
    
31. UK Government, ‘Pay for UK healthcare as part of your immigration application: How much you have to pay', September 2025
    
    
32. Home Office, 'Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes, detailed datasets, year ending June 2025', August 2025
    
    
33. Home Office, 'Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes, detailed datasets, year ending June 2025', August 2025
    
    
34. Home Office, ‘Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper’, May 2025
    
    
35. Home Office, ‘Statement of changes to the Immigration Rules: HC 997, 1 July 2025’, July 2025
    
    
36. It should be noted that this particular advantage may be less impactful for the life sciences sector, as employers of many scientific roles (for example, biological scientists) are exempt from paying the Immigration Skills Charge.
    
    
37. Royal Society, ‘Global Talent visa: overview’, July 2025
    
    
38. Home Office, ‘Global Talent: science, engineering, humanities, social science and medicine prizes’, April 2025
    
    
39. Ipsos UK, ‘Global Talent visa evaluation: Wave 2 report’, March 2024
    
    
40. Home Office, 'Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes, detailed datasets, year ending June 2025', August 2025
    
    
41. Prior to 2020, the Tier 1 Exceptional Talent visa
    
    
42. Ipsos UK, ‘Global Talent visa evaluation: Wave 2 report’, March 2024
    
    
43. IFF Research, ‘High Potential Individual (HPI) route evaluation’, May 2025
    
    
44. Ipsos UK, ‘Global Talent visa evaluation: Wave 2 report’, March 2024
    
    
45. Ipsos UK, ‘Global Talent visa evaluation: Wave 2 report’, March 2024
    
    
46. Home Office, ‘Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper’, May 2025
    
    
47. IFF Research, ‘High Potential Individual (HPI) route evaluation’, May 2025
    
    
48. IFF Research, ‘High Potential Individual (HPI) route evaluation’, May 2025
    
    
49. IFF Research, ‘High Potential Individual (HPI) route evaluation’, May 2025
    
    
50. IFF Research, ‘High Potential Individual (HPI) route evaluation’, May 2025
    
    
51. House of Commons Library, ‘Business and consumer confidence: Economic indicators’, August 2025
    
    
52. IFF Research, ‘High Potential Individual (HPI) route evaluation’, May 2025
    
    
53. Home Office, ‘Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper’, May 2025
    
    
54. IFF Research, ‘High Potential Individual (HPI) route evaluation’, May 2025
    
    
55. State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, ‘Switzerland–United Kingdom: Services Mobility Agreement extended’, November 2022
    
    
56. Home Office, ‘Entry clearance visa outcomes dataset, year ending June 2025’, October 2025
    
    
57. Nationals of Canada, Australia and New Zealand can extend their stay for a further year from within the UK, taking the total maximum stay to up to three years.
    
    
58. Home Office, ‘Entry clearance visa outcomes dataset, year ending June 2025’, October 2025
    
    
59. European Commission, ‘Commission proposes to open negotiations to facilitate youth mobility between the EU and the UK’, April 2024
    
    
60. UK Government, ‘Work in the UK as a researcher or academic leader (Global Talent visa): Peer review’, September 2025
    
    
61. Home Office, ‘Global Talent: science, engineering, humanities, social science and medicine prizes’, April 2025
    
    
62. UK Visas and Immigration, ‘Technical or business skills covered by Tech Nation’, February 2021
    
    
63. UK Government, ‘Work in the UK as a researcher or academic leader (Global Talent visa): Overview’, September 2025
    
    
64. UK Government, ‘Work in the UK as a researcher or academic leader (Global Talent visa): Peer review’, September 2025
    
    
65. ABPI, ‘The road to recovery for UK industry clinical trials’, December 2024
    
    
66. House of Commons Library, ‘The immigration health surcharge’, August 2024
    
    
67. UK Government, ‘Immigration Rules Appendix Global Talent’, September 2025
    
    
68. Dezan Shira & Associates, ‘Line Up for your Chinese Green Card: China Makes Changes to Visa and Permit Policies to Attract Foreign Talent’, July 2015
    
    
69. Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space, ‘Entry and Residence: Doing research’, September 2025
    
    
70. Daiichi-Sogo Group, ‘How to Obtain a Permanent Resident Visa Using the Point System for Highly Skilled Human Resources’, November 2024
    
    
71. Ipsos UK, ‘Global Talent visa evaluation: Wave 2 report’, March 2024
    
    
72. Home Office, ‘Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper’, May 2025
    
    
73. Home Office, ‘Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper’, May 2025
    
    
74. Association of Medical Research Charities, ‘AMRC and UKRI streamline the Global Talent visa endorsed funder process for AMRC charities’, March 2025
    
    
75. Department for Business and Trade, ‘The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy’, June 2025
    
    
76. Home Office, ‘Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper’, May 2025