How I Applied for (and Received!) the UK Global Talent Visa (Exceptional Promise) for Literature
In August of 2023, I received my Global Talent UK visa under the exceptional promise (or as a “potential leader”) in literature category.
This visa is often touted as one of the best visas to hold and one of the most difficult visas to receive. On the one hand, you’ll be eligible for permanent residence, or Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK after 5 years – the end of the visa term. The visa also doesn’t tie you to any company or individual, but allows you to work in any field you’d like, even if it isn’t the field your “global talent” is from (a very useful benefit to an author who still has a day-job, like me!). On the other hand, people see this visa as something for famous people – which is fair, when you read the eligible awards list on the uk.gov website and see things like “If you’ve won an Oscar, do this.”
The application process is expensive and time consuming. If you’re applying without an eligible award (if the Nobel committee is slow to return your calls, for example!) then you need to be endorsed by a UK governing body before you’re eligible for the visa. While I was applying, I tried to find as much information about the process as humanly possible – this post by fellow author Elizabeth May held a top spot in my “frequently visited” list. I thought I’d pay it forward and write up my own guide/explanation of how I received my global talent visa!
A few notes to begin with: this was my experience, in 2023, with specifically exceptional promise and specifically literature. I can’t tell you how to format or complete your own application or provide any kind of legal advice, because I just write books and cross my fingers, really. I didn’t use a solicitor to compile or send my application for phase one or two of this visa, but I did take advantage of two free consultations to get my ducks in a row beforehand. Mentions of speaking with solicitors below happened during those consultations, and not because I’d hired them for this!
My debut, Hazel Hill is Gonna Win This One (graphic from the American Booksellers Association)
What is a Global Talent Visa? (UK)
The Global Talent visa (GTV) is a UK visa that allows holders to live and work in the UK for up to 5 years at a time. Individuals with a GTV are either leaders or “developing leaders” in their fields, which can be arts, tech, or academia. This guide will focus on arts, because that’s how I applied – as a developing leader (also known as Exceptional Promise – more on that in a second) in the field of literature.
You can extend a GTV as many times as you want (though, again, once you’ve held it for 5 years you’re likely eligible for Indefinite Leave to Remain, which is a clear path to citizenship), you can bring over a partner or dependant children, and you have the right to live and work in the UK freely. In short, it’s a very desirable visa, but one that isn’t talked about very often and is usually seen as something for Other People. When I was applying, all of the people I’d seen get a GTV for literature had been New York Times bestsellers. I am definitely not that! At the time of my application in June 2023, I had one published book that had released about 8 months prior, and 2 other books contracted (though note: if you’re applying under the literature path, you can only use published books as evidence! You can’t use contracted books, though I certainly made sure those books were mentioned in my letters of reference (again, more on those below)).
Exceptional Talent vs. Exceptional Promise
When you’re applying for an endorsement, you decide whether you’d like to apply under Exceptional Talent or Exceptional Promise. Exceptional Talent is for individuals who have a proven record of impact in multiple countries, and who have worked in their industry for more than 5 years. Exceptional promise is for people who have impacted one or more countries (and this can be your home country) and/or have worked in their industry for less than 5 years.
Again, you make the decision as to whether you apply for Exceptional Talent or Exceptional Promise. Something I didn’t know until I had a consultation with a solicitor was that, specifically for Arts applications, if you apply under Exceptional Talent but Arts Council England (the endorsing body for Arts applications) doesn’t believe you fit the criteria, they’ll automatically consider you for Exceptional Promise. Some people then find it makes sense for them to apply for Exceptional Talent, because there’s not much risk (if it turns out they fall under Exceptional Promise then they’ll just be endorsed for that, no problem) but an Exceptional Talent endorsement allows the visa holder to gain ILR status after 3 years instead of 5, so some people think it’s worth a shot to try.
I personally chose to apply under Exceptional Promise, since I only had one published book to my name. Thankfully, that one book had received enough recognition to satisfy the endorsement requirements. I’ll go into more detail about the evidence I provided for my endorsement application below.
A promotional shot of the UK edition of Hazel in a book box
How to Apply for a Global Talent Visa
The GTV application process occurs in two stages: applying for your endorsement, and then applying for your visa. You split the cost of the visa application into two parts, the bulk of which goes to your endorsement application fee. If you aren’t endorsed, the fee is not refunded. You can apply for stage one and stage two at the same time if you’d like, but you’ll have to pay all the fees, including the extremely hefty International Healthcare Surcharge, upfront (the IHS will be refunded if your visa application isn’t successful, though).
I’m married to a British citizen, so our back-up plan was always for us to figure out a spousal/family visa if I wasn’t able to be endorsed. Because of that, I chose to apply just for stage one, the endorsement, first.
Stage One: Arts Council England Endorsement for Global Talent Visa
To apply for an endorsement from Arts Council England for Global Promise, you need to provide:
A copy of your author CV – I made mine on the fly, but was able to include things that would otherwise not be admissible, such as the two books that hadn’t yet been published, but were under contract, and smaller-scale recognition and interviews that probably wouldn’t count as full evidence, but demonstrated my reach. I used Scottish Book Trust’s guide to writing an author CV to help write mine.
Ten pieces of evidence from at least two of the following categories:
Media Recognition
Appearances and Publications
Awards
Arts Council England has an incredibly comprehensive guide to what does and doesn’t count as evidence, as well as a really helpful and communicative email line you can contact if you have questions about your application. They can’t tell you 100% yes or no on individual pieces of evidence, but they do their best to guide you however they can. One solicitor I spoke to said they enjoyed doing applications for ACE because they seem to “want” to endorse people – they’re genuinely looking for arts and cultural talent to come to the UK, so they’re usually looking for reasons to provide the endorsement rather than withhold it.
Again, my endorsement application was based entirely around my debut middle grade novel, Hazel Hill is Gonna Win This One. I sent evidence from all three categories – 2 from media recognition, 4 from appearances and publications, and 4 from awards. Below, I’ll outline the specific evidence I sent with my endorsement application.
Evidence: Media Recognition
For the media recognition category, I used two US trade reviews for Hazel. Arts Council specifies that a review of a work needs to contain a critique, and I think that trips people up sometimes – it doesn’t mean they need to be negative towards the work, they just need to be viewing it with a critical lens – a review is a perfect example of that!
My two pieces of evidence were a Kirkus review and a Publishers Weekly review. Both reviews were starred (denoting exceptional merit), which is always a plus, but the fact that the book was reviewed in major trade publications was the main point of the evidence. I’m sure if both reviews said “this book sucked, absolutely not” then I wouldn’t have used them, but, in general, a review itself is good evidence for this section.
The headline of the Kirkus review for Hazel Hill is Gonna Win This One
Evidence: Appearances and Publications
This category is where, if you’re applying as an author, you’ll likely be placing the bulk of your evidence – your whole thing is publications, after all!
As I said above, I provided 4 pieces of evidence for this category:
Publication, sales, and distribution numbers for Hazel in both the US and the UK. These were screenshots from my publisher’s agent portal (for the US) and Nielson Bookscan (for the UK). I backed up all these numbers with signed letters from my US and UK agents, confirming that they were correct and up-to-date at the time of the application.
Advertising for my appearance in a virtual panel I did with Books of Wonder called “Great Middle Grade Reads” in November of 2022. The panel was recorded, so I was able to link to it.
Photos from two in-person school visits I was invited to in the Bronx – both happened on the same day, so I included them as the same piece of evidence, but I assume I’d have been able to use them as two separate pieces if they were from two different days. With this, I also included a signed letter from the bookseller who organized both visits confirming my attendance, dates, number of kids in attendance, and number of books sold as a result of the visits.
Publishers Weekly article screenshots/links speaking about my appearance at the Children’s Institute conference put on by the American Bookseller Association in June 2022. I was named in both articles that were talking about programming (I was invited as part of the Indies Introduce program and did a reading/signed ARCs of Hazel), but if I hadn’t been, I would have tried to include a letter from someone who organized the conference confirming my attendance. If you’re applying for Exceptional Promise, you don’t necessarily need to be the sole focus of an event, as long as you contributed in a significant way.
A note about evidence length: the official guidance for submitting your endorsement application says they won’t accept anything more than 2 pages of A4 for each piece of evidence. I was worried that my publication evidence wouldn’t be accepted because I needed much more than that (sales records in the US were 3 full pages long, just because of their format, and I was wary of cutting and pasting images and making it look fake. I had another 2 pages of UK sales evidence, and then the 2 letters, one page each, from my US and UK agents). After seeing a few people online saying they “got away with” extra pages, I decided to shoot my shot with the longer evidence, and it worked out for me. I might have just gotten a particularly nice member of ACE checking my application, though! There’s not really much way of knowing, but I did receive my endorsement with my evidence going over the page limit.
Signing books at a school visit. (I’d just gotten off a plane and I’m Deeply Pregnant in this photo)
Evidence: Awards
I provided my final 4 pieces of evidence in the awards category.
Note: the definition of “awards” is a bit nebulous as it pertains to literature. Obviously, if you’ve won a major award like the Booker or the Printz, that more than counts. (Actually, I’m pretty sure the Booker is on the accepted awards list where you wouldn’t need to apply for endorsement anyway). I was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award, which was a HUGE deal for me. If you’re applying under Exceptional Promise, then a nomination is enough – if you’re applying under Exceptional Talent, it has to be a win. My other awards, though, were smaller, and more like list inclusions than full awards. When in doubt, check out your book(s) on Edelweiss or your publisher’s website – the awards or honors that they choose to highlight are probably the more important, impressive ones.
My evidence for the Awards category consisted of the following. All awards were given to my middle grade debut, Hazel Hill is Gonna Win This One.
2023 Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts Award, given by the National Council of Language Arts
2023 Lambda Literary Award nomination for LGBTQ+ Middle Grade Fiction
ABA Summer/Fall 2022 Indies Introduce list (kids)
ABA November/December 2022 Indie Next list
These were very straightforward to prove – I just screenshot web pages and linked to them.
The nominees for the 2023 Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ+ Middle Grade Literature — there’s Hazel on the end!
Letters of Reference
The other major part of a GTV endorsement application is your reference letters. You need to send three of them – two on behalf of a “cultural organization” and one can be from a peer, or someone not writing on behalf of a cultural organization. At least one of your cultural organization letters must be from the UK. (I had initially thought about trying to have all three of my letters come from people/organizations in the UK to demonstrate that I had strong ties to it, but a solicitor advised against that – she said to try to have them come from 2 or more countries to demonstrate a global footprint, instead)
There’s some debate over what counts as a “cultural organization,” but I took it to mean a business directly related to me and my writing. That meant literary agencies and publishers to me, but if you have ties to an arts foundation or something similar, it’s likely that that would be accepted, too. Arts Council can’t tell you in advance of your application whether an organization is acceptable; they judge them on a case by case basis. Hazel was published by a Big Five publisher, so when one of my letters came from an editorial director from that publisher I assume it was a pretty straightforward process of knowing it was acceptable.
Note, as well, that your cultural organization letters need to be from someone authorized to speak on behalf of the organization. It doesn’t need to be quite as official as the owner of the company/organization, though – someone with at least “senior” or “executive” or “director” in their title should suffice.
Each letter needs to, according to the uk.gov guidance:
Contain details of the writer’s CV (previously, they needed to come with their actual CV, but my letters were accepted with just a brief overview of the writer’s career)
Share details of your achievements in your field
Explain how you would benefit from living in the UK
Explain how the UK would benefit from having you (this, and the one before, are big ones! I saw a TON of people on forums and the r/ukvisa subreddit rejected because their letters didn’t satisfy these requirements – make sure your letters are EXTREMELY straightforward and explicit about this. Explain it to them like they’re five.)
Include full contact details for the writer – email and direct phone number
Be signed, dated, and printed on letterhead (all of your evidence is sent electronically, but include letterhead at the top of the digital letters)
My three letters came from:
The editorial director for the imprint of my US middle grade publisher
The head of my UK agency
My US agent (this was my “personal” reference letter)
I wrote skeleton drafts for all three of these letters, so that all of the people writing them were able to make quick changes, plug in personal information, and then sign them. This was definitely the most straightforward option – I’ve heard a lot of people talk about how long it takes to get these letters back, because the people you need to be asking are so high up in their careers that they’re understandably super busy! It’s usually easier to have them approve/add to an existing draft than have them write something from scratch that you might need updates to anyway.
Global Talent Visa Reference Letter Templates
It’s really hard to find information about the reference letters that specifically apply to arts – there are a few examples for the tech stream of GT, but few, if any, about letters for Arts Council recommendations. So, I’ll put my three letters (with identifying information/details removed) below, so you can get a feel for what worked for me.
Letter One (from the head of my UK agency):
To Whom It May Concern,
Thank you for the opportunity to write on behalf of Maggie Horne as part of her Global Talent (Exceptional Promise) Visa endorsement application. It is my hope that Arts Council England will agree with my recommendation to endorse Maggie on the basis of her work in the children’s literature field.
(2-3 sentences about the letter-writer’s career path)
I’ve known Maggie in a professional capacity since 2021, when she was signed as an author by an agent at (my agency). Maggie’s debut novel Hazel Hill is Gonna Win This One then quickly sold to Firefly Press, a Welsh independent publisher and winner of the 2023 British Book Awards’ Small Press of The Year award. (3 sentences about my books, both published and contracted.)
(3-sentence paragraph providing further details of the marketing and response to Hazel)
In addition to her accolades from the industry, Maggie’s work has found readers who love it as much as we do. (3 sentences about reader support and interviews/publicity)
I believe that Maggie and her literary career both would certainly benefit from living in the UK. (3 sentences about why I would benefit – citing both personal (family ties on my wife’s side) and professional (UK publication history) reasons, as well as professional reasons as to why the UK would benefit)
It is my professional opinion that Maggie has the potential to become a global leader in the literature field and an excellent contribution to British literary culture.
I’m available to answer follow-up questions about Maggie’s career or suitability for the Global Talent Visa at (email and phone number)
Letter Two (from the Editorial Director of my US publisher):
To Whom It May Concern,
Thank you for the opportunity to write on behalf of Maggie Horne as part of her Global Talent (Exceptional Promise) Visa endorsement application. It is my hope that Arts Council England will agree with my recommendation to endorse Maggie on the basis of her work in the children’s literature field.
(3 sentences about her career) (2-3 sentences about my career and how it relates to the publisher)
Hazel Hill is Gonna Win This One was published October 18th, 2022, and was well-received by the industry and readers alike. (5 sentences about Hazel’s reception, citing starred reviews, appearances, awards, and other industry positivity)
In addition to her accolades from the industry, Maggie’s work has found readers who love it as much as we do. (2 sentences about panel appearances and school visits)
If Maggie were able to relocate to the UK, I know that she’d be able to reach an even larger audience of readers and reach her full potential as a leader in her field. (2 sentences about how the UK would benefit from having me/I’d benefit from being in the UK)
In conclusion, it is my professional opinion that Maggie has the potential to become a global leader in the literature field, and I also believe that living in the UK will allow her to build her career further, while also contributing greatly to British cultural life.
I’m available to answer follow-up questions about Maggie’s career or suitability for the Global Talent Visa at (email and phone number)
Letter Three (From my US agent):
Attn: Arts Council England
Re: Margaret Horne: Global Talent (Exceptional Promise) Visa Letter of Recommendation
To Whom It May Concern,
Thank you for the opportunity to write on behalf of Maggie Horne as part of her Global Talent (Exceptional Promise) Visa endorsement application. It is my hope that Arts Council England will agree with my recommendation to endorse Maggie on the basis of her work in the children’s literature field.
(3-5 sentences explaining her career and the international reputation of the agency)
(5 sentences about the publication process for Hazel – the book sold at auction and this was the only spot I could think to include that information!) I have no doubt that Maggie has the potential to become a leader in the children’s literature field, especially as contracts are in place for future books (more information about upcoming books)
(3 sentences about my publication history in the UK, as well as future books set to be published in the UK). I believe that Maggie’s career would especially thrive if she were able to relocate to the UK.
In addition to supporting her existing literary career in the UK, further proximity to British publishing would give Maggie further opportunities to connect with peers and readers alike. I believe this would be a huge factor in Maggie’s ability to reach her full potential as a leader in her field.
Likewise, the UK would no doubt benefit from being Maggie’s home base. (2-3 sentences about the way the UK would benefit from having me)
In conclusion, it is my professional opinion that Maggie has the potential to become a global leader in the literature field, and I also believe that living in the UK will allow her to build her career further, while also contributing greatly to British cultural life.
I’m available to answer follow-up questions about Maggie’s career or suitability for the Global Talent Visa at (contact details).
Stage Two: Visa Application
I think this was the stage that I was the most surprised by – not because anything unusual happened, but because I’d spent so much time stressing out about Stage One of the application that I think I’d tricked myself into thinking Stage Two would just be checking a few boxes, confirming my endorsement letter, and being on my way.
It wasn’t too different from that, actually, but there was more to it than I had initially thought. I did Stage Two online (I’m pretty sure that’s the only way you can do it) and answered questions about past travel to the UK, past travel to the US, EU, Australia, and NZ, and my family. Everything was straightforward and the Stage Two application took about 1-2 hours in total.
From there, I booked to provide my biometrics (fingerprints and photograph, along with a video recording of me stating my name and date of birth). This process was time-consuming (student visa season meant I was in the VFS office for about 3 hours for what was supposed to be a 15-minute appointment) but not particularly stressful or taxing. 7 days later, I had my passport in my hand, with its entry clearance vignette!
Global Talent Visa Application Timeline
Please take my timeline with a grain of salt – I’ve seen dozens of timelines that provide wildly different information. Sometimes things take a couple of days, sometimes every stage takes the full estimated time or longer.
I applied over the summer, and ended up applying for Stage Two in August. This is prime student visa season – at this time of year, the home office diverts people who work in other areas to exclusively work on student visas, because there are so many of them and they’re on a very strict timeline to be able to enter the UK before their courses start. Additionally, in my conversations with others who were applying for endorsements, I found out that I coincidentally happened to be applying during a period where Arts Council was receiving an unusually high number of endorsement applications. If you see someone say they were endorsed within a day or two, but you’re on week 6 of your own wait, try not to read into it!
Started collecting evidence: January 2023
Applied for endorsement from Arts Council England: June 15th, 2023
(I sent my evidence on the same day, via the email address provided after the initial endorsement application was completed)
Home office confirmed receipt of application and evidence: June 20th, 2023
Notice of successful endorsement from Arts Council England: August 4th, 2023 (32 working days from confirmation of receipt)
Applied for stage two online: August 9th, 2023
Provided biometrics and passport to VFS (Ottawa, Canada office): August 10th, 2023
* Note: I paid extra for Priority service here, which is supposed to get you your decision within 7 working days. When I met with the agent at VFS, she let me know that the current actual wait time for Priority service was 5-10 working days, or about 2 weeks. I assume this had something to do with the fact that it was student visa season *
Received “Your application has been successful” letter from UKVI: August 17th, 2023 (5 working days after biometrics)
Passport with entry clearance vignette delivered: August 18th, 2023 (6 working days after biometrics)
My Tips and Tricks for a Successful Global Talent Visa Application
Don’t overthink it: In my consultations with solicitors, they were extremely cautious about my chances with this visa. I’m sure it was a combination of not wanting to make false promises and also wanting me to think I needed to pay them or else I wouldn’t be able to get it, but I decided to just give it a shot, and it ended up working in my favor. If you think you might have a shot – if you have ten pieces of evidence that you think fit the basic criteria, and three people who will write your letters – then apply. While the endorsement process is subjective, at the end of the day, the Arts Council just needs to check off their boxes in order to grant your endorsement.
Home Office assumes a basic level of knowledge: Make sure to do your research before you even start gathering evidence. This isn’t a visa that you can just sit down one day and apply for; most people spend months gathering evidence and making sure their letter-writers are available and willing before they even think about the actual application. The more knowledge you have, the easier the process will be.
They’re flexible, but don’t push your luck: I mentioned earlier that I tried to sneak in extra pages of evidence to properly establish my sales. I think this was probably okayed because, had they stuck to the 2 pages of A4 rule, they simply wouldn’t have enough information to even determine whether the evidence was acceptable. This means that, if you’re in a similar situation, I wouldn’t sweat about throwing that extra essential information in. This does not mean you should throw everything you’ve got in your endorsement application and expect ACE to pick and choose what’s most useful.
Keep a clear head: This visa is kind of unique in that you might end up with three separate waiting periods, each of which come with their own stresses. You have to wait to find out whether you’ll be endorsed, and then whether your Stage Two application is approved, and then for your passport to be returned with your entry vignette. Try to stay busy and distracted during your waiting times (personally I chose to grow and care for a newborn, but ymmv)
If you’re applying for the Global Talent visa, good luck!! If you found this useful, the best way to thank me would be to buy my books so that I can afford to live in the UK. Cozzie livs and all, etc, etc.