Global Talent visa or Skilled Worker visa: What is the best way to hire international talent for an employer?
Global Talent visa or Skilled Worker visa: What is the best way to hire international talent for an employer?
In recent years, the Home Office has unveiled several new visa routes to attract some of the top talent from around the world, and the Global Talent visa is an attractive new option available for potential employees and employers.
Replacing the Tier 1 Exceptional Talent visa, the Global Talent visa allows you to hire leaders or potential leaders in the fields of academia or research, arts and culture, and digital technologies.
This new visa opens up a world of opportunities for employers to hire world-class talent through more flexible options rather than other more specific visa pathways like the Skilled Worker visa route.
If you’re interested in hiring talent through the Global Talent visa, understanding the terms of the visa route can help you determine if it’s the best option to meet your recruitment requirements.
Who can you hire under the Global Talent visa?
The visa allows you to hire leaders or potential leaders in select fields such as science, engineering, medicine, social sciences, humanities, academic research, arts and culture, and technology.
Unlike regular visa routes, employers don’t need a sponsor licence to hire candidates through the Global Talent visa route. The route allows talent to travel to and stay in the UK without a job offer from an employer, and you can hire them through your regular recruitment process.
That said, any applicant must be endorsed by one of the six endorsing bodies to qualify for the Global Talent visa.
If you’re hiring employees for arts, culture, and technology-related jobs, the candidates must be endorsed by either the Arts Council England or Tech Nation.
For companies looking to hire employees for any of the other specified industries, your candidates must be endorsed by the British Academy, Royal Academy of Engineering, Royal Society, or UK Research and Innovation.
You can hire candidates without endorsement if they’ve won an eligible award such as the Pritzker Prize, the Royal Gold Medal, the Turing Award or any qualifying awards in their respective fields.
What employers stand to gain from the Global Talent visa
Unlike the Skilled Worker visa route, which requires employers to hold a valid sponsor licence and bear all the costs associated with bringing a skilled worker to the UK, the Global Talent visa requires no involvement from the employer.
If you’re an employer, this recruitment route also gives you a lot more flexibility in terms of compliance responsibilities.
For instance, you are not required to update the Home Office regarding any changes to the job role of your employees, keep extensive records that are usually required when sponsoring workers or even issue a Certificate of Sponsorship to your employees.
That said, there are several downsides to the global talent visa. Firstly, it’s hard for candidates to apply for and obtain a visa. While you can help them find endorsements, it requires a lot of effort and time.
Secondly, even if you succeed in helping your candidates obtain endorsements and get the visa, they are not required to work for you. They can leave at any time and join another employee without having to look for sponsorship.
Skilled Worker visa Vs Global Talent visa: Which should you choose?
In addition to the above-mentioned flip sides, the Global Talent visa may not always be the best option for your organisation depending on your circumstances.
This is because only professionals in certain sectors can apply for the Global Talent visa and they must be leaders in their respective fields. Not only that, you may not be able to hire Global Talent visa holders for a range of operational vacancies you need to fill in.
On the other hand, hiring talent through the Skilled Worker visa gives you several benefits:
- The employee can only work at your company, investing their time, skills, and experience in the development of your company
- The process of hiring international talent through the Skilled Worker visa is much simpler compared to the Global Talent visa route
Hire the best talent with professional support
You have several options if you’re looking to hire talent to overcome the skills shortages in the country. While not all visa routes may benefit your organisation, our professionals can help you choose the best option for you.
Get in touch with Nation.better today to learn more about the recruitment routes available to you.
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