Three UK routes require an endorsement from a named body before the visa application can be made: Global Talent, Innovator Founder and International Sportsperson. Global Talent is where almost all the difficulty sits, because the endorsing body — not the Home Office — decides whether your evidence meets its field criteria. A new design pathway opened in 2026, and the Innovator Founder list of bodies has shrunk twice this year.
On This Page
Endorsement Before Application
An endorsement is a two-stage system. Stage one is an application to an approved body, which assesses your work against its published criteria and issues an endorsement letter. Stage two is the visa application to the Home Office, which awards the points the endorsement carries and checks suitability, English and the rest. Fail stage one and stage two never happens.
That split matters because the two stages have different remedies. A refused visa application may attract an administrative review; a refused endorsement does not. The endorsing body runs its own review — one only, within 28 calendar days, with no new evidence and a response usually inside 28 days — and beyond that the residual remedy is judicial review. No reported case between 2024 and 2026 has tested the reviewability of an endorsing body’s decision.
- Global Talent — endorsement under GT 1.2(d), or a listed Prestigious Prize under GT 4.1A, which bypasses endorsement entirely.
- Innovator Founder — an endorsement letter from an approved body under INNF 1.2(d) and INNF 6.1, plus contact point meetings during the grant.
- International Sportsperson — a letter carrying a unique endorsement number from the governing body listed in Appendix Sports Governing Bodies (ISP 5.1), and a Certificate of Sponsorship.
- Scale-up is not an endorsed route. Workers need a Certificate of Sponsorship. Endorsement exists only at sponsor-licence level, through an optional Endorsing Body Pathway.
- Start-up is closed. Endorsements had to be issued before 13 April 2023, and the route shut to all new applications on 13 July 2023.
What an Endorsement Is
An endorsement letter is a body’s written confirmation that you meet its criteria for the route. For Global Talent, GT 1.2(d) requires that the applicant “must have been issued with an endorsement letter by a Home Office approved endorsing body or have been awarded a prize listed in Appendix Global Talent: Prestigious Prizes”. The prize route is the shortcut: a listed prize replaces the endorsement stage completely.
An endorsement has a shelf life. The visa application must be made no more than three months after the date on the endorsement letter — GT 1.2(e) for Global Talent, INNF 1.2(d) for Innovator Founder. It must not have been withdrawn (GT 1.2(f), GT 4.2(a)), and the body must still be Home Office approved at the date of decision (GT 4.2(b)). Withdrawal can also bite later: GT 10.1 makes it relevant at settlement.
Routes That Require Endorsement
Global Talent covers science, engineering, humanities, medicine, digital technology, arts and culture, architecture, fashion, film and television — and, since 2026, design. Endorsement is either on exceptional talent or exceptional promise, and the distinction affects the grant: GT 11.1 grants up to three years, while GT 11.2 allows five years for exceptional promise endorsed by Arts Council England or Tech Nation.
Innovator Founder requires an endorsement letter whose contents are prescribed by INNF 6.3, and the relationship continues after the grant: INNF 8.2(c) requires attendance at at least two contact point meetings at regular intervals, and an extension under INNF 9.2 requires two attended meetings. They are not optional check-ins — a missed meeting is an extension problem. Our guide to the Innovator Founder route covers the business criteria.
International Sportsperson is the route most often left out of endorsement guides. ISP 5.1 requires a letter containing the unique endorsement number issued by the relevant Sports Governing Body listed in Appendix Sports Governing Bodies, and ISP 5.2 requires a Certificate of Sponsorship as well. Points are 70 for a grant of 12 months or less and 80 for longer.
Who the Endorsing Bodies Are
The lists move, and two Innovator Founder bodies came off in August 2026 alone. Always check the Global Talent and Innovator Founder lists on gov.uk on the day, rather than relying on a list in an article — including this one. Our immigration team checks them at the point of instruction.
Endorsing Bodies by Route
| Route | Body | Field |
|---|---|---|
| Global Talent | The Royal Society | Science and medicine |
| The British Academy | Humanities and social science | |
| The Royal Academy of Engineering | Engineering | |
| UK Research and Innovation | Research fellowships and endorsed funders | |
| Arts Council England | Arts and culture, with Pact for film and television, RIBA for architecture and the British Fashion Council for fashion | |
| Tech Nation | Digital technology | |
| Innovator Founder | UK Endorsing Services | All sectors |
| Innovator International | All sectors | |
| Envestors Limited | All sectors | |
| Global Entrepreneurs Programme | Innovator Founder only | |
| International Sportsperson | The relevant Sports Governing Body | Listed in Appendix Sports Governing Bodies |
Design became an endorsed field in 2026. Statement of Changes HC 1691, laid on 5 March 2026, added a design pathway to Global Talent, and the gov.uk endorsing bodies page picked it up on 1 July 2026. Anyone working in design who was previously squeezed into the arts and culture or digital technology criteria now has a pathway written for them.
The Innovator Founder list has been contracting. SFC Capital was removed from the legacy list on 7 August 2026, and MedCity and the NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator were removed on 5 August 2026. The Global Entrepreneurs Programme endorses for Innovator Founder only. If you were planning around a body that is no longer listed, the endorsement it would have given is not one the Home Office will accept.
Applying, and What It Costs
Global Talent is paid in two parts, and applicants routinely budget for only one. The endorsement application costs £561 and the visa application that follows costs £205, so the route costs £766 in Home Office fees before the immigration health surcharge of £1,035 a year. Applicants using the Prestigious Prizes route pay the single £766 fee, as do dependants.
Endorsement and Application Fees
| Route | Endorsement | Visa application |
|---|---|---|
| Global Talent, endorsed | £561 | £205 |
| Global Talent, prize route or dependants | Not applicable | £766 |
| Innovator Founder | £1,000 plus £500 for each contact point meeting | £1,357 entry clearance, £1,693 leave to remain |
| International Sportsperson | Set by the governing body | £340 up to 12 months; £819 entry clearance or £943 leave to remain beyond 12 months |
| Scale-up sponsor licence, Endorsing Body Pathway | £1,500 | £937 for the worker |
You will find approval rates and processing times quoted widely for these routes. The Home Office publishes neither, and the endorsing bodies publish them inconsistently, so figures of that kind should be treated as marketing rather than data. What is worth planning around is the three-month validity of the endorsement letter and the fact that the visa fee falls due only after the endorsement succeeds.
Routes That Have Closed
Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) closed on 20 February 2020 and became Global Talent. The Innovator route closed on 13 April 2023 and was replaced by Innovator Founder, which removed the £50,000 minimum investment requirement. Start-up endorsements ceased on the same date, and the route closed to all new applications on 13 July 2023, surviving only for legacy extensions under SU 1.2(d) and SU 10.1.
The practical significance is that endorsements from bodies which only ever endorsed a closed route are worthless for a new application, and a legacy endorsement letter does not convert. If you hold one, the question is whether an extension is still open to you rather than whether a fresh application can be built on it. Our guide to Global Talent requirements sets out what a current application has to show.
Frequently askedQuestions about visa endorsement
Which bodies endorse the Global Talent visa?
The Royal Society, the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering, UK Research and Innovation, Arts Council England — with Pact, RIBA and the British Fashion Council as sub-endorsers — and Tech Nation for digital technology. A design pathway was added in 2026.
How do I get an endorsement for the Global Talent visa?
You apply to the endorsing body for your field first, at a fee of £561, and it assesses your evidence against its published criteria on exceptional talent or exceptional promise. Only if it issues an endorsement letter do you make the visa application, which costs £205.
How long is an endorsement valid?
Three months from the date on the letter. The visa application must be made within that period, the endorsement must not have been withdrawn, and the body must still be approved by the Home Office at the date of decision.
Can I skip the endorsement stage?
Only by winning a prize on the Prestigious Prizes list. GT 4.1A allows a listed prize to replace endorsement, and the applicant then pays a single fee of £766 rather than two.
Can I appeal a refused endorsement?
No. There is no appeal and no administrative review. The endorsing body offers one review, which must be requested within 28 calendar days and cannot include new evidence, and the residual remedy after that is judicial review.
Does the Scale-up visa need an endorsement?
No. Scale-up workers need a Certificate of Sponsorship from a licensed sponsor. Endorsement arises only when a business applies for a Scale-up sponsor licence through the Endorsing Body Pathway, which costs £1,500.
Can I still get a Start-up endorsement?
No. Endorsements had to be issued before 13 April 2023 and the route closed to all new applications on 13 July 2023. Only legacy extensions remain, and Innovator Founder is the current equivalent.
Tell us your field, the route you have in mind and what evidence of your work you hold. We will tell you which body endorses that route and what its criteria ask for.
Get Expert Advice