Costs & fees
What the Global Talent visa really costs
The £766 application fee is the number everybody quotes. It is rarely the number that matters — for a five-year grant with a partner and one child, the healthcare surcharge alone runs to several times that.
Costs and financial planning
The total differs depending on whether you need to apply for Stage 1 first. It is also worth costing your family in from the start, along with the additional expenses people routinely miss, which are set out below.
Fees: Stage 1 and Stage 2
Stage 1 — Endorsement
£561
Paid when you apply for endorsement from a designated endorsing body. Not refunded if you are not endorsed.
Stage 2 — Visa application
£205
Paid when you submit the visa application to the Home Office, after endorsement.
Total Home Office fee
£766
The combined endorsement and visa fee for the main applicant. On the prestigious prize route the full £766 is paid at the visa stage instead.
Health surcharge and dependants
Immigration Health Surcharge
£1,035 / year
Per adult, per year of the visa, paid up front for the full length of the grant. On a five-year visa this is by far the largest single cost.
IHS — under 18s
£776 / year
The reduced rate applied to dependant children.
Each dependant
£766 + IHS
Your partner and each child pay the same £766 application fee as you, plus their own healthcare surcharge.
Budgeting for success: the costs people forget
Priority service
£500
Optional, for a faster decision. Availability varies by country and application type.
Super priority service
£1,000
Optional, where offered, for the fastest available decision.
Certified translations
Varies
Any document not in English or Welsh needs a certified translation.
Extension
£766 + IHS
If you extend rather than settle. You can extend for up to 5 years at a time, more than once.
Settlement (ILR)
Separate fee
Indefinite leave to remain carries its own Home Office fee, plus the Life in the UK test and an English language requirement.
Figures checked against GOV.UK in September 2026. Home Office fees and the healthcare surcharge change, sometimes at short notice — always confirm the current amounts on GOV.UK before you budget or transfer funds.
Worked example
A five-year grant, family of three
Take a digital technology applicant granted five years, bringing a partner and one child under 18. Three application fees at £766 each come to £2,298. The healthcare surcharge is paid up front for the full five years, at around £1,035 a year for each adult and a lower rate for the child — which on its own lands in five figures. Add certified translations, a TB certificate where required, and priority processing if the timing is tight.
None of that is our fee, and none of it is paid to us. It is worth modelling before you start, because the surcharge is not something you can pay monthly: it is due in full when you apply.
Our fees
Why we quote instead of listing
A researcher with an eligible fellowship needs a two-week fast-track application and very little drafting. A digital technology applicant starting from a CV, with recommenders still to be identified, needs several weeks of structured work. Publishing one price for both would mean overcharging the first and underserving the second.
So we quote after the free assessment, in writing, fixed, before any work starts. Nothing on this website takes a payment and there is no checkout on it — every button here opens the enquiry form and reaches a person.
All official figures on this page were checked against GOV.UK in September 2026. Home Office fees and the immigration health surcharge are changed by regulation, sometimes at short notice and sometimes mid-year. Confirm the current amounts before you budget or transfer funds.
Want a fixed quote for your case?
Tell us your route, your standard and what you already have drafted. You get a written, fixed fee before any work begins.