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Guidance

Global Talent: arts and culture prizes

Updated 21 April 2026

Applying as the winner of an eligible prestigious prize for arts and culture

If you hold a prize from the list below, you can bypass the endorsement stage of the Global Talent visa route and go directly to the visa stage.

These prizes have been recommended by and agreed with the Global Talent endorsing body. Prizes included must be open to all nationalities and winners must be determined by experts or peers, rather than a public vote.

To be eligible for this route:

  • the prize must be named on the list below; other prizes awarded by the same institutions are not eligible - for example, if you hold a Georg Forster Research award given by the Humboldt Foundation this is not accepted, only the Humboldt Research Award is
  • you must be the named winner of the prize - prestigious awards for specific works, such as an award-winning film, or prizes which recognise a whole organisation rather than individuals are not included on the list
  • if you won as part of a group, the prize must specifically name you as a member of that group - for example, prizes awarded to joint researchers recognised for the same work are acceptable if each researcher is named by the institution awarding the prize
  • the prize must not have been withdrawn or suspended

You can have held the prize for a number of years - there is no time limit, as long as the prize has not been withdrawn or suspended you are eligible to apply.

If you’ve won an eligible prestigious prize from the list below, the Home Office will look at publicly available information (such as the prize organisation’s website) to confirm that you’ve won. You’ll only be asked for evidence of your win if they cannot find this from trusted publicly available information.

If you hold a prize or research award which is not named on the list, or you have contributed to a prize winning piece of work but are not specifically named on the prize, you may still qualify for an endorsement from one of the Global Talent endorsing bodies.

Qualifying prize Name of awarding body
Bessie – Outstanding Performer
Booker Prize
Brit Awards – International Artist of the Year
Brit Awards – International Female
Brit Awards – International Male
Critics Circle Award – Best Male
Critics Circle Award – Best Female
Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize
Grammy Award – Lifetime Achievement Award
Hugo Boss Prize
ICMA – Artist of the year
ICMA – Lifetime Achievement Award
International Booker Prize
International Chopin Piano Competition – First Prize
International Dublin Literary Award
MOBO – Best International Act
Olivier Award – Best Actor
Olivier Award – Best Actress
Olivier Award – Best Director
Olivier Award – Best Original Score or New Orchestrations
Olivier Award – Best Theatre Choreographer
Olivier Award – Outstanding Achievement in Dance
Olivier Award – Outstanding Achievement in Music
Olivier Award – Outstanding Achievement in Opera
Queen Elisabeth Competition – Cello - First Prize
Queen Elisabeth Competition – Piano - First Prize
Queen Elisabeth Competition – Violin - First Prize
Queen Elisabeth Competition – Voice - First Prize
Tchaikovsky Prize – Grand Prix
Tony Award – Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Tony Award – Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Tony Award – Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Tony Award – Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Tony Award – Best Direction of a Play
Tony Award– Best Direction of a Musical
Tony Award – Best Choreography
Tony Award – Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre
Van Cliburn International Piano Competition – Gold Medallist
Wihuri Sibelius Prize
WOMEX – Artist Award