The Arts Council can endorse applications for individuals with expertise in arts and culture including dance, music, theatre, combined arts, literature and visual arts (museums and galleries). Over the years, the Immigration Rules have been updated to become more and more specific about the evidence that they want to see to prove that a person is either exceptionally talented or exceptionally promising.

In a category where there is a limit on the number of documents that can be provided in support of an application, specified evidence requirements can be useful in guiding an applicant to exactly what the Arts Council are looking for, however it can make preparing the application more difficult if the evidence you have doesn’t exactly meet the Rules.

Media Recognition

Whether applying for Talent or Promise, an applicant relying on media recognition will need to provide at least two examples. For Talent Applicants, the evidence will need to come from at least two countries, while Promise Applicants can rely on two articles that have come from the same country.

Evidence of your media coverage must confirm:

For those applying for Exceptional Talent, the article must explicitly name you. However, for those applying for Exceptional Promise, you do not need to be named in the article, providing you can provide evidence from someone who is named or from a senior individual linked to the work who can confirm the significant and direct contribution that you made to the work which was reviewed.

Awards or Nominations

In order to rely on an award or nomination for your work an applicant must provide:

An application for endorsement in either Exceptional Talent or Exceptional Promise does not require a person to have received an award, so if you cannot meet this requirement it may still be possible to make a successful application.

It is also worth noting that although the Immigration Rules provide some examples of the types of awards that they will consider ‘For example, the Booker Prize, a Grammy Award; or domestic awards in another country, for example a Tony Award.’ These are only examples, and you can rely on awards other than those which are mentioned. However, the Arts Council will make their own assessment as to whether the relevant award can be considered a national or international (as appropriate) award for excellence.

Proof of appearances, performances, publications or exhibitions

If you are providing evidence of appearances, performances publications or exhibitions in support of your application, the evidence that you provide must show:

Evidence of events, such as programmes or advertisements don’t always confirm the country that they are taking place in, however, this is usually something that is clear from context. It is important to check this, especially when applying for Endorsement as Exceptional Talent, because the evidence you provide must come from at least two countries.

Contact our Exceptional Talent Visa Immigration Barristers

For advice and assistance in relation to an application for a Tier 1 Exceptional Talent visa or Tier 1 Exceptional Promise visa, contact our immigration barristers on 0203 617 9173.