Programme

Talent Visa

A talent visa is a family of residence routes rather than a single programme. States issue this kind of permit on the strength of the applicant themselves — qualifications, professional record or level of earnings — rather than on a sum of capital deployed. What the programmes have in common is that the test is applied to the person: a salary threshold, a points system, a list of priority fields, or a recognised award or office. Because the test is not applied to capital, these routes usually carry the right to work from the outset, unlike investment residence routes. The largest difference is the one least often read closely: some states require an employer to sponsor the application while others allow the applicant to stand alone; and a talent permit is not automatically the first step of a route to permanent residence or citizenship. Tax obligations in the issuing state differ from programme to programme, and any tax concession is usually a separate regime rather than something the permit carries with it. Because this is a family of programmes, income thresholds, permit terms and tax obligations are not stated on this page; they belong to the page for each specific programme. The Legation Times articles are listed below. The full catalogue of residence and citizenship routes is under Programmes.