{"id":121436,"date":"2023-09-19T15:27:51","date_gmt":"2023-09-19T14:27:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beta-ukri.msappproxy.net\/?page_id=121436"},"modified":"2025-10-06T15:02:59","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T14:02:59","slug":"getting-a-temporary-visa-to-do-short-term-research-in-the-uk","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ukri.org\/apply-for-funding\/getting-a-temporary-visa-to-do-short-term-research-in-the-uk\/","title":{"rendered":"Temporary visas for short-term research and innovation in the UK"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) can endorse research and innovation organisations and businesses for a Government Authorised Exchange (GAE) visa sponsorship licence.<\/p>\n<p>The sponsorship licence enables you to sponsor a visa for individuals to work in the UK.<\/p>\n<p>Individuals can come to the UK on a temporary basis for up to two years on a research and training programme, and up to one year on a work experience programme. This enables the transfer of skills and knowledge, increases collaboration, and builds global connections.<\/p>\n<p>We operate two GAE visa schemes. Eligible individuals and activities are the same for both schemes.<\/p>\n<p>A full list of all <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/guidance\/immigration-rules\/immigration-rules-appendix-government-authorised-exchange-schemes\">government authorised exchange schemes\u00a0is available on GOV.UK<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Eligibility criteria for a temporary visa<\/h2>\n<p>As an organisation holding a UKRI sponsorship licence you will be able to apply for a temporary visa for the following individuals and activities.<\/p>\n<p>Eligible individuals include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>academics<\/li>\n<li>researchers<\/li>\n<li>scientists<\/li>\n<li>interns, including master\u2019s or PhD students<\/li>\n<li>other skilled research technology specialists<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Check if your organisation is already on the <a href=\"\/apply-for-funding\/getting-a-temporary-visa-to-do-short-term-research-in-the-uk\/licensed-sponsoring-organisations-for-temporary-work-visa-schemes\/\">list of approved organisations<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>All individuals must receive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/national-minimum-wage-rates\">National Minimum Wage<\/a> and have a supernumerary role. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/workers-and-temporary-workers-guidance-for-sponsors-sponsor-a-government-authorised-exchange-worker\/workers-and-temporary-workers-guidance-for-sponsors-sponsor-a-government-authorised-exchange-worker-accessible\">supernumerary role<\/a> is a role is in addition to the standard number of staff in an organisation. It must not fill a permanent position or ongoing vacancy in a workforce.<\/p>\n<p>Funding can come from the sponsoring organisation, an individual\u2019s overseas employer, or a research and innovation funding body.<\/p>\n<p>Eligible activities include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>a research or innovation project or collaboration<\/li>\n<li>a period of work-based training, work experience, an internship or placement<\/li>\n<li>skill development and knowledge transfer<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Future Technology Research and Innovation (FTRI) scheme for businesses<\/h2>\n<p>This scheme is for businesses to sponsor eligible individuals for a temporary visa.<\/p>\n<p>To do this you must be endorsed for a sponsorship licence by UKRI.<\/p>\n<p>To be eligible for UKRI endorsement under the FTRI scheme your business must:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>hold an <a href=\"http:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/register-of-licensed-sponsors-workers\">A rated Skilled Worker licence<\/a><\/li>\n<li>have <a href=\"\/publications\/innovate-uk-funded-projects-since-2004\/\">received Innovate UK funding<\/a><\/li>\n<li>be undertaking research or innovation on one of the critical technologies in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/uk-science-and-technology-framework\/the-uk-science-and-technology-framework#identifying-critical-technologies\">UK\u2019s Science and Technology Framework<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The critical technologies are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>artificial intelligence<\/li>\n<li>engineering biology<\/li>\n<li>future telecommunications<\/li>\n<li>quantum technologies<\/li>\n<li>semiconductors<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>How to apply for a sponsorship licence from UKRI<\/h3>\n<p>If you think your business is eligible, find out further details and <a href=\"https:\/\/engagementhub.ukri.org\/global-talent-visa\/ftrigae\/\">register your interest on UKRI\u2019s Engagement Hub<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Ask a question about this scheme<\/p>\n<p>Email: <a href=\"mailto:ukrigae@ukri.org\">ukrigae@ukri.org<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Science, Research and Academia scheme<\/h2>\n<p>You can apply to UKRI for a sponsorship licence if your organisation is one of the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>independent research organisations (IRO)<\/li>\n<li>public sector research establishments (PSRE)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Organisations applying for sponsorship under this scheme must:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>hold an A rated Skilled Worker licence<\/li>\n<li>be an IRO or PSRE <a href=\"\/publications\/organisation-eligibility\/\">eligible for UKRI funding<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>How to apply for sponsorship licence from UKRI<\/h3>\n<p>If your organisation is not already approved and you think you are eligible then email <a href=\"mailto:ukrigae@ukri.org\">ukrigae@ukri.org<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Visa applications for individuals<\/h2>\n<p>UKRI does not issue visas. All visa applications must be made on GOV.UK.<\/p>\n<p>Use GOV.UK to apply for:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government-authorised-exchange\">an individual visa<\/a> for temporary work<\/li>\n<li>visitor visas for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/standard-visitor\">visiting the UK as a standard visitor<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) can endorse research and innovation organisations and businesses for a Government Authorised Exchange (GAE) visa sponsorship licence. The sponsorship licence enables you to sponsor a visa for individuals to work in the UK. Individuals can come to the UK on a temporary basis for up to two years on a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"parent":22,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[90],"tags":[],"wf_page_folders":[],"class_list":["post-121436","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-ukri"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ukri.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/121436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ukri.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ukri.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukri.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukri.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121436"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukri.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/121436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":175913,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukri.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/121436\/revisions\/175913"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukri.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ukri.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukri.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukri.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121436"},{"taxonomy":"wf_page_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukri.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_page_folders?post=121436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}