The Visa advisory board has a remit of supporting both the Global Talent visa (GTV) and the Government Authorised Exchange (GAE) schemes run by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
The board provides advice and options on areas related to global mobility but does not make any binding decisions.
The board:
- considers and advises UKRI on the eligibility criteria for the GTV and the GAE schemes operated by UKRI
- provides advice to and develops options for UKRI on the decision to accept or reject new funders under the GTV, considering the criteria set by the Home Office in collaboration with UKRI
- engages with analysis of application and usage data of the GTV and GAE schemes and helps identify areas for development
- provides advice to UKRI on risk mitigation and contributes to assurance of the delivery of the GTV and GAE schemes
- provides advice and options on other decisions as requested by UKRI
Board members
The board consists of members from across the research sector, including:
- GTV endorsing bodies
- GTV holders
- hosts of GTV holders
- GAE sponsor organisations
- research funders
- research institutes
- research-intensive businesses
- Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT)
- UK devolved administrations
The board meets twice a year. It is chaired by Linda Holliday, UKRI Deputy Director, Culture and Environment.
Members are:
- Oliver Buckley-Mellor, The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry
- Shewly Choudhury, Cancer Research UK
- Hugo Clarke, The British Academy
- Hywel Edwards, Medr
- Omololu Fagunwa, Queen’s University Belfast
- Tom Frostick, The Royal Society
- Ian Getgood, Department for the Economy, Northern Ireland
- Maddie Herbert, Wellcome Sanger Institute
- Linda Holliday, UKRI (Chair)
- Wing-Fu Lai, University of Leeds
- Terri Morris, Royal Academy of Engineering
- Gabrielle Newson, UKRI
- Christine Ng, Quantum Motion Technologies
- Rachel Sunderland, Scottish Government
- Chris Threadgold, DSIT
- Shannon Ward, The Pirbright Institute
- Roz Warden, UKRI (Secretariat)
- Ben Weeks, UKRI
Board membership of non-standing members changes every three years and is renewed through an open recruitment process.
Standing members are:
- DSIT as UKRI’s sponsoring department
- UK devolved administrations
- other endorsing bodies of the research routes of the GTV including The British Academy, The Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering
Ask a question about the board
Email: globalmobility@ukri.org
Last updated: 6 October 2025