I received my stage 1 endorsement while on holiday in Portugal for 4 weeks. I am a US citizen and just here in Portugal visiting but it seems they have a visa processing center in Lisbon that I can go to. I’m wondering if anyone else has submitted their stage 2 application while visiting/staying in a country (not their home country)? Hoping I don’t have to fly back to the US in order to submit my application. Thanks!
You have to got back to your Country of Residene.
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FYI for others, I just spoke to a UK gov representative through the visa helpline and he told me that the policy just changed a few weeks ago. You are now able to apply for the global talent visa anywhwere that has a visa processing center. He directed me to this link which confirms: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/where-to-apply-ecb05/ecb5-where-to-apply-the-policy
Applications for short-term visas, International Sportsperson, Temporary Work – Creative Worker, Youth Mobility Scheme and Global Talent
You can make applications for a visit visa, a short-term study visa, International Sportsperson, Temporary Work – Creative Worker, Youth Mobility Scheme and Global Talent entry clearance in any visa application centre, British diplomatic mission or consular post overseas where entry clearance applications are accepted.
You should be present legally in the country or territory you’re applying from.
Find a visa application centre.
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Thank you so much for sharing this @Jstone. I am in a similar situation needing this information. I am living with my boyfriend in London right now, so I have had to decide where to go for stage 2. He doesnt like the idea of being apart for (possibly) a few months, so going back to the US would have been very difficult. However now this opens the opportunity to stay in Paris, where he can actually work from his company’s other office and is only a train ride away. 
Thank you thank you!
Thanks, this is very useful!
Has anyone else successfully applied from a country in which they are not a resident?
My wife is considering to do that. She’s Chinese and with the current Covid situation in China it’s almost impossible to go back there. So she would want to apply in one of the visa categories mentioned by @Jstone from within Germany while visiting with a 90-day Schengen visitor visa. I used the UKVI paid e-mail service and was told that 6-month residency is a requirement. But the link provided by @Jstone clearly says otherwise. So I’m confused…
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We have a number of successful cases for GTV visa applicants that made their application with countries where they have no residence permits and are nationals of Russia.
You provide your visa entry stamp as the proof of legal presence in the country and drop a little message in the form / cover letter for stage 2 explaining why you are applying elsewhere.
It works for GTV (as opposed to SWV which seems to be a lot more strict about this)
Thanks! In our case it is also GTV (Dependent).
For anyone else needing further data points about this: I called the UKVI phone line and they confirmed very clearly that “legal presence” in the country of application is sufficient (no need to be a resident). This applies generally for GTV (and similar categories as stated in ECB05), not just to people affected by disruptions due to Covid or war.
FYI following my original post I did decide to return to the US (home country) for my stage 2 visa appointment. I’ve heard that the current processing times are delayed (6-8 wks) due to the Ukraine war / refugees and I didn’t want to be in a foreign country without my passport for the duration of that time. I would advise others to consider their situation in the foreign country and whether they are comfortable (allowed to stay) for an extended period of time given these processing delays.
Thanks for the info. Does 6-8 weeks refer to GTV processing times? Where did you get that info?
(I found a lot of experience reports on family visa, some on skilled worker, but very very few on Global Talent. The ones I did find were mostly by people applying from Russia, which might not be representative of other locations.)
Also: many TLS Centres in Europe seem to offer the “keep your passport” option. Was there an issue with that because you’re not a resident?