Increasing Waiting Period for GTI Expression of Interest

Increasing waiting periods are affecting the Expression of Interest stage of the Global Talent Independent program. A recently released FOI by the DOHA sheds light on the increasing waiting periods for the Global Talent UIDs. They provide a Global Talent UID after a candidate submits an expression of interest and the Department accepts their application. The FOI covers the period between July 1, 2020 to October 1, 2020.

Processing Times for Expression of Interest

For the 913 invitations sent from 1 July to 10 October, the 75%ile time is 78 days and the 90%ile time is 117 days. This means that 75%ile of successful candidates get a UID within 78 days of submitting their expression of interest.

For unsuccessful candidates, the 75%ile time is 107 days and the 90%ile time is 133 days. These candidates are waiting longer than successful candidates before getting the unlucky rejection email from the department.

The delays could be because of COVID-19 or a department shuffle to increase department capacity for the Global Talent Program officers. This might also be because of an increase in interest in the program and higher scrutiny from the department.

EOIs Statistics

Through the period of 1 July to 1 Oct – there have been 3986 Expression of Interests submitted by Candidates. There were 913 successful grants and 747 were rejected. Some of these grants could have been to folks who submitted their EOI before this period. As an estimate, this gives a 22% (or less) success rate for candidates who apply through this program in this period. About 1 in 5 people who apply successfully receive a UID from the Department.

Reasons of EOI Refusal

The FOI also sheds light on grounds of Refusal for Candidates for the Global Talent Independent program. The major reasons are:

• No internationally recognized record of exceptional achievements
• No local organization or individual to attest for the Candidate’s capacity
• Prominence in the sector (Prominence here means you should still be active in your sector and making contributions)
• Not being from one of the target sectors

If you check all the requirements for the program, definitely express your interest in the Global Talent program but expect higher wait times than before.