If you are planning to apply for the Global Talent Visa then it is imperative to know everything about Tech Nation as this body either endorses or rejects your application.
In the last article, you learnt about the various Tech-enabled pathways to relocation specifically the Tech Nation Visa. In this article, you will learn about the Tech Nation Visa eligibility criteria.
The Tech Nation typically categorise applicants into two;
- Technical applicants with proven technical expertise
- Business applicants who demonstrate proven expertise in building or leading investments in significant digital product businesses
- Technical skills endorsed
- Business skills endorsed
- Areas of speciality considered unsuitable
- Eligibility criteria
- The application process for Tech Nation Visa
- Documents required for Tech Nation process
- Conclusion
Top technical skills endorsed
- DevOps\SysOps engineers
- Principal software engineers\developers
- Experienced data scientist\data engineers
- Artificial Intelligence\Natural Language
- Processing and Machine Learning experts (AI, NLP, ML)
- Cyber Security experts
- Hardware engineers
- Experienced Front-end Developers
- Operating System engineers
- Experienced UX\UI designers
Top business skills endorsed
- Experience as a commercial\business lead (P&L, growth, sales and distribution strategy) in a digital business
- Experience in expanding or growing a significant product-lead digital technology business
- Sector-specific experience e.g. payment infrastructure in FinTech\international expansion in EdTech etc.
- Solution sales expert
- Experienced Product Manager
- SaaS or enterprise sales leadership for digital services
- Solution sales skills performed for a growing B2B digital business (i.e. not big-company experience)
- Performance marketing experts, performed in house for digital business
- Experienced and senior VC or PE analysts with track records of leading investments in digital business.
- Experience as C Suite in a SMEs + (CEO, CMO, CIO) or head of operations for a digital business
Area of specialities that are considered unsuitable
- Service delivery, Process delivery, Outsourcing, Consultancy (technical or management), ERP Consultancy, Systems Admin and all related fields.
- Corporate roles or experience of managing large corporate teams.
- Junior investors\analysts. Such specialisms must be supported by an investment track record made at a senior level and are not suitable for Global Promise.
- Business skills apply to in-house work within product-led digital technology companies, not tech-enabled or service companies such as agencies, outsourcers, marketing firms etc. Typical-applicants
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR THE TECH NATION VISA
There are two options available for applicants applying for endorsement by Tech Nation.
When applying you can categorize your ability as either:
- a leader (exceptional talent): these are applicants that have shown expertise and leadership skills in their career and have experience of up to 5 years or more.
- an emerging leader (exceptional promise): these applicants are still in the early stage of their career usually with less than 5years of experience. Applicants must be able to prove their potential to be a leader in the nearest future through skills and achievements.
Exceptional Talent
Applicants must meet 1 mandatory and 2 optional criteria
Mandatory criterion; applicant showing exceptional talent must:
- show that they have been recognised as a leading talent in the digital technology sector
And be able to show evidence of 2 of the following:
- a proven track record for innovation as a founder or senior executive of a product-led digital technology company or as an employee.
- proof of recognition of work beyond the applicant’s occupation that contributes to the advancement of the field.
- they have made significant technical, commercial or entrepreneurial contributions to the field as a founder, senior executive, board member or employee of a product-led digital technology company.
- they have demonstrated exceptional ability in the field by academic contributions through research published or endorsed by an expert.
Exceptional Promise
Applicants are must meet 1 mandatory and 2 optional criteria
Mandatory criterion; applicant showing exceptional promise must:
- show they have been recognised as having the potential to be a leading talent in the digital technology field
And be able to show evidence of 2 of the following:
- at least 1 example of innovation as a founder of a product-led digital technology company or as an employee working on a new digital field or concept
- at least 1 example of proof of recognition for work beyond the applicant’s occupation that contributes to the advancement of the field
- at least 1 example of significant technical, commercial or entrepreneurial contributions to the field as a founder or employee of a product-led digital technology company
- at least 1 example of exceptional ability in the field by academic contributions through research endorsed by an expert.
APPLICATION PROCESS FOR TECH NATION
The application process for the Global Talent Visa can be broken down into two stages:
Stage 1- Applying for Endorsement
Tech Nation has been designated by the UK Home Office to endorse applicants applying under the digital technology sector.
- You have to register on the Home Office website
- Fill the online application for endorsement form on the Home Office website and pay the required fees
iii. Fill the online application for endorsement Tech Nation form and provide the necessary evidence
After submitting your application Tech Nation assesses your application to check if you’re eligible for an endorsement or not.
If your endorsement application is accepted:
- you’d receive a confirmation notification from UK Home Office
- you can move to stage 2 of your application; where you can apply for your visa.
If your endorsement application is refused, you can do the following:
- request an endorsement review
- re-apply through the same route again, this will allow you to add new evidence. though you would have to pay fees again.
- you can apply through another route (Innovative Visa, Skilled Worker Route).
Stage 2- Application for the Visa
Tech Nation is not involved in this stage, you have to apply for the visa directly on the Global Talent website within 3 months of receiving your endorsement from Tech Nation.
After understanding the process involved in getting endorsed by Tech Nation, the next important part of this process is- documentation and proof of evidence.
Image Source: Tech Nation
DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR TECH NATION PROCESS
- Completed Tech Nation Visa Application Form; which is available on Tech Nation’s website. This includes a Personal Statement (maximum of 1000 words) stating the contribution you would be making to the UK digital technology sector. The following should be answered in your statement and you can include any other relevant information:
- Why did you choose to move to the UK and what do you plan on doing when you get there?
- What region in the UK do you plan on living in?
- How will the UK digital technology sector benefit from your work?
- The statement should be submitted using the Tech Nation form, it shouldn’t be uploaded as a separate document.
- CV with any career and publication history; this must be typed and must be up to 3 sides of A4 paper
iii. 3 letters of recommendation (LORs); each letter must be from well-established organisations acknowledged as experts in the digital technology field.
- Fake\duplicate recommendation letters wouldn’t do you any good as it is going to be rejected by Tech Nation.
- Evidence: Up to 10 pieces of evidence relating to the eligibility criteria. The documents provided by you to show that you meet the eligibility criteria mustn’t be less than 10 documents, each piece must be no more than 3 A4 sides.
CONCLUSION
In summary, the Global Talent Visa for digital technology is for people who have shown a significant contribution in the digital technology field with a track record. This route provides opportunities to Leaders (exceptional talent) with more than 5 years of experience, who have been recognised as leaders in the digital technology sector and to Emerging Leaders (exceptional promise) with less than 5 years of experience, who have shown that they have the potential to be a leader in the future, the eligibility criteria for each has been given in detail.
Getting endorsed by the Tech Nation will prove to the UK government that you are a leader or potential leader in the digital technology sector and that you can add value to their ecosystem.
In this case, your experience in the field alone isn’t enough, your achievement throughout your career matters a lot because this shows that you work beyond your occupation and that you contribute towards the advancement of the field.
It is advisable to approach experts multiple reiterations and give you a better chance at a successful endorsement on the first trial.
Most importantly, do not be overwhelmed by the process, you just have to take it one step at a time. Good Luck on your journey to Global Greatness!
Attend our “Free” open day session, to know more about the UK Global Talent Visa and other tech-enabled visa opportunities available.