After running my Educational and Inspirational Global Talent Visa webinars for the past 3 months during the COVID 19 lockdown, I am blown away by the amount of interest for the Global Talent Visa in Digital Technologies #TechNationVisa (formerly Tier 1 Exceptional Talent Visa).
The amount of questions I have received and the wonderful feedback from my webinars has inspired me to write this FAQs blog and continue to deliver my Educational and Inspirational webinars.
Keep the feedback and questions coming because you all inspire me to keep helping you with your applications. Here are some common Top 10 questions.
1. Do I need a job offer to apply for the #TechNationVisa?
No you don’t need a job offer to apply for the endorsement for exceptional talent or promise. You must however, state your future plans in the UK in your personal statement. Your experts also have to state what your future plans are in the UK too. The more detail you provide, the better. If you have made enquiries, state that. If you haven’t made any plans yet, you will need to consider what you will do in the UK and research how you will do it.
2. I am a Consultant – am I eligible?
Eligibility is key when deciding to apply for the Global Talent Visa route. Tech Nation have made it very clear who are not suitable applicants. The most questions I receive are those who are consultants – either technical or management or those who have business skills and work for agencies, are consultants or outsources. How to properly assess whether or not you are a consultant is “Do you work for clients to build their products or services?” or “Do you work in house for a company to develop their own products or services?” If it is the former, then you would not be considered eligible. Further, the Tech Nation Guidelines now provide a definition of “Product Led Digital Technology Company” which makes it very clear what that means. For more information about eligibility for the Global Talent Visa endorsement, click here.
3. What is the difference between letters of support and letters of recommendation?
Letters of recommendation are mandatory for all applications. You need to provide 3 letters from experts from different organisations. Experts must write your letters of recommendation detailing their role and title, why they are experts, how they know you, what your achievements are, what your future plans in the UK are and why they think you should be endorsed with exceptional talent or promise. Experts should write about your overall character and professional achievements.
Letters of support are not mandatory but can be useful pieces of evidence to help you satisfy the Key or Qualifying criteria. Ensure your letter of support focusses on the Key or Qualifying criteria that you select. If you select Key Criteria 1 – ensure your letter is about innovation, what, how, why was your project innovative.
You should not overload your application with too many letters of support. You must submit 15 documents altogether. 3 documents are already letters of recommendation. Therefore, at most, there should only be about 3-5 letters of support in addition to 3 letters of recommendation. You want to balance your application with evidence consisting of letters and other documents.
4. Who can my experts be?
Your experts must be a senior person who has credibility and expertise in your area. This is because in order for your expert to vouch for your expertise in the field of digital technology, they should be in that area too or understand that field so that they can vouch for you. They also need to have their own credentials, be public facing and hold a senior position. Google your expert. What will you find about them?
5. Can you review my application before I submit?
Yes, I often review applications before they are submitted to ensure all the criteria are fulfilled and the application is as strong as it should be. I also provide a 2nd eye on all the documents due to be submitted and ensure the content in the documents are consistent. This is because I also often review unsuccessful applications and it is a pity to see gaps which I could have prevented had I had the opportunity to review the application before they are submitted. Check out my packages of support here.
6. Do I need to show proof of funds in my bank account?
You do not have to provide proof of funds for the Global Talent Visa.
7. How do I know if I’m an exceptional talent or exceptional promise applicant?
Exceptional Talent – you should have five or more years experience
Exceptional Promise – you have less than five years experience.
8. I know many successful applicants who received the endorsement but I was unsuccessful. Why did they get endorsed and I didn’t, even though we have the same background?
This is a very common question because applicants speak to alumni or have seen profiles of alumni and expect to be endorsed based on their same credentials. Each applicant is based on its own merits and evidence and Tech Nation guidelines have changed over the years. While I encourage applicants to speak to successful recipients and hear their stories, it is also important to focus on your own evidence, application and current guidelines to ensure you meet the criteria.
9. The Global Talent Visa has so many endorsing bodies. Which one should I apply for if my field crosses over to Digital tech and other sectors?
The Global Talent Visa has 6 endorsing bodies. It can be confusing but what I suggest all my clients do is to look at all the criteria for each of the endorsing bodies and compare and contrast them to see which one suits your situation. I often advise clients on which one is suitable for them by going through in detail the criteria and their situation so we can come to a workable solution. More FAQs here! Subscribe to my YouTube Channel for more content!
New changes take effect from 1 December 2020. Read my blog here!
If you would like guidance and help on the Stage 1 Global Talent Visa Endorsement process or appeals, I help highly skilled tech entrepreneurs and talent increase their chances for a successful application for endorsement for exceptional promise or exceptional talent. For all my packages of support for the Stage 1 UK Global Talent Visa, click here.
