A complete guide to getting a Tech nation visa (UK Global Talent visa)

You might have heard about the Tech Nation visa. If you haven’t, it is one of the many ways to Japa (migrate) out of Nigeria, particularly to the UK as a tech professional or entrepreneur.

The Tech Nation is a network that provides visa opportunities for the most outstanding tech professionals from across the world to work in the UK’s digital technology sector, providing their cutting-edge experience and skillset.

So, whether you’re an experienced coder, digital marketer, program manager or any other discipline in the tech space, this article is for you.

Although the UK Global Talent visa programme (the umbrella programme) covers several career fields, Tech Nation specifically targets only tech talents, hence, our focus is on this aspect of the programme.

So, let us get to it.

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About the Tech Nation Visa program

How does it work?

The good thing about this Global talent visa program is that you DO NOT need to have a job offer to apply for the program, that is what sets it aside from other visa options. But, you must be inclined in the tech space.

There are only two categories when applying for the global talent visa i.e.

• Exceptional talent: Individuals with more than 5 years of experience and a solid track record as a founder, senior executive, board member, or excellent employee in the digital technology sector are eligible for this category.
  
  These individuals must be well-known in the tech world, have been published in well-known media, or have contributed to a renowned platform through research or open-source code.
  
  The visa is valid for three years.

• Exceptional promise: This category is for people who are in the early phases of their profession (5 years or fewer) but have a solid academic record or are making substantial contributions to the digital technology company where they work.
  
  Individuals must be able to exhibit future leadership qualities and one of the requirements is solid recommendations from three senior colleagues in the tech industry for this application.
  
  The visa is valid for a period of five years.

Note: After the application for endorsement, Tech Nation has the right to change an individual’s category, depending on your application.

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Who can apply?

At the end of the day, not everyone in tech can apply for this program especially individuals who worked in an agency or consultancy firm.

There are two categories of career paths that are more than eligible for this program.

• Technical field: These are front-line technical workers with hard-core tech skills like programmers, designers developers, engineers, analysts etc., and individuals specializing in web analytics and information architectures.
  
• Business field: These are for interested individuals who are not the backend or frontend contributors in the tech industry, like marketing, HR, sales, operations, PR or have experience at a C-Suite level within the tech ecosystem.

Requirements for the application

• Individuals must have to have worked in a product-led company/startup
• Must be able to defend your status as a leading or potential leading talent and prove your impact in the digital tech ecosystem.
• Must have proof of personal innovation, project work beyond daily tasks, significant contribution or demonstrated academic qualification.
• All your required documents, proof of impact, evidence and recommendation should have a maximum of 3 pages each.
• The personal statement should be at most 1,000 words
• Have a definite plan of how you will contribute to the growth of the UK digital economy, which should be defended in your personal statement.

Also, individuals who are already in the UK with other visa options are not eligible for this program. If they want to apply, they have to leave the UK to be eligible for the application.

N.B: Please check the website for other important documents before starting your application.

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The application process

To begin with, no application process, including this programme, is simple.

So, assume that you are applying for a Canadian visa. It is best to take your time and gather all the essential documents for the application, especially because there is no formal opening and closing date for applications.

The application has different steps, the first of which is an online endorsement by Tech Nation visa before applying to the UK Home Office. The endorsement is applied for with all the listed required documents and more.

The process can take up to three weeks.

After that, you can now apply for a visa. For the visa application, you will need the endorsement letter and a medical fitness result, your passport and other required documents. The wait for this process is 3 weeks also or sometimes more.

Another interesting thing about this Tech Nation visa is that even if you are being denied endorsement by the Tech Nation application process, you can seek an appeal within three weeks especially if Tech Nation provides you with application corrections.

There is no limit to the number of applications for endorsement, however, each application costs £456 and that sum is non-refundable.

Some of the benefits of Global Talent Visa

One of the greatest benefits of this global talent visa is that selected individuals can relocate with their families and there is the flexibility that comes with work choices as long as it is in the digital technology sector.

Also, it gives you room to network with like-minded people and other visa alumni members.

That is all!