Global Talent Visa Route: Frequently Asked Questions

Disclaimer: The information in this blog is accurate as of its publication date. Any updates after that date are not reflected here.

Mandatory criteria

1) How do I demonstrate that I have been (or have the potential to be) recognised as a leading talent in the digital technology sector?

To demonstrate that you have the potential to be recognised as a leading talent in the digital technology sector you would have to demonstrate that you are an extraordinarily competent and talented individual. Also, that you are or have the capability to be a rising star both nationally and internationally and be a leader in the digital technology sector using your exceptional talent. Any documents that you put forward to prove your talent or eligibility needs to include work that was done by you in the recent 5 years.

You would also have to provide the following: 

1. Your CV (Curriculum Vitae)
2. 3 letters of recommendation from prestigious organisations determined as a leader in the field

Point to note: If an applicant wants to use the content of a webpage as one of their 10 permitted supporting documents, they must provide a printed copy of the page which clearly shows the hyperlink for the page.

Examples of what can be considered as appropriate evidence are as follows:

1. You are or were on a panel as an expert or individual and assessed the work of other workers. (Work related to or of the field of Digital Technology) 
2. You can also include any published material like a thesis, article a review etc which was published in a trade journal or major media which was either associated to the work you have done or was written by you. You would have to include the title and date with physical evidence of the same. 
3. You were the leader of a team or owner of a company where your efforts led to the growth of the product or company. The proof for the same will be required, which could include reviews from industry experts, or news clippings or screenshots from social media. 
4. You were the brains and muscle behind the development and growth of a social sector enterprise with a dedicated interest in digital technology. You would definitely have to provide proof either via news clippings or reviews or letters from leading industry experts.
5. You as a Business Development Executive or Marketing Executive led a product-led digi tech company to new heights like with customer generation or good revenue generation supported by proof like letters or reviews from either the Senior Executives like CEO  of the company or leading industry experts. 
6. Along with working a normal day-to-day job, if you contributed to an open-source project. As proof, you can provide download statistics,  compilation reports of code summaries or repo stars.
7. You can provide proof with invoices or contracts to show that you charge higher than normal standards for your services including your salary and bonuses or any other equities.
8. Any awards you have received nationally or internationally in the field of digital technology can also be included to prove your eligibility. Proof for the same can be the award itself, pictures, newspaper clippings, videos or letters from industry experts. 
9. If you have ever been a speaker at industry-related conferences or events which are proof of your expertise. You can include event videos, letters of industry experts for supporting your claims.
10. Along with your daily job, you were the leader of a technology-related initiative which you can support with letters from the senior executives.

However, it is very important to remember that any proof that you enter with your application to support your claim of being a leader in your field of expertise, you have to make sure that if it is a media piece then it should include the name of the publication and their target audience. Any written support from a colleague, friend or within your organisation like your manager or any excellence awards would not be considered. LinkedIn and Medium are also not considered substantial evidence. 

Optional Criteria

2) How do I demonstrate that I have been recognised for my work outside of my immediate occupation that contributed to the advancement of the sector?

To demonstrate your dedication and recognition of your work outside of your daily job you can provide proof that you have been a dedicated contributor to the field of digital technology even with your day-to-day job in different ways like tutoring, mentoring, organised interest groups, advising, public policy development, or participating in various events associated to the field and playing a paramount role in the development of the same. 

Example: 

1. Your discussions on code visa your Stack Overflow profile
2. Links of videos of various, panel discussions, event, speeches, or conferences with a significant amount of viewers can also be added. 
3. Your GitHub profile which shows your active participation in collaborative projects and also shows you as a  team player. 
4. You can also provide code lines showing your contribution to an open-source project.
5. You would also have to share evidence of mentorship. This mentorship should have been under the umbrella of a recognised mentoring programme. Training a friend or a junior is not counted under mentoring as proof. 

2) How do I demonstrate that I have made a significant technical, commercial, or entrepreneurial contribution in a product-led digital technology company, either as a founder, senior executive or employee?

So, in the field of digital technology, there are two types of applications that are received by the tech nation. One is a technical applicant and the other one is a business applicant. 

Under a technical applicant, tech nation checks if your job requires you to either manage developers or write codes. Whereas, under the business applicant, it sees that your job does not require you to write code. 

One very important thing to note is that under this category innovation is not the only criteria of eligibility, it’s the impact that you have had no matter the way. Your evidence should clearly show the impact or innovation depending on the optional criteria number you are choosing.

Examples of Technical contributions:

1. Contribution or initiation of open source projects which were acknowledged by experts in the field as a development.
2. Contributing as a leader in innovation and growth of deep-impact products or services in the field of digital technology.
3. You can provide evidence of your contribution as a key contributor to the development of the base product of any start-up. 

Below is the list of documents that can be considered as viable evidence:

1. Your appointment letter and employment contract with detailed information about your salary, equity, bonuses, etc.
2. A letter of recommendation from your employer. This is different from the endorsement letters and should be written by someone else in the company.
3. Your Github account showing your continuous contribution
4. Documents with architectural diagrams and product designs, presenting your contribution. This evidence however should not exceed more than three A4 pages and should only include your personal work.

Examples of Business Contributions:

1. Being the founder or leader of a product-led digital technology firm
2. Being a key player in the development of a product-led technology digital technology firm, either by the way of strategy development for product marketing or getting investments. 

Below is the list of documents that can be considered as viable evidence:

1. Your appointment letter and employment contract with detailed information about your salary, equity, bonuses, etc.
2. A letter of recommendation from your employer. This is different from the endorsement letters and should be written by someone else in the company.
3. Documents that support your contributions to the firm’s commercial success like leads generation, process development and implementation, sales pipeline built, etc.

3) How do I demonstrate that I have exceptional ability in the field by making academic contributions through research?

1. Under this, you would have to provide a minimum of one significant contribution to the field of digital technology via the way of a paper that was published in a top-tier journal in the field. Research that was undertaken or a thesis written as a part of your undergraduate or MSc will not be considered under this.  
2. You can also add a letter of recommendation from your research supervisor or an expert from the field of Digital technology affirming your potential. This letter is different from the other required letters of Global Talent Visa Endorsement. 
3. A first-class degree or distinction along with evidence of awards received for your applied work. 
4. You can also include awards you received via an organisation with a similar stature of the Royal Society of the UK. You will also need to include the selection criteria for the same. 

It should be noted that awards received should be also merit-based (like grants, scholarships or bursaries) and not be solely monetary. 

4) How do I demonstrate that I have a proven track record or examples of innovation in the digital technology sector as a founder or senior executive of a product-led digital technology company or an employee working in a new digital field or concept?

Under this optional criterion to prove your track record, you would have to provide sufficient evidence of the existence of your digital technology firm. A firm in which either you were the owner, partner, founder or were part of the senior management. A firm which may be currently active or was dissolved in the recent 5 years. Also, you will need to show documentary evidence if your company is commercially successful. 

Example:

1. The company that you put forward as evidence should also have documents of its last audited accounts, if still active then projections for the current financial year should also be included along with articles of association. 
2. You also need to provide proof of a product that your company developed and sent to market. Evidence of its creation and innovation and the related traction via revenue. 
3. The applicant also needs to include their employment contract with the company along with the history of all earnings through the company and any equity they might hold. 
4. If including evidence of sales (both national and international) then it should also include the number of customers from within each country. Also, you would have to include any and all channels of distribution with a description of when all these sales happened and through which channels. 

If you are working as an employee on completely new tech in digital technology then it should be made clear and as proof, you can submit patent IDs.

if you are Looking more Faq’s on Global Talent Visa Read here