What does Tech Nation look for in a Global Talent application?

Who it covers

Tech Nation covers technical and business people in digital technology, not consultancies

Tech Nation assesses technical and business applicants in digital technology, including fintech, gaming, cyber security and artificial intelligence. For business applicants, the key test is the company: it should earn most of its revenue from its own digital product, platform, service or hardware. Technical applicants at other employers, such as banks, are eligible, but criteria 1 and 3 need a product-led company. A CTO who led an in-house team at a SaaS company fits; a manager at an IT outsourcing firm generally does not.

• Technical applicants must show proven expertise with the latest technologies in building, using, deploying or exploiting a technology stack
• Business applicants must show proven commercial, investment or product expertise in building digital products
• Technical people in non-technical organisations, and business people in technical organisations, are eligible
• Non-technical applicants from non-technical organisations are generally not eligible
• Generally not suitable: service or process delivery, outsourcing, technical or management consultancy, ERP consultancy, systems administration, and corporate roles managing large corporate teams
• Business skills must be used in-house at a product-led company, not at agencies, outsourcers or marketing firms

Choose your route

Exceptional Talent is for proven leaders; Exceptional Promise is for emerging leaders early in their career

Exceptional Talent applicants must show they have been recognised as a leading talent in the last 5 years and will typically have 5 or more years of experience in digital technology. Exceptional Promise applicants must show recognition as having potential to be a leading talent in the last 5 years and must be at an early stage in their career, usually with less than 5 years in technology. If you are endorsed under Exceptional Promise, you cannot later switch into Exceptional Talent, so choose carefully.

• Promise applicants can have had a longer career in another type of work before technology
• Unpaid internships do not count towards your years of experience in digital technology
• Promise wording is narrower: innovation as a founder (not senior executive), and research endorsed by an expert
• Junior investors or analysts are not suitable for Exceptional Promise

Mandatory criterion

Everyone must prove they have been recognised by others in the last 5 years

The mandatory criterion is recognition, not just good work. You need at least 2 documents showing that others have recognised you as a leading talent, or a potential one, in digital technology. All activity used for this criterion should fall within the past 5 years and show steady activity over time, not material created to suit the timing of your application.

• Leading the growth of a product-led company, product or team, backed by expert letters, press or public code
• Leading marketing or business development that drove substantial revenue or customer growth
• National or international awards specifically for excellence in digital technology
• Speaking at high-profile digital technology events, or published material about you in major trade or national media
• Does not count: LinkedIn, Medium or other self-published articles, internal company awards, training or certificates, or salary information on its own

Optional criteria

You need 2 of 4 optional criteria, and founder and employee innovation count as one

There are four optional criteria and you must meet 2 of them, with at least 2 documents for each. Some summaries split innovation into a founder bullet and an employee bullet, but under the Immigration Rules they are one criterion, so they cannot be counted twice. Pick the two criteria where your evidence is strongest, not the two that sound most impressive.

Two different tests

Innovation and significant contribution test different things, so do not reuse the same evidence

The innovation criterion asks for high levels of innovation, not necessarily impact. The significant contribution criterion asks for impact, not necessarily innovation. If you choose both, your evidence must show the difference, and the same evidence may not satisfy both.

• Innovation evidence: proof of a new product in market with revenue traction, or a granted patent if you are an employee (patent applications are not enough)
• Founders must show a genuine business with income beyond covering their own salary; formal accounts must be audited or, if not audited, cover more than 12 months
• Company accounts, incorporation papers, business plans or financial projections alone do not prove innovation
• Contribution evidence: what you personally achieved, such as a product you led, revenue you generated or a core system you built, not what the team or company did
• A separate employer letter, product designs or GitHub history can support a contribution claim

Evidence pack

You get up to 10 documents, so every page has to earn its place

Your evidence is capped at 10 documents: at least 2 for the mandatory criterion and at least 4 for your 2 optional criteria. Your CV is separate and does not count towards the 10. It must be typed, up to 3 sides of A4, and include your career and any publication history, plus usernames for profiles such as LinkedIn and GitHub.

• Each document can be up to 3 sides of A4; for longer items, include only the key parts
• You cannot use the same document for more than one criterion
• Pages shrunk or compressed to fit the limit are not acceptable, and a list of links on its own is not acceptable
• Documents not in English need authorised English translations, which do not count towards the page limit
• If you were a founder or senior executive of a technology business in the last 5 years, include evidence such as sales by country and signed accounts
• Extra reference letters in your 10 documents must differ from your 3 main letters, and letters alone never prove a criterion

Statement and letters

The personal statement goes on the form, and the 3 letters must be written for this application

The personal statement is typed into the Home Office form, not uploaded as a separate document. It should say why you want to come to the UK, your planned occupation, which region or city you plan to live in, and how the UK digital technology sector will benefit, and it must match the rest of your application. Templates and AI writing tools are not acceptable for the statement, letters or evidence.

• 3 dated letters from 3 different well-established experts in digital technology who have known your work for at least 12 months
• Each letter must be written for this application and give different examples of your achievements
• Each must say how the author knows you, why you show exceptional talent or promise, your expected contribution to the UK digital economy and your future work plans
• Up to 3 sides of A4 excluding the author's credentials, signed, with phone, email and, if applicable, the organisation's logo and registered address
• The author's CV goes inside the letter, not as a separate file
• Letters from an immediate colleague, manager or friend are not sufficient as evidence of recognition, and managers at outsourcing or consultancy firms do not count as leading experts

Decision and review

Poor or insufficient evidence heads Tech Nation's list of refusal reasons, and a review cannot fix missing evidence

You apply through the Home Office, which sends your application to Tech Nation; you do not send anything to Tech Nation directly. The endorsement application fee is £561, and you will usually get a decision within 5 to 8 weeks. If you think your application was not judged correctly, you can ask for a free review within 28 days of the decision, but you cannot give new evidence, so the time to fix weak evidence is before you submit.

• Vague or generic letters, outdated evidence, or documents not tied to digital technology or the claims made
• Consulting roles, or roles that are not product-led, such as IT support or infrastructure management
• No part in the end-to-end development and launch of new digital products, or no clear track record of innovation
• Little evidence of leadership, or work whose impact does not reach beyond your own employer
• Applying for Exceptional Promise very early, with limited experience and no substantial impact or recognition