| Criterion | What to show | What does not count |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Innovation | Something new you built, with proof in market: signed accounts, customers by country, or a granted patent | Patent applications, business plans, financial projections, articles of association |
| 2. Recognition beyond your occupation | Unpaid work that advances the sector: open source, main-stage talks to 100 or more people, structured in-person mentoring | Workshops, courses you take, online platforms such as ADPList, activity timed for the application |
| 3. Significant contribution | Your own impact at a product-led company: an employer letter, architecture you designed, the pipeline or growth you delivered | Evidence of the company's or your team's work rather than your own |
| 4. Academic contribution | Research published or endorsed by an expert: a top-tier peer-reviewed paper, a peer-reviewed conference, a competitive research grant | Undergraduate or MSc thesis research; a grant or scholarship offered as a merit award |
How it works
You need 2 of the 4 optional criteria, with at least 2 separate documents for each
On top of the mandatory criterion, you must meet 2 of the 4 optional criteria. You can submit up to 10 documents in total: at least 2 for the mandatory criterion and at least 4 for your 2 optional criteria. Each document can be up to 3 sides of A4 and can only be used for one criterion. The Exceptional Promise wording is narrower than the Exceptional Talent wording, so check the version that applies to you.
- Criterion 1: innovation as a founder, senior executive or employee
- Criterion 2: recognition for work beyond your occupation
- Criterion 3: significant technical, commercial or entrepreneurial contribution
- Criterion 4: academic contribution through research
- Reference letters alone are not enough for any criterion; add other evidence
- Your CV and 3 letters of recommendation do not count towards the 10 documents
Criterion 1
Innovation: show that you built something new, not only that it did well
Talent wording: a proven track record for innovation as a founder or senior executive of a product-led digital technology company, or as an employee working on a new digital field or concept. Promise wording: innovation as a founder of a product-led digital technology company, or as an employee working on a new digital field or concept. A founder's company must be active or dissolved in the last five years, and must show income beyond covering your own salary. Evidence should show a consistent track record over time.
What can work
- Evidence of product development, proof of the product in market and traction through revenue
- Your last formal accounts, audited or covering more than 12 months, with a profit and loss statement and balance sheet signed by the directors
- Sales showing customer numbers for each country, with a breakdown by channel (online, retail, distributors, resellers)
- A granted patent with a verifiable ID on Google Patents
What does not count
- Patent applications, financial projections, business plans, articles of association, or accounts and incorporation papers on their own
- Fictional example: a co-founder of a B2B software start-up who can show the product launch, paying customers by country and signed accounts
Criterion 2
Recognition beyond your occupation: unpaid work that advances the sector
Wording for both routes: proof of recognition for work beyond your occupation that contributes to the advancement of the field. The activity must be voluntary, unpaid and not done while representing a company or its products. Mentoring, advising, organising interest groups, leading on policy, teaching at a university and organising clubs or societies can all qualify.
What can work
- A consistent, ongoing record of open source, GitHub or Stack Overflow contributions
- Main-stage talks at sector-leading events with at least 100 attendees, not paid for through your employer's sponsorship
- An op-ed or news article that shows thought leadership
- In-person mentoring on a structured programme with selection criteria, with recognition for your personal contribution
What does not count
- Workshops or conference sessions, courses you take, mentoring at a university or a single start-up, online mentoring platforms such as ADPList, or activity done to fit the timing of your application
- Fictional example: a backend lead at a SaaS company who has maintained a widely used open source library in her own time for several years
1Is your work in digital technology, and not at a consultancy or outsourcer? Technical roles at other employers, such as banks, count; business roles need a product-led company.
2Has your work been recognised beyond your own employer in the last 5 years?
3Can you show at least 2 of: innovation, recognition beyond your job, significant contribution to a product-led company, or academic contribution?
4Do you know 3 established digital technology experts who have known your work for at least 12 months?
Answer the 4 questions to see where you stand.
A quick self-check, not an assessment. It does not predict any outcome.
Criterion 3
Significant contribution: prove your personal impact on a product-led company
Talent wording: 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. Promise wording: the same, but as a founder or employee only. This criterion tests impact, not innovation. Your evidence must show your own work, not the work of the company or your team.
Criterion 4
Academic contribution: research that a recognised expert has endorsed
Talent wording: exceptional ability in the field through academic contributions through research published or endorsed by an expert. Promise wording: research endorsed by an expert. Endorsement means peer review in a recognised publication, or endorsement from a leading senior academic who supervised you directly.
What can work
- At least one paper in a top-tier peer-reviewed journal
- Presentations at a peer-reviewed conference, or competitive peer-reviewed research grants
- A letter from a research supervisor or other expert, written by someone other than your 3 recommendation letter authors
- A merit-based award from an organisation of similar standing to the Royal Society, with its selection criteria
What does not count
- Research from an undergraduate or MSc thesis
- Grants: a competitive, peer-reviewed research grant can count as research evidence, but a grant, bursary or scholarship does not count as a merit award, because awards must be of merit and not only monetary
- Fictional example: a machine learning engineer at a product company whose doctoral research appeared in a top-tier peer-reviewed journal
A common trap
Why founder innovation and employee innovation count as one criterion, not two
The official eligibility page lists founder innovation and employee innovation as two separate bullets, which makes it look like there are five criteria. In the Immigration Rules and the Tech Nation Application Guide, both sit inside a single criterion joined by the word "or". A founder who also innovated as an employee still has only one criterion covered, and needs a second from criteria 2, 3 or 4.
- Four optional criteria, not five
- You still need 2 of them
- Counting founder and employee innovation separately leaves you one criterion short
Want us to look at your own evidence against these rules?
Book a free 30-minute callChoosing well
How to choose your 2 strongest optional criteria
Start from your evidence, not from the criterion that sounds most impressive. Choose the 2 criteria where you have at least 2 strong, verifiable documents each that nobody else could submit. If you choose both innovation and significant contribution, use evidence that shows innovation for one and impact for the other, because the same evidence may not meet both tests.
- List every document you have and match each one to a single criterion
- Prefer evidence with verifiable data, such as revenue, downloads, attendance or citations
- Drop any criterion that relies mainly on reference letters
- Check the evidence shows a consistent record over time, not activity created for the application
- Check the Promise wording if you are early in your career
Related guides
Keep reading
Guides applicants usually read next on this topic.
What does Tech Nation look for in a Global Talent application?
Find out who Tech Nation covers, what the mandatory and optional criteria ask for, and how the 10 documents and 3 letters work.
Read related guideTech Nation recommendation letters: who can write them and what they must include
The rules for the 3 Tech Nation recommendation letters, from choosing authors to format, content and briefing.
Read related guideTech Nation technical or business applicant: which one are you?
Find out whether Tech Nation will treat you as a technical or a business applicant, which roles are on each official list, and what evidence each one needs.
Read related guideApplying from outside the UK. If your conferences, publications or awards are mainly known in your home country, add the context UK assessors need, such as attendance figures, the readership of the publication and the selection criteria for the award, with amounts converted to GBP and authorised English translations for any document not in English.
Article FAQ
Questions to settle before you spend time or money.
Use these answers to check the practical risks, documents, and decisions connected to this topic.
How many Tech Nation optional criteria do I need to meet?
You need 2 of the 4 optional criteria. Provide at least 2 documents for each one.
Can I use the same document for two optional criteria?
No. Each document can only be used for one criterion.
Can founder innovation and employee innovation count as two criteria?
No. They are two parts of the same innovation criterion, so you still need a second criterion.
Does a patent application count as evidence of innovation?
No. Only granted patents count, and they should have a verifiable ID on Google Patents.
Does mentoring on an online platform count for criterion 2?
No. Online mentoring platforms such as ADPList do not count. Mentoring should be mainly in person, on a structured programme with selection criteria.
Does a research grant count for Tech Nation criterion 4?
Yes, if it is a competitive, peer-reviewed research grant. It does not count as a merit award, because awards must be of merit and not only monetary.
Are the optional criteria different for Exceptional Promise?
Yes. The wording is narrower: innovation as a founder rather than a senior executive, contribution as a founder or employee, and research endorsed by an expert.
Plan your evidence
Not sure which 2 optional criteria your evidence supports?
In a free 30-minute call we review your background against the four Tech Nation optional criteria and help you plan which documents fit which criterion.