Work in the UK as a leader in technology

Check your eligibility and allow us to help you

WELCOME TO THE TECH NATION VISA

The Global Talent Visa (sometimes called the Tech Nation Visa, Tier 1 Visa or Exceptional Talent Visa) enables the best tech talent from around the world to work in the UK’s digital technology sector, contributing their cutting edge expertise and creative skills.

Whether you’re an experienced coder or an established tech marketeer, our top tier visa offers great flexibility and freedom. You and your family will be able to seize opportunities enriching your lives and careers, without having to regularly update your visa status.

Global Talent Visa UK | Tech Nation Endorsement | Application Advisors

Our Visa brochure will help you explore why the Global Talent Visa could be perfect for you, how the route works and what it means to launch your career here in the UK.

The Tech Nation Visa Guide

The Tech Nation Visa Guide has been created to support the official guidance provided by the Home Office (it should be read alongside the official guidance, not as a substitute), and explores various aspects candidates should consider before beginning the application process. It covers:

Applicant suitability

Eligibility criteria

The Application process

Evidential requirements

Review the latest important updates to the Global Talent Visa here.

Live and work in the UK’s thriving tech sector

With the Global Talent Visa, you have the capability to relocate with your family to live and work in the thriving UK tech sector.

A perfect blend of talent, mentorship and record-breaking investment sets the scene for your supercharged growth as part of the UK’s digital economy. With almost a third of Europe’s tech unicorns, here you’ll find the right inspiration, innovation and support to drive your career or business in the right direction.

From AI, Fintech, Deeptech all the way down to Net Zero and a whole host of sectors in between, the UK is the place to be, with talent from over 100 nationalities that have already made the move to build dream careers.

Global Talent Visa / Tech Nation Statistics

$29 Billion

invested in the UK in 2021

15%

of UK tech scaleups have at least 1 immigrant founder

116

tech Unicorns in the UK

How the Global Talent Visa works

The Global Talent Visa enables the best tech talent from around the world to work in the UK’s digital technology sector, contributing cutting-edge expertise, and creativity to the ecosystem. What sets it apart from many other visas is that it is attached to you, meaning you are not tied to a particular role, company or project, you are free to change roles and move around the tech sector on your own terms – you also do not need a job offer in order to apply.

There are two main routes that can lead you on your way to claiming the Global Talent Visa:

Exceptional talent

If you are well-established in your career (5+ years) and have a strong track record in your particular field, you should explore this pathway. You should also consider this pathway if you can demonstrate any of the following:

1) Being recognised with reputable industry awards and being asked to speak at high profile tech events

2) Being featured in well known publications, either online or in print

3) You have published open source code to a reputable platform and received significant engagement

Exceptional promise

If you are earlier in your career (5 years or less), with a strong academic record or you are making significant contributions to innovative or impactful projects either in your own tech company or as an employee, this pathway could be perfect for you. You will also need to be able to:

1) Demonstrate your potential to be a future leader

2) Demonstrate your strong contribution to a new digital field

3) Have 3 senior stakeholders within product-led digital tech who are willing to recommend you

Who can apply?

Global Talent Visa UK | Tech Nation Endorsement | Application Advisors

Technical applicants

If you are a frontline technical role, such as a developer, engineer or specialise in areas such as web-analytics and information architecture. These direct tech roles and many more all fall within our criteria.

Global Talent Visa UK | Tech Nation Endorsement | Application Advisors

Business applicants

There are so many roles in the UK that aren’t specifically tech-focussed. If you’re an expert marketeer, have background in operations , love PR or have experience at c-Suite level within your tech ecosystem, this visa could be right for you.

Key benefits of the Global Talent Visa

Flexibility

Change your job or start up on your own without ever needing to update your immigration status

Family

Your spouse and any children under 18 can come with you

Cost

The total cost of application is only £608 per person (+ UK healthcare surcharge)

Network

Join our network of over 1300 visa alumni members, to share your skills

The application process

All visa applications can take a while and so it’s important you give yourself enough time to prepare your application and for it to be processed. We recommend that you give yourself up to 12-weeks to prepare your application, to ensure you have enough time to gather all of the necessary documents.

Step 1

Apply for endorsement. Complete the Government application form and submit your documents to Tech Nation.

Step 2

UK Home Office inform you of the outcome within 8 weeks.

Step 3

Apply for the Visa. Submit proof of endorsement and all biometric information (if you’re relocating with family, you’ll upload their info here too).

Step 4

UK Home Office inform you of your application outcome within 3 weeks.

You’ll be in great company…

Currently there are over 2500 Global Talent Visa holders working in over 900 UK tech businesses. We feel that all of their skills, cultures and experiences are something to celebrate, which is why we established our visa alumni programme.

Whether you’re looking to network for opportunities or friendships, our alumni programme is open to anyone who holds the Global Talent Visa from as soon as you arrive in the UK.

Beginning your Visa journey

We know that relocating to a new country is a daunting task. Making sure you take the time to explore all UK visa options, to find the right route for you is exceptionally important.

As Tech Nation can’t always comment on certain aspects of your application journey, we’ve teamed up with our Alumni ambassadors, like Peace, to ensure there is support in place for key decisions you’ll need to make in the journey.

We’ll take you through how the visa works, who it’s for and how to apply. If it’s the right route for you, you can then access our Visa Toolkit, to support you through the application.

Is the Global Talent Visa right for you?

If you believe the Global Talent Visa could be the right option for you, now is the time to explore some more resources, and get all the information you need to get started on your application.

A great place to start would be our application toolkit.

EXPLORE THE VISA TOOLKIT >

See what we can do for you

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35 Successful applications

in 2022
and hundreds overall

20 + years of experience

in advising applications
and the corporate world

15 team members

to give you
personalised attention

5 days

Average time taken
for the end-to-end review process

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Work in the UK as a leader in technology Check your eligibility and allow us to help you