Should I apply under Exceptional Talent or Exceptional Promise?

The first step on the Global Talent Visa journey is choosing the right route to apply under for the Tech Nation endorsement. Still, candidates are often confused about which one to select — Exceptional Talent or Exceptional Promise?

These routes are for those applicants who can demonstrate their leading experience or potential to become a future leader in the digital tech field.

Do you consider yourself a talented or promising individual and want to work in the UK’s digital technology sector? Here is what you should know about the difference between Exceptional Talent and Exceptional Promise routes and their requirements.

Applicants for tech nation endorsement must either:

• Meet one mandatory and two optional "Exceptional Talent" criteria from the list below,

• Meet one mandatory and two optional "Exceptional Promise" criteria from the list below.

Exceptional Talent (leader) is a uniquely talented and recognised individual (who has a track record of achievements) in the digital technology field. Candidates applying under this category usually hold senior positions, manage projects of scale within companies they work for, and can demonstrate significant traction within companies they founded or provide evidence of other significant achievements within the field.

1. Eligibility

You must be able to demonstrate your outstanding achievements in the tech industry and provide evidence of 2 of the following:

2. Evidence for Exceptional Talent candidates

• A proven track record for innovation in a senior (or founder) position of tech company or be an employee thereof. It can be an extract from a pending/approved patent application, recommendation letters that describe innovative projects within the company and highlight the impact they’ve left on the business/its product, trendsetting projects you’ve worked on (new in the industry, new in the country, new in the region).
  

• Proof of applicant’s significant technical, commercial or entrepreneurial contribution to the development of the digital technology field as a founder or employee of a product-led digital technology company. It can be your employment contract with salary information, design documentation, indicating information about users, product features, essential implementation details, etc.
  

• Proof of recognition for work outside your immediate occupation has contributed to the sector’s advancement. It can be a letter of support from a local charity foundation, a GitHub profile demonstrating active participation in an open–source project, a Stack Overflow profile showing a significant contribution to discussions around code, video recordings of public talks, diplomas/certificates from tech event organisers proving your participation, etc.

• Proof of demonstrating significant academic research contributions in the field (e.g. a STEM PhD and research papers in relevant journals), endorsed by a research supervisor or academic expert.

Exceptional Promise (emerging leader) is for emerging professionals who have the potential to become a leading talent in the digital tech industry and contribute as a future leader in their industry. Exceptional Promise candidates must be at an early stage of their career (less than 5 years of experience in the field). Still, they must be able to demonstrate some significant achievements and contributions to the tech sector.

💬 Immigram notes:
“The only restriction on applying as an Exceptional Promise is you must have less than 5 years of experience in IT and have graduated from the university in the previous 5 years. If you want to remove everything from your CV, leaving the last 5 years, and you graduated from university 10 years ago, Tech Nation will have questions. The only way out of this restriction is to prove that you changed your career path (and before that, you hadn’t worked in the tech industry), and your tech experience is less than 5 years.”

1. Eligibility

You must prove that you are an emerging leader, a talented individual, who has a huge potential to grow, make remarkable contributions, and be recognised as a potentially cutting-edge talent in the digital tech industry. Also, you will need to provide evidence of 2 of the following:

2. Evidence for Exceptional Promise candidates

• At least 1 example of innovation as a founder of a product-led digital technology company or as an employee working on a new digital field or concept. It can be an extract from a pending/approved patent application, recommendation letters that describe innovative projects within the company and highlight the impact they’ve left on the business/its product, trendsetting projects you’ve worked on (new in the industry, new in the country, new in the region).
  

• At least 1 example of proof of recognition for work outside your immediate occupation that has contributed to the sector’s advancement. It can be a letter of support from a local charity foundation, a GitHub profile demonstrating active participation in an open–source project, a Stack Overflow profile showing a significant contribution to discussions around code, video recordings of public talks, diplomas/certificates from tech event organisers proving your participation, etc.
  

• At least 1 example of a significant technical, commercial or entrepreneurial contribution to the digital field as a founder or employee of a product-led digital technology company. It can be any positive feedback about your work — from performance reviews rated higher than “Meets expectations” to “Manager of the year” certificate to screenshots of Slack messages from peers expressing their gratitude to you, your employment contract with salary information, design documentation, indicating information about users, product features, essential implementation details, etc.
  

• At least 1 example demonstrating significant academic research contributions in the field (e.g. a STEM PhD and research papers in relevant journals) endorsed by a research supervisor or academic expert.
  

Check out specific examples of evidence in our article.

After submitting your endorsement application under one of these categories, Tech Nation will assess your application and establish your eligibility for the given categories. It is important to note that besides your fit for the criteria, Tech Nation will independently decide whether they consider you worthy of endorsement or not and for which route. It is at Tech Nation’s discretion to assess each application on its own merits and make a recommendation for or against their endorsement.