Tier 1 Exceptional Talent Visa For Digital Technology

Touriago is a new revolutionary Tier 1 Exceptional Talent Visa for digital technology. This visa, which is tiered for the first time ever, allows you to come to the UK and work in a role that cannot be filled by a resident worker.

Tier 1 Exceptional Talent Visa For Digital Technology Professionals Digital technology professionals have created huge disruptions across the world, especially in financial services, technology, media and telecom. As a result, we see labor shortages in these sectors. The Tier 1 Exceptional Talent visa (often referred to as Digital Skills Visa within the British startup ecosystem), is designed for applicants who want to gain experience in the UK’s digital industries.

The Tier 1 Exceptional Talent Visa is the perfect visa option for internationally renowned practitioners in Digital Technology. The Home Office has confirmed that individuals working in this area can be granted permanent residence through this route. Touriago have a team of Immigration Solicitors with years of experience handling Tier 1 Exceptional Talent Visa applications from all over the world. Contact us today to find out more.

What is Tier 1 Exceptional Talent Visa For Digital Technology?

Tier 1 Exceptional Talent Visa For Digital Technology is a UK visa which allows exceptional individuals to immigrate to the United Kingdom. The visa allows you to live and work in the UK for up to five years.

This visa is for individuals who want to become self-employed or start a business in the UK. You can also apply if you are an executive at a company with a turnover of over £2 million per year, or if you have held a senior position at a company with a turnover of over £25 million per year within last 12 months.

This visa has been introduced by the government in order to attract talent from around the world and help grow Britain’s digital economy.

Tier 1 Exceptional Talent Visa For Digital Technology

If you have digital technology skills, you can apply for a Tier 1 Exceptional Talent Visa. This visa is for people who are exceptionally talented in their field of work and have a job offer from a licensed sponsor in the UK. It allows you to stay in the UK for up to three years, and then you can apply for settlement (permanent residence).

What you can do with a Global Talent visa

With a Global Talent visa you can:

• choose how long your visa is for, up to 5 years
• be an employee, self-employed and a director of a company
• change or stop doing your job without telling the Home Office
• bring your partner and children with you as your ‘dependants’, if they’re eligible
• travel abroad and return to the UK

There are no language or minimum salary eligibility requirements.

If you want to stay longer in the UK, you can renew your visa as many times as you like – you’ll have to meet the eligibility criteria for extending your stay.

You can also apply to settle permanently in the UK (also known as ‘indefinite leave to remain’) after:

• 3 years if you’re applying as a leader
• 5 years if you’re applying as a potential leader

You cannot:

• apply for most benefits (public funds), or the State Pension
• work as a sportsperson

If your application is successful, you’ll get a full list of what you can and cannot do with a Global Talent visa.

Eligibility

You do not need a job offer to get the visa. Your background can be either:

• technical, for example you’re a developer, engineer or data scientist
• business, for example you have commercial, investment or digital product expertise in a technology company that creates software, hardware or that processes data

Check the full list of eligible digital technology roles.

Requirements for Endorsement by Tech Nation

In order to qualify for endorsement by Tech Nation in the field of Digital Technology you will either need to be:

1. A technical applicant who can demonstrate proven technical expertise in building, using, deploying or exploiting a technology stack and building technical infrastructure; or
2. A business applicant who can demonstrate proven commercial, investment, or product expertise in building digital products or leading investments in significant digital product businesses.

Evidence Required for Endorsement by Tech Nation

Your application for a Digital Technology endorsement by Tech Nation will need to include a CV with career and publication history included and 3 letters of recommendation.

The letters of recommendation must be from 3 different well-established organisations acknowledged as experts in the digital technology field.  They must show you how the author knows you, your achievements in your field, how the author considers that you show exceptional talent or promise and the contribution you will make to the UK digital economy.

Exceptional Talent Applicants in the Field of Digital Technology

If you are seeking to evidence exceptional talent in the digital technology industry, you will need to show that you have been recognised as a leading talent in the digital technology sector in the last 5 years and provide evidence of at least two of the following:

1. 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;
2. Proof of recognition for work beyond your occupation that contributes to the advancement of the field;
3. Having made significant technical, commercial, or entrepreneurial contributions to the field as either a founder, senior executive, board member or employee of a product-led digital technology company;
4. Having demonstrated exceptional ability in the field by making academic contributions through research published or otherwise endorsed by an expert.

Exceptional Promise Applicants in the Field of Digital Technology

If you are seeking to evidence exceptional promise in the digital technology industry, you will need to show that you have been recognised as having potential to be a leading talent in the digital technology field in the last 5 years, be at an early stage in your career and provide evidence of at least two of the following:

1. 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;
2. At least 1 example of proof of recognition for work beyond your occupation that contributes to the advancement of the field;
3. At least 1 example of significant technical, commercial, or entrepreneurial contributions to the field as either a founder or employee of  a product-led digital technology company;
4. At least 1 example demonstrating exceptional ability in the field by making academic contributions through research endorsed by an expert.

In all cases applicants must provide evidence of any commercially successful established businesses, share ownership or businesses dissolved in the last 5 years where the applicant has been a founder or senior executive.

Conclusion

With the recent development of many online startups, those who can prove to be valuable in the online tech industry will have more opportunities for visa and work permit. They may even be employed with a Tier 1 Exceptional Talent Visa to come over to the UK.

The purpose of this Podcast was to raise awareness to an overlooked, yet exceptionally valuable visa. Although immigration by merit is not a new concept in the United States (Congress created the EB-1 visa category in 1990), many digital technology professionals still do not know about it or how it can be used for their immigration purposes.