Tier 1 - Tech Business Exceptional Talent

Hi,

I haven't seen many posts discussing the application of Business Tech people. Although I know it's fully accepted (I read one too many times the Tech Nation Guidance + HO Requirements Guide), I wonder if someone wants to share a bit more about successful or unsuccessful business tech applications, recommended documents to support your application, do's and dont's, etc.

I'm a successful sales executive in Latin America. I have a technical background (I hold a Bachelor Degree Computer Science), but I've always worked for large enterprise software companies - best of breed worldwide. Yet, I feel like I'm freaking out with this application. I'm not sure what documents I can/should provide to prove my tracking record - I'm a quota over achiever and I have some impressive numbers on business development, go-to-market strategy and digital transformation. They mentioned bank statements, payslip, but I want to show something other than $. I thought about getting customer's endorsement attached to public customer cases, a letter from HR stating I've been over achieving my quota for 5 years, my current work contract and stock plan offered. Is there something else you would strong recommend? Any one with experience applying as a tech business want to give interesting tips?

Any help is highly appreciated!

Regards,
Juliana.

Hi Juliana,

I got my Tier 1 via Tech Nation today, biz dev. My context is different but will share in case you or others find it useful. I work in corporate innovation, based in the UK for the last few years on a Tier 2 visa.

Documents submitted:
- Recommendation letter from my CEO
- Recommendation letter from a well known UK tech organisation
- My current UK employment contract
- Examples around my profile and contribution to the UK tech scene (talks, panels, etc)
- Letter from an international partner company
- Letter from a similar/competing company
- Letter from a well known UK university where I guest lecture
- Letter from a consultant for my company
- Letter from a client of my company
- A soft job offer from a potential future employer, based in the UK

Took Tech Nation 3-4 weeks to process. After my endorsement (Stage 1), I was able to get a Stage 2 appointment in 10 days and got the visa granted on the day (this costs extra, roughly £1000).

My main recommendation: work with a UK based immigration law firm (I paid around £1500), make sure you get letters from UK based or UK recognised people or companies. I had applied for an endorsement on my own and out of the country a few years ago and got rejected. I believe the UK connections made all the difference, my professional profile has not significantly changed otherwise.

Good luck!

Hey,

Thanks for your feedback. Just for me to understand, why do you recommend a law immigration firm? To speed-up the process and help with tracking/translation and bureaucratic stuff or to help with stage 1 endorsement?

I don't work/live in the UK, so it's a bit hard to get endorsements from relevant UK-leaders. I have no option, but provide recommendation letters from Latin America.

And last question, when it comes to biz dev, did you somehow provided evidence on pipeline generation, company's growth, quota achievement or anything like that?

I used the firm to help with both Stage 1 (endorsement) and Stage 2. You don't really need them for Stage 2, it is very straightforward once you get the endorsement. They helped me build the application strategy - what to include, what to get from whom, etc - and went over the drafts. It was a lot of work from my side and everything came from my personal network, so they review more than anything but it was worth it.

In the evidence I provided, I did talk about growth, pipelines, overachieving quotas. Then the letters by the organisations I listed confirmed what I mentioned. It is a matter of building a strong case and not only relying on your own word but getting others to echo your success.

Hi Somanyforms,

Thanks a lot for sharing your experience.

Is it possible to get in touch with you and also if you can share the agency contact whom you contracted.

Vic