How I Got My Tech Nation Visa Endorsement As a Nigerian

[presidentialiq]

Firstly, I just want to start by wishing everyone who will be applying or currently applying all the best. I totally understand your current position and I pray that all works out for you.

So, am going to try as much as possible to keep this short and sweet because I already have a loooooong blogpost on this on my blog.

I believe the best way to understand how I got my exceptional talent endorsement and visa, it is important to understand my journey to the UK and why I wanted to get endorsed.

Before you continue reading, here are some quick facts about me and my application.

(1) I only have a BSc and Masters
(2) I got endorsed when I was 23 years old (This tricky, my endorsement email / letter came 1 day after my 24th birthday)
(3) I got endorsed as an "Exceptional Talent"
(4) I applied when I was in Nigeria.
(5) I applied twice, my first application was not successful.
(6) My whole application took about 2-3 months and this includes my unsuccessful application.
(7) I am not a hardcore Programmer, a guru,a genius and am not a very successful business man in Tech.
(8) I am just an average boy from Nigeria with a dream and a laptop.

How it all started...

So, I came to the UK in 2015 to get my Masters in Business Information Systems Management after I felt confident that I had made enough money as a Freelance creative designer to re-invest back in my self. (I started my company - XYZ on my grandmother's dining table in Nigeria at the age of 19 just after I got a BSc in Computer Science, the company provides web and digital services to businesses and individuals)

Unlike the average Nigerian youth, I decided not to get a 9-5 job or even complain about the unemployment situation in Nigeria and took my own life into my hands. I focused on getting international clients rather than local Nigerian clients because people / businesses in Nigeria do not pay premium or value good design.

So, after about 1-2 years of doing my thing, I had built a very strong portfolio of international clients, projects and made a reasonable amount of money (remember, I was being paid in Pounds and dollars instead of Naira since 95% of my clients were from the UK and US).

I decided to put the money back into myself by investing in getting a masters in London, it was a strategic move because I knew being a hustler and entrepreneur - I would not just be getting a masters, I would also be gaining real life experiences and also be networking with great people in the UK.

Fast forward to late 2016, I got my masters and my student Visa was about to expire. Reality hit me in the balls (ouch! it hurts)

I was getting so many advice from people not to go back to Nigeria even though my Visa was about to expire, even my mom said "Dammy, if you go back to Nigeria - it might be hard to come back oooo" , my friends advised me to find a British partner, I was also told to find a company who would sponsor me by giving me a job and I also got some more crazy advice (things people do to stay in the UK)

The only advice that kind of made sense to me was to get a job in a company that would sponsor me. Trust me, even though this sounds like the normal thing to do or a good way out. I hated it!

I didn't want to do the 9-5 thing, I didn't want to have to slave for the next 5 years in a company I might not like, even if I find a company that does exactly what I love to do, the fact that I would have to report to the office from 9-5 just made my stomach hurt.

I am an entrepreneur and hustler, I cant breath in a 9-5 environment.

So, I searched and searched and I didn't find anything. To be honest, I was looking for contract or part-time jobs, I wasn't really searching for full time roles. So, I gave up my search!

I then stumbled upon the Tier 1 Exceptional Talent Visa scheme about 2 months for my student visa to expire but the name "World Leading Exceptional Talent" scared me! I said to myself "Dammy, there is no way you are an exceptional talent in digital technology, what have you done?"

So, that fear made me not look deep into the visa scheme. The documents to provide sounded too far fetched for me. I gave up even before starting.

My student Visa expired and I was back to Nigeria in February 2017. When I got to Nigeria, even though I was born and raised there and spent over 22years of my life there, it didn't feel like home anymore. I had tasted a much better life in London and my taste level had increased - at the airport, I said to myself "I am not living in this country, once I get home - I will start looking for my way out! London is my new home!!!!!"

I started doing some more research on how to come back to the UK. I had this very close UK client who had a company and was willing to employ me and give me the flexibility to work from home instead of having to do the 9-5 thing BUT because his company needed to have the Certificate of Sponsorship, it became an headache and he couldn't get it.

Searching desperately now, I stumbled upon the Tier 1 Exceptional Talent Visa once again! This time, because I was in Nigeria, my eyes were wide open, I was hungry, I paid so much attention to the guidelines and documents to provide and said to myself "Wait, I think I can get this Visa! I can show some of these things they are looking for."

So, I started gathering documents as advised in the Tech Nation guide. I started going through my portfolio of startups I have co-founded as a Tech guy, startups I have founded alone, web applications built, business strategies and architectures built, articles published, video podcasts made and more!

I started to see the light! My profile and work done was beginning to align with what Tech Nation wanted to see and I started to feel like I could really get endorsed. By the way, I was 23 years old at this time!

I reached out to clients for recommendation letters, I reached out to my professor in the UK who I was a student under and also worked with outside the classroom to build a web application for the EU and started printing out my articles that had been featured on Huffington Post, Instructables and more!

The digging was real!

So, I applied for the endorsement. I sent my documents through DHL to the UK. And was waiting patiently for the response. I applied using fast track since my profile and documents was able to show that I met the criteria for fast track.

After waiting and counting the days. I got an email from the Home office. My hands were shaking, I was out with my friends and brothers having a chilled sunny day in Nigeria.

I opened the email and read the attached PDF and it said "Having reviewed the documentation supporting the applicant’s application, our expert’s assessment leads them to the decision that he DOES NOT qualify to be endorsed for Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent)/(Exceptional Promise)." .... and they added some more personal information!

I felt so down! So bad! My mood changed. As I write this post, I can actually feel exactly how I felt that day! It felt like all hopes were lost!

However, remember! Am a hustler, am a believer! So, I took the feedback they gave in the PDF and decided that I was going to apply again! I didn't want to apply for review because that's dumb to me, there's no point reviewing something that took them about 3-4 weeks to give a decision on! They have done their due diligence and given me an answer!

Also, you would get a faster response if you apply afresh than if you wait for a review response.

This time, I spent days and night working and digging into my archive of work done! I spent more time on my personal statement, CV, Letters, supporting documents and ensured that I leveraged the feedback given in the failed application to make this one better!

After feeling confident that my new documents and application was ready to be submitted. I went to DHL and submitted the documents once again!

Since I had already tasted failure, I was more nervous for the reply! I couldn't function properly all the days I was waiting for a reply from the Home office.

To cut the long story short, on May 23 2017 (one day after my birthday!!!!!!!!!) , I got an email from the Home office and immediately opened the accompanying PDF and lo and behold I saw "Thank you for your Application for Endorsement under Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent). The application was forwarded to Tech City UK on the 2nd of May 2017 and they provided a recommendation to the Home Office.
Tech City UK has advised that you meet their criteria for Exceptional Promise and I am therefore satisfied that you can be endorsed under Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent)." and some more message.

Oh my God! I jumped out of chair and ran downstairs to tell my aunt who was 9months pregnant at that time and she also jumped for joy! It was a good day for me.

I had just celebrated my 24th birthday a day before that day and the next day I got the endorsement!

So, my advice for people who want to apply is:

(1) If after going through the guide provided by Tech Nation and you think you can provide the documents, GO FOR IT! Believe in yourself.
(2) Spend time working on your Personal Statements and CV. These are very important documents for your application.
(3) Ensure all letters of recommendation are on letter headed papers, signed, includes contact details of authors and they follow the guidelines.
(4) If you can get help or advice from people who have applied successfully, ensure you tap all the knowledge and advice from them. This will save you money, time and energy.


When I was applying, I didn't see blogs or articles from people who had successfully applied so I made it a point of duty to create high level posts, guides and videos around the Tier 1 Exceptional Talent Visa route to help others. My blog has been helping 100s of applicants and am overwhelmed by the amount of messages and emails I get from people around the world!

I have so many blogposts covering different aspect of the Tier 1 Exceptional Talent Visa, but the first one you should check out is "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx" personal blog weblink removed by moderator and you should also check this one out, it's a video "xxxxxxxxxx personal weblink removed by moderator

All the best to everyone applying! All the best, I mean that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- Daniel xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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