I’ll call this a public diary of my journey to global talent endorsement. I have held many private discussions on how I got my global talent visa, but I have now chosen to write a public documentation, so I can always refer anyone to it.

If you are one of such persons interested in the global talent visa or I referred you directly here, there are things you should note before you continue:

1. This is a summary of MY journey, a journey that happened between January and March 2023. A lot of things may have changed and the requirements or fees may have become a bit different by the time you’re reading this.
2. I will refer to a couple of platforms and people in this post, but it is not a paid ad or recommendation. While I have engaged with these channels and persons in the past, it is not an endorsement of the future interactions you might have with them. Do your own research, please.
3. Since I am a Nigerian living in Nigeria at the time of my application, I can’t be sure it’ll be relevant to you if you’re not in the same category. Read through, then apply it to your country’s context.
4. I am not an agent or an immigration advisor. Please don’t reach out to me to help with the endorsement, I don’t do it. This is my personal experience and I hope you can learn from it.
5. I will use the following abbreviations occasionally in this article.
   UK = United Kingdom
   TN = Tech Nation
   GTV = Global Talent Visa
6. I will not be discussing eligibility in detail, apart from that you should have worked full-time in a product-led company for at least one year (except you’re a technical applicant), not as a freelancer, not with an agency and not consulting. You can read the full eligibility criteria on TN’s website.

Finally, you may not be able to take the information all in at once, but hey, this diary is always open. Check back as much as you need to. That said, let’s proceed.

My research and the platforms I sought information…

I first learned about the Global Talent Visa in October 2021 through a YouTube video by Peace Itimi, where she shared her endorsement journey. I remember watching it together with Mo, a friend and former colleague, at the office. I was fascinated by the idea because I had spent years documenting my work and leaving digital footprints, never imagining I’d need them one day. But then, that day in October, the significance of all those efforts became clear as day.

If possible and if you already haven’t, before you continue reading, watch Peace’s video below as well. The video helps you know if you’re eligible for a TN visa in the first place, and other important considerations before you proceed.

However, I still developed cold feet and didn’t start the process until Mo, my colleague who watched the video together with me, got her Tech Nation endorsement. She sat me down and shared a breakdown of her application with me, which I am currently doing. That breakdown gave me the strength to start the process and well, it worked, didn’t it?

Another important resource is the Tech Nation Visa Alumni Forum, an open space for UK GTV applicants to ask questions and get answers from alumni or other applicants. It’s a highly active platform and I recommend it for any applicant. Beyond asking questions, you can also search for relevant keywords, to see questions that have been asked in that area. And most importantly, you can get an idea of what people in your field are submitting as pieces of evidence.

So yeah. Peace Itimi’s video, Mo’s initial walk-through and this discourse forum were the channels I got information from to kickstart the entire process.

A peek through the documents I applied with…

I applied for the GTV endorsement through the Exceptional Promise route. To apply, I needed to provide a list of evidence showing that I am a potential leader in my marketing field, within the tech industry.

In the criteria above, you must provide at least 2 unique documents from the first mandatory criteria above, and at least 4 unique documents showing you have any two of the other necessary skills from the four options listed above. In total, you can submit up to 10 pieces of evidence spread across the three options you choose, alongside other important documents.

My list of submitted documents

A. Personal statement (Not more than 1,000 words)

Consider this a summary of all the evidence I had put together. I told the story of my journey into the tech industry, from writing down to growth marketing, all the experience referred to by my evidence, CV and recommendations. Beyond this, I mentioned why I would like to relocate to the UK, where I plan to work and live, and why the UK will be lucky to have me. *winks

B. CV (Not more than 3 pages)

I just reviewed my CV, ensured everything was looking prim and proper.

C. Three Recommendation Letters (Each not more than 3 pages) 

I got a recommendation from a two-time founder of major tech startups in Nigeria. I got the second one from a Chief Operations Officer and a Co-founder of two tech and tech-enabled platforms respectively. I got my third recommendation from a two-time founder and C-level executive at tech startups.

Each letter explained how the author knows me and my achievements in the field, the work we have done together, how they consider me an exceptional promise, and how they think I will contribute to the UK digital economy. Each letter was signed and included the LinkedIn of each person as well as their official contact details.

D. 10 pieces of evidence (Each evidence not more than 3 A4-sized pages)

Mandatory Criteria – Leadership

1. Salary growth progression and employee stock options
I showed the progression in my salary at Cowrywise over two years, while I compared my current salary with industry standards using Glassdoor and Payscale to show how I earned above the average marketer (in my role) in Nigeria. I also showed proof of my granted stock options. Beyond this, I shared screenshots of comments from my CEO endorsing how my stock options showed proof of good work at the company.

2. Thought leadership with volunteer, mentorship and teaching sessions
While some use these documents separately, I put them together in a single evidence. I compiled all my impact outside my full-time job. This included my work as a four-time coach at Treford, my product marketing mentorship and volunteer role at Growteq, sessions I had hosted during my time at Cowrywise, and so on.

3 & 4. Letters of Support from two senior talents I had worked with
These letters were mainly to act as a supporting evidence for other evidence I had provided, to attest to my leadership potential in the field.

Optional Criteria 2 – Innovation

5. Innovative campaign for brand equity
This featured the DesignFund4Women campaign I took over from Feranmi, my former team lead at Cowrywise. I explained why the campaign was important, the impact it had, and the role I played. I showed screenshots as proof of my role in the project, its newness in the industry, and the extent of the impact had. I then linked out to the article I wrote about the campaign.

6. Innovative campaign for revenue growth
I shared my creative idea, coming up with Jolly January, as a way to get more people to save towards a new year. I showed screenshots as proof of my role in the project, its newness in the company and the impact it had while it lasted. I also linked out to relevant positive feedback, article, and social media updates.

7. Innovative campaign support letter
I added a support letter from a senior talent at a global tech company, who worked together with me on evidence 5 above. Support letters have to support existing pieces of evidence, and not act as a standalone.

Optional Criteria 3 – Impact

8. Performance marketing for user growth

I talked about launching and working on performance marketing campaigns three months after joining the team, while briefly referring to my role as a digital marketing expert at Meta (via Teleperformance). It was majorly a consulting role, so it couldn’t be a standalone evidence. I also showed screenshots from the dashboard to show important metrics, and positive comments from Bram, a Senior Strategist at Google that I worked with.

9. Referral campaign for user growth

This was a bit difficult to share because it was a mix of successes and failures (you’ll understand if you read this article on why we stopped money-based referrals), but I shared it anyway, as it was a campaign I worked on, which started as a Black Friday campaign experiment in November. I shared the impact of the campaign, why we stopped, and the new approach the team came up with, with screenshots.

10. All-round social media growth

I managed social media platforms at Cowrywise for over a year, alongside my other roles. I shared screenshots of my audience education frameworks, viral content approach, video content and
content marketing strategies to all our owned social media channels. Most importantly, I shared dashboard screenshots of growth and other important core metrics.

There, you have it! All 15 documents I submitted for my TN endorsement for the GTV. Whew.

I submitted my application on January 6th and got endorsed on the 31st. Once I got my endorsement, I moved on to other parts of my application.

Now to the fees I paid…

The payment is in two stages: the pre-endorsement and post-endorsement stage.

Stage 1: Pre-endorsement

To apply for the TN endorsement, I paid £456 (now £524) before I could submit. This is a non-refundable payment, regardless of how your application turns out. 💀

Stage 2: Post-endorsement

After my endorsement was approved, I paid the following:

• £156 (now £192) for stage 2 visa application.
• £55 extra to use VI visa office, as it is less crowded in my opinion. You don’t need to pay for this if you use Ikeja. I don’t know about other locations in Nigeria.
• I paid £624 per year for Immigration Health Surcharge(IHS). This means, you pay that amount for each year you’re applying for. You can always apply for any number of years you can afford, and renew later in the UK. So, if you can only afford 2 years IHS fee, then apply for a 2-year visa.

  Note: The IHS fee is set to increase from £624 per year to £1,035, starting January 16 2024.

• I paid ₦21,300 in total for both assisted service at visa office and passport home delivery.
• I paid ₦60,000 for Tuberculosis test at St. Nicholas Hospital

This is all I paid. There are no proof of funds or any other hidden payment required for this visa, except of course, your flight fees. 👀

Please, note that if you have dependants, they all will pay their IHS fees independently. I have no information about that as I do not have any dependant. However, as at today, the GTV allows you to bring in your dependants without any restriction. This is all I paid. There are no proof of funds or any other hidden payment required for this visa, except of course, your flight fees. 👀

Other relevant information…

If you’re a designer, read Sebiomo’s TN submission as a product designer. It may be more relevant to you.

This is a rejection feedback from someone, to give you an idea of why applications may be rejected and what to avoid.

Check out this public discourse forum, people share their submissions, feedback and questions there. It’s a very active forum and you can learn one or two things from what others are submitting as well. Just use the search box to search for keywords related to your career path.

The global talent visa isn’t only endorsed by tech nation. This means, it’s not only for tech professionals. There is a route for Art and Culture, and Academia or Research. You can read more about it.

If you would like to not go through this whole process alone and get the help of a paid professional to guide you through, reach out to eMigr8. (This isn’t a paid ad or anything, I have just seen their work and believe they’re a great fit.) Do mention you’re from Digital Market Woman, if you want to. Make I increase my PR small. 😆

My unsolicited advice for you…

First, be sure you really have the requirements needed before you embark on this journey. Get second and third opinions, if you’re not sure.

Unlike me who had the pieces of evidence I needed immediately, you may need to give yourself time to intentionally build up some evidence you will need.

When using links within your document, ensure that the document in itself is enough, if they never click that link. If what’s on the link is very important, introduce a summary within your document. There is no proof that they check the links. It’s just a 2FA addition.

Share screenshots of dashboards, chats, reviews, etc. as generously as you can. In my opinion, the tech nation endorsement is more about what you can prove than what you have said. Show proof as much as possible.

In my opinion, the tech nation endorsement is more about what you can prove you did than what you have said you did.

While putting your evidences together, have a draft structure. Write the criteria you’re providing evidence for, so it can help tailor the evidence you’re looking for.

Write your personal statement last, as it should pull all your evidence together.

Yeah, that’s it!

Wishing you the best in your application! Got questions? Ask in the comment section, please.

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