In 2022, I migrated to the United Kingdom with my family after I Got Endorsed as a Global Talent through the Tech Nation Global Talent Visa. This is my personal experience that can help you should you consider this path as well.

“Hello, Thank you for watching my YouTube channel. I am popularly called Mr. Legend.” 

If this were a YouTube video, this would probably be the first thing you will hear but it is not. I have decided to share my journey to getting endorsed as a Global Talent by the United Kingdom endorsing body, Tech Nation. Consequently, I got a non-restrictive Tech Nation Global Talent visa that allowed me to move to the United Kingdom with my family and if I desire, settle down there and become a citizen in three to six years.

Some have asked how this happened and if they can also benefit. At the end of my story today, you will know everything I did to get this endorsement, and hopefully provide you with a complete guide and template on how you can do the same, especially if you are in the digital technology space.

But First, Who am I?

My name is Gabriel Olatunji-Legend and I am a co-founder at Afrilearn. Afrilearn is powering academic and tech-based education for Africans globally leveraging technology. In 2019, I and my co-founder, Isaac Oladipupo set out to disrupt education and democratize access for everyone. It has been a long and challenging journey, but we have also managed to achieve some success. We recently got a UNICEF nod. The African Union has awarded us one of the top 50 most innovative businesses, and we have been recognized by the Kingdom of the Netherlands amongst others.

One of our products, ClassNotes.ng gets close to one hundred thousand visits daily and Examby, another product is helping students prepare for local and international examinations. AfrilearnKidsCode is helping kids master coding in 4 to 12 weeks from the comfort of their home

Asides from this, thousands of young people across Africa, the United Kingdom, and Canada leverage the Afrilearn product to write and pass their examinations.

However, before Afrilearn, I have been an Author, PR Manager, COO, Life coach, Relationship coach and counselor, Speaker, digital agency owner, and upcoming filmmaker. I founded Lovelife.ng as well.

Guess what, when I applied for the Global Talent Visa, all the information above formed part of my application. This is important, in case you are one of those people who believe you are not qualified for this endorsement. All you need to do is take an introspective look at your life in the last three to five years and pen down every single thing that you have done and achieved – both the seemingly irrelevant ones.

What is the Global Talent Visa?

The Tech Nation Visa also known as the Global Talent Visa enables exceptional talent anywhere in the world to settle and work in the UK’s digital technology sector. With this visa, you get to contribute your expertise and skill to your host country’s digital technology sector. The Tech Nation Visa is for the brightest and most extraordinary talent across the world who have tech careers whether as entrepreneurs or employees and are ready to move to the UK.

The Global Talent Visa has different categories. You will get endorsed based on the category you qualify for. In my case, I was endorsed under the Digital Technology sector. This is handled strictly by Tech Nation however there are other categories such as academia or research, arts and culture, and digital technology but because I was in digital technology, my endorsement has to go through Tech Nation.

Whatever industry you are in, you may want to check to see whether you qualify and start the process of getting the endorsement.

“The Tech Nation Visa, officially known as the Global Talent Visa, enables the brightest and best tech talent from around the world to come and work in the UK’s digital technology sector, contributing their cutting-edge expertise, creativity and innovation to maintaining the UK’s position at the forefront of the global digital economy.

Tech Nation is the official Home Office designated endorsing body authorised to assess endorsement applications from individuals with expertise in digital technology and who want to come to the UK under the Global Talent visa. 

The Tech Nation Visa is for founders and employees with technical or business backgrounds, including all tech sub-sectors like fintech, AI, cyber, and games.”

What Did I Do to Get Endorsed?

I applied! There are so many people who are qualified for this endorsement but are unaware. Truthfully, the first time I went through the Tech Nation guide for endorsement, I had doubts that I qualified but guess what, I applied still and in less than three weeks, I go my letter of endorsement.

Doubt and fear are proof of your humanity, they are not walls we should allow to impede our necessary movement. Yes, doubt your ability if you may but do it afraid.

What I Submitted in my Application

To get endorsed for the Global Talent Visa, you need just these things:

1. Filled an Application form
2. Submitted CV with career history
3. Submitted Three letters of endorsement from founders in the Tech space | “Three letters of recommendation from three different well-established organizations acknowledged as experts in the digital technology field.”
4. Submitted 10 pieces of evidence in relation to the relevant Eligibility Criteria. In a nutshell, I submitted 10 relevant things I have achieved in the last three to five years.

Why was I qualified for this endorsement and visa?

In simple terms, I work in a product-led organization and have contributed significantly with proof to the digital technology sector in my country and the African region. In order for you to get endorsement as a Global Talent in the Digital Technology category, you must be working or have worked in a product-led organization. The Tech Nation guide explains product-led organizations as this “digital technology sector” or “product-led digital technology companies” are defined as businesses that provide a proprietary digital technical service/product/platform/hardware as their primary revenue source. The creation of software, processing/storage of data, or the creation/application of technical computing hardware is often a central aspect of their business model.”

Afrilearn has a product people are subscribed to and I work with Afrilearn. I’m careful not to use founder or co-founder in order for you not to believe it is only for founders. If you have contributed to a product-led company as an employee, you qualify as well. However, you will need to collate all the evidence of your contributions and how your innovations helped your organization.

Who Can Apply?

People with technical skills or business skills. In my case, I applied, citing my business skills and there have been many who got this same visa for their technical skills. There is a likelihood that what you currently do in a product-led company fall under either of these skills. For technical skills, UI and UX designers, software engineers, cybersecurity experts, hardware engineers and more can apply. For business skills, sales executives, product marketers, product managers, founders, marketers, senior VC or PE analysts, and more. Not to worry, you can see the full list on the tech nation guide I will provide at the end of this story.

Today, I can start a business or work for an international organization in the United Kingdom because I dared to believe.

What if You Don’t Qualify?

Yes, there may be some people reading this that do not qualify after going through the criteria but that is not a bad thing. It is simply an assessment of your current standing. Thankfully, you are alive and can start now to build the relevant criteria needed, if achieving this is one of your goals for this year.

It is possible to start now and in six to twelve months achieve what you need to be qualified and get endorsed. Twelve months will go by whether you do it or not, why not do it instead.

In another article, I will do a breakdown of how you can start and complete your application with relevant examples and templates. In the meantime, here is the list of steps to applying for the Tech Nation Global Talent Visa.

1. Read the tech nation guide and highlight carefully all the areas you need to refer to later. Every document or evidence you are submitting has a guide, and you can find them here: https://technation.io/visa-tech-nation-visa-guide/
2. UK government website for the Global Talent Visa here
3. Study the official Global Talent Immigration Rules here
4. Pick a pen and list out four to six pieces of Mandatory Evidence (You will understand the categorization from the Tech Nation guide above)
5. List our three to five Optional Evidence
6. List out three to five optional Two evidence
7. Reach out to three to six people who will write a letter of recommendation for you. You only need three but great to have options. The guide also specifies how the letter should be written
8. Prepare your CV with updated career history, tailoring it to what you are applying for
9. Write your Personal Statement. It’s more like an essay about yourself stating your contributions, achievements, and plans for the UK
10. Get someone who has been endorsed to review it for you. There are people who charge for this service but you can look within your network for friends who won’t or will charge less
11. Go HERE to register, submit all your documents, and pay

“It costs £623 to apply. If you’re applying based on an endorsement, you’ll pay the £623 in two parts: £456 when you apply for the endorsement and £167 when you apply for the visa itself”

1. Wait, pray, play, and hope for the best. You can take your TB test if you belong to a country that requires it. If you are applying from Nigeria, you need it.
2. After endorsement, then you start your Global Talent Stage 2 visa process using this link: https://visas-immigration.service.gov.uk/product/global-talent-endorsement?_ga=2.162504757.826428492.1644328161-1826451802.1641980359 

Benefits of the Global Talent Visa compared to Others

Unlike traveling to the UK through the school route where you would have to pay through your nose and still won’t be allowed to work for more than 20 hours, the Global Talent Visa gives you unrestricted access to work for as long as you can and with whom you want. You are even allowed to start your own organization in the UK. Even skilled worker visas are tied to their employer in order to keep their visas, which is not the same for GTV.

With this visa, in three to six years depending on whether you were endorsed as an Exceptional Talent or Exceptional Promise, you can qualify for ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain) and consequently citizenship if that is one of your goals.

I got my endorsement earlier this year and started the visa process which took three weeks before we got our passports back. I, my wife, and kids traveled together and I write, we are in the United Kingdom with this visa.

For me, the goal is not JAPA. It is my belief that we are born to make a Big Deal effect on life and lives – in sports, academics, politics, entertainment, and in any area that ticks our individual fancy. This also explains why you should not run your life based on another man’s clock. You are a unique individual with a unique purpose. 

This is not goodbye to Nigeria (as my friend would say) but becoming a Global Asset with Global Access,  that continues to give to and build Africa.

Thank you for reading.

In another post, we will share a detailed step-by-step Stage one process and do the same for Stage two.

P.S: I also run paid consultation sessions for people who work in the digital technology space, qualify, and are looking to get this endorsement. Send me an email at olatunjilegend (@) gmail (dot) com