Hello everyone,
I’m on a tier 4 (student visa) here in England and would like to switch to the global talent visa. I am a mechanical engineer.
I recently completed my MSc in Advanced Mechanical Engineering at the University of Sussex and I am also a doctoral tutor there teaching first and second year undergraduates.
My question is:
1.Am I eligible to apply to switch from Tier 4 to global talent visa?
2. How best would I be able to compile my evidences as an exceptional promise?
By the sound of it you’ll be targeting endorsement from Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE). Except you’ve extensive digital technology background as specified in tech nation guideline, you won’t stand a chance being endorsed by Tech Nation.
By doctoral tutor do you mean you’re teaching while undergoing a PhD programme?
You’ll need to have a PhD or extensive research experience to be endorsed by RAE. You can check their guide here:
As a doctoral tutor, I teach but haven’t started my PhD
You may not be eligible at this time.
@Uchenna_Ndubuisi First, I would like to ask if you have experience in the digital technology field (industry experience) other than completing your master’s degree in the UK?
To apply for the GT visa via TechNation the most important criteria is to prove that you have evidences on developing technologic products/companies.
If you have more experience in academia compared to industry experience then there are other GT visa routes that might be more suitable for you as mentioned by @May
Personally, I switched from Tier 4 student visa to GT visa, so, that is possible. But I switched from Tier 4 student visa to GT visa while I was pursuing my PhD. That helped me to provide evidence on speaking engagements and research pursued during my PhD as part of the endorsement application. But my main evidences and other parts of the application focused on my experiences in developing technologies and tech companies that I cofounded.
So, before you proceed with your GT visa endorsement my suggestion would be to sit and write down all your tech related achievements and experiences by reflecting your life so far. Your experiences in tech will guide you to choose which GT visa route such as TechNation, Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE), etc. is more suitable for your experiences. Moreover, your experiences will also guide you how to prepare the evidences to get a successful endorsement.
In case this helps, I have written an article on how to prepare evidences for GT visa endorsement here: This is how I got my Endorsement for Global Talent Visa under Exceptional Talent Route (AI/ML Researcher)
Also keep in mind, even if you might not have all the experiences (evidences) to apply for GT visa endorsement right now. But with strategy and careful build up of your profile in the next few months, you could gain the experiences (evidences) that could finally make your eligible for the GT visa.
All the best!
@somdipdey Your experience switching from tier 4 to GT resonates with what I am currently working on. I actually thought it wasn’t possible to switch to GT till you shared your experience.
I will carefully read this again and the article you attached while I strategise on how best I put forward a winning application.