Application Review Request: Exceptional Promise (Software Engineer) UK Global Talent Visa Application

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Hello everyone,

I’m preparing to apply for the UK Global Talent Visa (Exceptional Promise route) in November and would appreciate feedback on my draft evidence pack. I have over 5 years of professional experience as a Software Engineer, with contributions spanning product development, technical talks, publications, and open-source projects.

Below is the current structure of my application:

Mandatory Documents

  • Personal Statement
  • CV

Recommendation Letters

  1. CEO of my current company (worked with me for 4+ years)
  2. Founder of an NGO where I interned (known me for 5+ years)
  3. Product Manager was at my current company but had left (worked together for 2 years)

Mandatory Criteria

  • MC Evidence 1: Leadership in a product-led digital company → Reference letter from Head of Product & Engineering.
  • MC Evidence 2: High-profile speaking engagements → 3 DevFest talks/workshops (700+ attendees each), 1 virtual technical talk (30+ attendees, 2 countries), pre-DevFest workshop. Evidence includes videos, slides, acceptance emails, and photos.
  • MC Evidence 3: Published materials → 6+ technical articles on Hashnode (screenshots of analytics, author name, links, engagement metrics: 6,000+ views).
  • MC Evidence 4: High salary & remuneration → Employment letter, equity grant documents, payslips (with home country currency context).

Optional Criteria 2

  • OC2 A: GitHub profile → Active participation in collaborative projects (screenshots, commits, organizations, followers).
  • OC2 B: Open-source contributions → Links/screenshots of PRs and repositories (two).
  • OC2 C: Sector-leading talks → Reference letter from GDG organisers confirming my 3 DevFest workshops.

Optional Criteria 3

  • OC3 A: Architecture diagrams → My contributions to current company products (diagrams, internal commits, usage metrics).
  • OC3 B: Built scalable payment processing system → Architecture diagrams, commits, analytics showing revenue impact.
  • OC3 C: Created HTML & CSS courses → Links to courses, revenue/user stats, testimonials.

Optional Criteria 4

  • OC4 A: Evidence of peer-reviewed presentations (virtual & physical).
  • OC4 B: Letter of support from a supervising professor.
  • OC4 C: 2 peer-reviewed journal papers, which will be published next month, but they are part of undergraduate research (AI/Neural Networks/Medical Imaging).

Questions I’d love your input on:

  1. Linking Evidence: For videos and documents, is it acceptable to use links plus screenshots, or should I embed key frames/screens in the evidence PDFs? Because I applied via the Exceptional Talent route last year and both the application and appeal were all rejected due to insufficient evidence, I can’t afford not to attach more than enough evidence this time around

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  2. Page Limits: With the 3-page-per-evidence guideline, what’s the best way to manage multiple screenshots without losing clarity? (e.g., collages, concise annotations)

  3. Clarity & Structure: Does the way I’ve grouped and presented my evidence feel clear and well-organised?

  4. Strength & Relevance: Does my evidence convincingly demonstrate the criteria, or are there areas where I should strengthen further?

  5. Gaps or Improvements: Any additional types of evidence you think I should add or reposition?

@Akash_Joshi @ Francisca_Chiedu @ Raphael @pahuja

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You didn’t demonstrate your dev fest evidence properly. That’s the reason you didn’t get MC

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You need to completely rework how you present your DevFest evidence. From past applications I’ve seen, simply showing event pages and slides isn’t enough - Tech Nation wants proof you were genuinely recognized as a keynote speaker with measurable impact. Include actual photos of you presenting on the main stage, screenshots of the event program listing your name prominently, and if possible, testimonials or reference letters from event organizers explaining why you were selected to speak. The current evidence doesn’t show that you were singled out from other speakers or that your talks had significant impact on notable audiences.

Hashnode is a self-publication platform so unfortunately articles posted there won’t count.

For all your technical contributions like the payment system and architecture work, you must provide concrete evidence of measurable business impact. Include revenue figures, user adoption metrics, or performance improvements that resulted directly from your work. Past successful cases showed clear before-and-after comparisons and quantified the business value created. Also ensure you have reference letters from senior executives who can validate that you were the primary driver of these technical innovations, not just a team contributor.

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  1. If you have over 5 years of experience, why do you want to apply as an exceptional promise? You applied as an exceptional talent previously, what changed?
  2. Your current application structure shows 3 optional criteria, it should be two.
  3. For your MC Evidence 3, your previous application was rejected because of the platform your articles were published plus low engagement, I don’t think it will be accepted in your new application eventhough you have added more articles. Like @Akash_Joshi , hashnode is a self publication platform and will not be accepted.
  4. For MC Evidence 2, your previous application was rejected because it was a single example, but now you have added more examples, it looks strong to me. Now, apply @Akash_Joshi 's feedback and you are good to go.

For your questions specifically, I really do not have any useful answer or tips to offer as I am also trying to figure out my own application. Hope someone is kind enough to help you review. Good luck.

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So I was told, and that’s why I seek guidance here. Thanks for contributing

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Thanks for this timely response Akash_Joshi. My major concern is how to attach these proofs because I read from your recent post that reviewers are not allowed to click on external links, and Google Drive links are not allowed. Also, it is clearly stated on the technation documentation that each evidence shouldn’t exceed 3 A4 pages. Please, how do I attach and structure these proofs and maintain 3 A4 pages? I have photos, screenshots, etc.

Also, for the testimonials, are LinkedIn and Twitter posts okay for that?

For the reference letter for the Devfest talks, I intend to use it as one of the evidence for OC2

For the reference letter from the head of product and engineering, who can validate that I was the primary driver of the technical innovations, I intend to use that as one of the MC evidence.

Lastly, yeah I’m sticking with OC2 and OC3.

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i can review the dev fest evidence and advice you

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Thanks for contributing imaeea

Honestly, yes, I have over 5 years of experience, and I previously applied as an exceptional talent, but seeing the new stricter rules this time around, I feel the promise would be less strict compared to the talent.

For the technical articles, I am going to take it out, but I currently don’t know what to replace it with. Any advice on that?

Lastly, yeah I’m sticking with OC2 and OC3.

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You should have a strong reason for applying for the Promise route, you will need to fill it on the application, and you may what to state the reason on your personal statement. Of course, it has to be a good reason and not because you think promise will be easier.

Personal Statement
Feedback: Your personal statement is the foundation of your application. It will shape the first impression the reviewer has of you before they examine any other documents. For this reason, it must be written carefully and presented with clarity and precision.

Curriculum Vitae (CV)
Feedback: Your CV must align with the evidence you present in your application. For example, if you claim that you worked on a particular product with a company, the employment history should also be reflected in your CV. If you have any gaps in your employment history too, you should clearly and briefly explain the reasons somewhere in your personal statement.

Letters of Recommendation (LORs)
Feedback: A letter from a Product Manager and your current C.E.O seems appropriate. However, note that a person may be a C.E.O and still not be considered an expert within the digital technology sector. You may want to review their LinkedIn profiles to confirm that they themselves have global standard achievements. Regarding the Founder of a non-profit organisation, I strongly doubt that this will be considered valid unless he is also a recognised expert in the digital technology field, aside from being a non-profit founder.

Mandatory Criteria (MC)
Feedback: MC2, MC3, and MC4 appear to be okay and can serve as supporting evidence for MC1. However, a reference letter alone is very weak evidence. Speaking engagements can be strong evidence, but only if you can provide clear details. You need to explain why and how you were invited, what topic you spoke about, and ideally provide a video recording of your presentation. Without these details, the evidence will not carry significant weight.

Optional Criteria (OCs)
Feedback: Your GitHub profile is not strong enough unless it demonstrates significant contributions to a well known open source project. You need to highlight meaningful and large-scale contributions.

Architecture diagrams are helpful, but they should be supported by a letter of reference from a reputable individual within your organisation. The letter should clearly describe the business value of your work, not simply state that you created the diagrams.

Creating HTML and CSS courses is good, but you must show the impact. Instead of focusing on follower or likes, you should provide metrics such as the number of learners, views, and engagement through comments. The hosting platform also matters, as hosting on a reputable platform will strengthen your case, Youtube is better than self hosting on your domain.

If you wish to include evidence of peer reviewed presentations, you need to clarify whether you peer reviewed someone else’s work or whether your own work was reviewed? Presentations are considered stronger evidence when they are delivered at top-tier events.

Research conducted during a Master’s or undergraduate degree will not be accepted. Even if the research was published in a peer-reviewed journal, it will not be considered valid evidence. While topics such as Artificial Intelligence, Neural Networks, and Medical Imaging are strong research areas, the fact that this work was completed at undergraduate level weakens the strength of the evidence.

Final Note on Videos
Regarding your question about videos, you should host them on a reputable public platform such as YouTube (set to unlisted) or Google Drive. Share the link within your document. Along with the link, include screenshots from the video and provide visible metrics. This allows the reviewer to immediately see the scale of impact, and if they choose, they can click the link to verify the video directly.

In all honesty, with these said, you have some work to do, to strengthen your application.That said, it is difficult to say you evidence is good to go, without seeing those metrics, data and facts as you have claimed

All the best.

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Thank you so much for this detailed response. I will surely work on the areas you pointed out and revert soon. I sincerely appreciate you contribution

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You can merge PDFs together, that should be ideal. I know it’s a bit tricky with the 3 page limit. You have to balance your evidences well.

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Thanks for your contribution @Akash_Joshi