Hi to all those planning to apply.
My Timeline
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I began document prep in November - Dec 2021
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In Dec, I worked with an immigration lawyer from Fragomen for legal advice as I found out about the via just 4 months before my Start up visa was about to expire.
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I submitted stage 1 in 31 Jan, and got approved 22 Feb.
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For Stage 2, I submitted end of Feb and was approved April 4 2022.
Tips
- It helped that I had already been in the UK networking and making connections. In order to get the documents required, you really do need to be active and rub shoulders with important people as much as you can.
- I entered a lot of competitions and won/shortlisted for 1 or 2 out of the 15 - 20 I applied for.
- I volunteered a lot and mentored young people which really helped. I recommend for those going into Tech Games to use https://gamesambassadors.org.uk/become-a-vga/ its a platform for UK game professionals ( to join you must already be in the uk or have experience with uk projects)