Review request for exceptional promise plus some general questions

Hi all! I am in the very early stages of this process and still trying to find out if this visa is right for me, if I have a chance at qualifying for it.

I work in VR/AR video games as an artist. I believe TN is the one that would endorse me, I saw some others with similar backgrounds. I don’t think the art route fits that closely to what I do, let me know if that’s wrong!

Letters -
Person 1 - Owner of 1 game company I worked for: There are a few owners of this company, can I asked for 2 letters or would I only be able to send in 1?
Person 2 - Board President of a large academic org that puts on a leading conference: This person doesn’t have a huge online presence but they do important work like write books and put on a huge event for games.
Person 3 - Unknown, but I have some ideas based on if I can submit 2 letters from one company. I’m also wondering if an art director would be a good person to get a letter from? They work with me now but the company is so large that I’m not sure if they are high enough on the ladder to count.

Criteria 1: Show they have been recognized as having potential to be a leading talent in the digital technology field in the last 5 years.

Game one:

  • One game I worked on had a 15 person team in 2021. This game was nominated for 22 awards and won 5. 6 of those nominations were for art. Of the wins, they were all for the general best game or best indie game.
  • This game was also showcased at the Tribeca Film Festival.
  • This game was on the cover of Game Informer with my art on the cover and inside the issue. My name was not mentioned here though but I can ask if the owner for one of my letters can include that.
  • I was selected for a major scholarship while working on this game, my image is on their website too. This scholarship focused on mentorship and also put on a major award show and conference for games that I’ve been able to attend twice as a special guest/learning experience. I was one of two scholars that got to hand out the awards on stage during the live show. (We were nominated for 4 of these awards but we didn’t win.)
  • I also helped set up a talk for this at the biggest game dev conference in my country too but I didn’t talk at this. I’m not sure if I have a way of proving this other then showing screenshots of a conversation I had with the organizer and maybe a statement saying I was the person who connected others together or if this is even enough.

Game 2:

  • Another game I worked on with a team of 9 was nominated for “Best DLC” in 2023.

Other accomplishments:

  • I currently work at a FAANG company developing VR tech which will contribute significantly to this industry. Question: I’m not sure how I can show this off without breaking NDA. I think we will show some stuff I was a major contributor for but my name will not be attached to it directly, no ones will be though.
  • I showcased an art model/avatar in a gallery for an online VR event that had about 12,000 attendees world wide.
  • I developed 3 other indie games with small teams with 3 to 5 people that we released on Steam or Itch.io. One was invited to a local game convention but it only had about 200 attendees.

As for the second set of criteria, I think I can prove “innovation as a founder of a product led digital technology company or as an employee working on a new digital field or concept” with the work I do at the FAANG company if I can figure out how to show that off.

I’m a little less confident for the next one, “recognition beyond the applicant’s occupation that contributes to the advancement of the field” but perhaps with the work I did on the first game it would satisfy this? With the Tribeca Film Festival, magazine, and being on stage at a big awards show.

Finally, my last question:
If I go through the whole process and I’m granted the visa, how long do you have to enter the UK? Is it something that has happen within a few months or are you able to go within the amount of years you have selected to have your visa for?

Thank you for taking the time to read through this with me. I really appreciate everyone here.

I’m really happy for any feedback at all!

I think I found the answer to one question, you must enter the UK within 90 days of the visa being issued but you’re allowed to leave and come back to settle.

Based on your background in VR/AR game development and artistic achievements, you appear to have a strong case for the Global Talent visa. The recognition from multiple award nominations and wins for your games, demonstrates significant industry impact. The Tribeca Film Festival showcase and Game Informer cover feature add substantial weight to your international recognition.

Your scholarship selection, role in the awards ceremony, and current position at a FAANG company working on VR technology all contribute to showing your potential as a leading talent. Don’t worry about the NDA, your prior achievements provide solid documentation of your capabilities.

For the recommendation letters, you could potentially get two letters from the game company owners if they held distinct roles and can speak to different aspects of your contributions. The board president from the academic organization would be valuable as an independent voice. Regarding the art director, their seniority might be sufficient if they can specifically speak to your technical innovations and impact in VR/AR development, rather than just artistic merit.

Regarding visa timing: Once granted, you typically have 90 days to enter the UK from either the date you specified as your intended travel date or the date your visa is issued, whichever is later. The full visa duration (2-5 years) begins from your date of entry to the UK.

Consider emphasizing the technical aspects of your VR/AR work rather than purely artistic elements, as this may better align with the digital technology focus of the visa category.

Hope this helps :smile:

Thanks for the reply and tips. This gives me confidence!

Do you think I should be applying for talent or promise? If I apply for promise would they potentially upgrade it to talent? I hear promise is easier to get.

Yup Promise is easier to get. I’ve helped a Chief Product Officer and a SaaS founder in the past who failed to get the Exceptional Talent endorsement, but with my help were able to get the Promise endorsement.

Makes sense, thank you.