I am applying to switch from a skilled worker visa (1 year 6 months) to the Tech Nation endorsement for the exceptional promise route from inside the UK. I would appreciate all suggestions on how to improve my evidence below.
LOR 1: From the CEO of Company A
LOR 2: From Company B Senior Program Manager
LOR 3: From the Founder of Company C, where I volunteer at
MC: You led the growth of a product-led digital technology company, product or team inside a digital technology company, as evidenced by reference letter(s) from leading industry expert(s) describing your work, or as evidenced by news clippings, lines of code from public repos or similar evidence.
PRD of the product showing my input
Case Study on research done to provide strategic direction on change management within the organisation and the product’s success.
Letter from employer
OC 2: How do I demonstrate that I have been recognised for my work outside of my immediate occupation that contributed to the advancement of the sector?
Chartered Management Institute UK (CMI) article that exemplifies thought leadership and evidence of mentorship.
Evidence of mentorship: letters from mentees, certificate of participation, Products of mentees.
Volunteer for the pink summer of tech with the GDG community
I co-started a Product-Tank Community for my region in 2022 and ran one event.
I started a ProductDive UK community for my region and ran it as the community lead.
OC3) How do I demonstrate that I have made significant technical, commercial or entrepreneurial contributions to the field as a founder, senior executive, board member or employee of a product-led digital technology company?
Letter from a previous employer of an edtech startup where I worked on a contract basis during product development. This is in addition to the required letters of endorsement.
Documents detailing my significant contribution towards the edtech startup commercial success ( product designs or architecture diagrams clearly showing your contribution) demonstrating my work, not that of the company or team of individuals.
Registration document for a company I founded in 2024
Business model canvas for the company I founded in 2024
Document to show the strategic direction of the company and the progress being made.
Your LORs are strong. CEOs, Founders and Directors are the best referrers . For your MC, PRD is fine but clearly document your contributions to the projects. If you add more details to your summary here, it would be even more useful.
Your OC2 evidence shows good sector advancement through. CMI article showing thought leadership is good because it’s an institute people can google. Multiple community leadership roles (ProductTank, ProductDive UK) and volunteer work with GDG community are great, but please re-read the Technation Visa Guide again to make sure you’re able to provide the right documentation as proof for these.
Your OC3 seems fine. Do you need more details about the company you founded? Might this be more appropriate for OC1? You can answer this question by going through the visa docs again
Suggestions for improvement:
Consider adding quantifiable metrics in your evidence (e.g., community size, product impact)
Include any patents/publications if available
Add testimonials from community members you’ve mentored
Strengthen the technical aspect by including:
GitHub contributions
Architecture decisions
System design documents
Remember that Tech Nation looks for evidence of both potential (Exceptional Promise) and impact on the UK tech ecosystem. Your current evidence shows good breadth, but could benefit from more depth in technical contributions and quantifiable impact. Also try to angle your docs from more of a UK perspective
EDIT: Also yeah, as the people above me have already mentioned - you can only send 10 pieces of evidence. Please go through the technation visa guide again, it’s on their website
I have now updated my evidence based on your feedback. I would appreciate your suggestions on the update. Thank you.
LOR 1: From the CEO of Company A
LOR 2: From Company B Senior Program Manager
LOR 3: From Founder of Company C
MC:
*PRD documents showing my contributions to the projects, as evidenced by version history screenshots, Figma comments, and contributions calendar meeting invites, all with time and date stamps and email templates sent to vendors post-launch.
*A letter from the employer evidencing the contribution of review research to Company D’s product success. Snippets from review research done for the company and current metrics of the organisation and growth are included in the letter.
OC 2:
CMI article that exemplifies thought leadership, evidence of mentorship.
Evidence of mentorship: Letters from 2 mentees highlight the mentorship’s impact.
Co-started the ProductDive South-West UK community with a current size of 19 members, one hosted event and one cohosted event since September 2024. My contract with the company evidences this.
OC3:
*Letter from Employer detailing my significant contribution towards the non-profit edtech company’s commercial success with the success metrics.
*Snippets of architectural diagrams, document ownership, and clearly showing my contribution.