📧 I am happy to help with your visa and citizenship options. Please contact me through the details here: https://tom-bradford.com/contact-me/ Read my detailed guide here: https://tom-bradford.com/exceptional-talent-visa-for-the-uk-what-do-you-need-to-show-in-2019/ The Designated Competent Bodies: At stage 1, one of five Designated Competent Bodies will advise the Home Office whether you meet its eligibility criteria and have reached the appropriate level to be endorsed under Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent). The recognised Designated Competent Bodies are: Arts Council England – for arts, culture, fashion, architecture, film and television applications; The British Academy – for humanities and social science applications; The Royal Society - for natural sciences and medical science research applications; The Royal Academy of Engineering – for engineering applications; and Tech Nation – for digital technology applications. Each Designated Competent Body specifies the evidence you must send to demonstrate that you meet their criteria. You must only provide photocopies of these documents unless we direct you to provide originals. Please note that we will not take responsibility for irreplaceable and/or valuable items provided as part of an application. Applicants who chose to send original documents which were not specifically requested by the Home Office will only have these documents returned if they provide a suitable pre-paid return delivery envelope. In addition to the stage 1 form, if you are applying to be considered by Tech Nation you must also complete a separate form that includes questions specific to digital technology applicants. You must not submit any additional evidence to the Home Office as the Tech Nation online form allows you to upload evidence directly. Sector specific questions for other Designated Competent Bodies are included within the stage 1 form. We cannot advise which Designated Competent Body is best placed to consider your skill set. You cannot ask for two Designated Competent Bodies to assess a single stage 1 application. This document provides guidance on what specialties each Designated Competent Body cover and you should use this to select which is most appropriate. Designated Competent Bodies have two sets of criteria: 👍Exceptional Talent criteria for applicants who have already demonstrated that they have made a significant contribution as a leader to their field; and 👍Exceptional Promise criteria for applicants who may be earlier in their careers but have already shown the potential to make significant contributions as a future leader in their field. Some Designated Competent Bodies offer fast-track options for certain applicants, details of which are included later in this guidance. Further details on the Designated Competent Body criteria and requirements are set out in atAnnex A of this document. You should fully read these requirements before submitting an application. If you receive an endorsement from the Designated Competent Body, your stage 1 application will be approved by the Home Office and you can move onto stage 2 of the process. You are not able to live and work in the UK as a Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) migrant until you have made a successful stage 2 application. The Limit Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) is subject to a limit of 2,000 endorsements in total per year (beginning on 6 April one year and ending on 5 April the following year). This is split into 2 phases with half the limit available from 6 April to 30 September each year, and the body’s remaining unused allocated endorsements made available from 1 October to 5 April each year. The first 1000 places in the limit are allocated between the Designated Competent Bodies as follows: Arts Council England - 250 places; The Royal Society - 250 places; The Royal Academy of Engineering - 150 places; The British Academy - 150 places; Tech Nation - 200 places. The remaining 1000 places are unallocated and are available to any Designated Competent Body once it has used its allocated places. Priority will be given based on the date of application. Additionally, places can be reallocated between Designated Competent Bodies within the overall limit, if agreed by the relevant bodies. If the limit for a Designated Competent Body is reached at any point, and there are no remaining unallocated places, this will be clearly stated on Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) section of the GOV.UK website so you should check this before making an application. Timing your stage 1 application