When software engineer Oleg Petrov first heard about the UK Global Talent visa, he wasn’t sure if he was eligible for it. He initially thought it was a tool for tech stars giving ‘TED-style’ talks. However, as he learned more about the visa, he realized it was worth a shot.
Three years later, Oleg now lives in London with his family, preparing his son for school and embracing the benefits of life in the UK. In this interview, Oleg shares insights into his professional background and experience, as well as his journey to obtain the Global Talent Visa—a decision that began with a spontaneous leap of faith and ultimately led to moving his entire family to London.
I have worked in software development for about 10 years, with a focus on frontend development and rich text editors. My primary work involves integrating and customizing complex editors. A few months ago, I joined ClickUp, where I am currently focused on improving the quality of the local document editor. Prior to that, I mentored junior developers and led teams.
I would also like to highlight my work at FBK and my participation in Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's 2018 presidential campaign. It was an intense, significant, and very rewarding experience.
When the war began in 2022, I was already working remotely at Reedsy, a UK company developing tools to help authors plan, draft, edit, and format their manuscripts. The company’s CEO offered me the opportunity to relocate to the UK and told me about the Global Talent visa, which one of his acquaintances had used. Compared to other options, moving under the GTV seemed simpler: there was no need to take the IELTS exam, and it offers a quicker path to ILR with fewer restrictions.
We (my wife, son, and I) moved without visiting the country beforehand. After settling in, we realized that the UK feels like "our place," and we really appreciate the local culture. We especially value the approach to children and education. While the climate here is often criticized, I actually enjoy it — after the heat of Krasnodar and the winter slush, London feels very comfortable. Some aspects, like the local pace of life, took some getting used to, but the positives clearly outweigh the negatives for us.
I came across an advertisement on Instagram and then checked out some reviews online. Overall, it seemed like a simple and effective solution, so I figured it was worth trying. It was quite a spontaneous decision — I was looking for a quick solution and didn’t have much time for in-depth research.
I spoke with Global Talent Ambassadors, and they assured me that my profile was strong enough to qualify for the visa. The Immigram team appeared confident, and at that time, CEO Mikhail Sharonov personally assisted with my case, which further increased my trust in them.
There were no major issues with the case. We quickly determined how to structure the application, and all my recommenders responded promptly, providing the necessary reference letters.
The only real challenge was Immigram's high workload at the time, which made it difficult to keep things on schedule. That might have been down to the timing, though, since there were rumors going around that the Home Office was thinking of freezing the processing of other visas, which made me worried about missing the deadline.
We’ve been living in the UK with the family for almost three years. Our son will start school in the fall, and I plan to apply for ILR this year. We’re comfortable here—London has become home, and we don’t plan on leaving anytime soon.
Don’t set the bar too low. I also thought that the Global Talent visa was for ‘stars with TED Talks,’ not regular developers. But if you have a solid track record, interesting projects, and people willing to recommend you, your chances are very good. The key is not to doubt yourself and to present what you’ve already accomplished effectively.
