The Global Talent visa gave me something I value most – independence. I am no longer tied to a single employer and can make thoughtful choices about the roles and problems I want to work on. Before relocating, I spent around 4.5 years in cybersecurity, mainly in monitoring and investigations, and gradually shifted my focus toward building systems that reduce manual effort and scale beyond individual analysts.
In the UK, I focus more on the engineering side of my work and now build security automations end-to-end. I use AI where it genuinely adds value - for example, to accelerate routine tasks or summarise context – while keeping decision-making with people and clear, auditable rules.
I had wanted to work internationally since school. From my second year at university, I was already working in IT while, at the same time, investing heavily in side projects, teaching, and contributing to the community. This later grew into professional experience at Kaspersky and collaboration with Vulners.
In 2022, it became clear that it was time to move forward and take this step deliberately rather than leaving it for “someday.” In April, I learned about the Global Talent visa, compared its requirements with my background, and realised it was a chance to bring everything I had built into a clear and coherent case.
For me, the main advantage was the freedom from employer sponsorship and the ability to build a career without feeling that my status depended on a single company. I also valued the clear long-term pathway and the sense of control it provides — you rely on your own results rather than external circumstances.
And, honestly, it mattered to me to frame my achievements as a coherent story: to show not just where I had worked, but the real impact I had made and my ability to demonstrate it clearly.
I approached it very pragmatically. I first listed all of my achievements — projects, automation work, teaching, and public activities — and then mapped them against the visa criteria. This quickly highlighted my strengths and where I needed stronger evidence.
From there, it became a structured project: gathering recommendation letters, organizing materials according to the criteria, removing anything unnecessary, and keeping only what genuinely served as proof.
Yes, it was challenging, especially mentally. I initially applied under the Exceptional Talent route and was refused in October 2022, with the appeal also rejected. The refusal came down to one criterion — business impact — which wasn’t sufficiently evidenced, despite my strong asset of creating an original cybersecurity course at Kaspersky. It taught me that achievements alone aren’t enough; they must be clearly mapped to the criteria. I then realized the Promise route was a better fit, revised my strategy, rebuilt the case, and reapplied with a sharper focus on the earlier gaps.
Since relocating, I’ve grown significantly on the technical side and started thinking more “product-wise”: not just building solutions, but designing them to fit real processes and deliver measurable results. I now use a more structured hypothesis-testing cycle — HADI (Hypothesis → Action → Data → Insight) — which helps me validate solutions faster and better understand what actually works in practice.
My main focus is currently security automation — building integrations and workflows that reduce manual effort and speed up incident response. At the same time, I occasionally take on small, focused automation projects outside my main role to test ideas in practice and broaden my perspective.
Occasionally, I take on small, focused automation projects outside my main role to test ideas in practice and broaden my perspective. Moving forward, I plan to continue along this path and see where it leads — whether into a deeper engineering role or a more independent working setup.
First, just go for it — even if it feels like you don’t yet have enough evidence. You can build it over time and reapply.
Second, don’t get caught up in “impressive” job titles; what truly matters is what you do and how clearly you can demonstrate it.
Third, treat the application like a structured project: focus on the criteria, gather solid evidence, organise it carefully, and iterate. Many people don’t succeed on the first attempt — and that’s completely normal.
