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Switching from Tier 2 to Spouse visa: impact on ILR track
Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2020 5:34 am
by Deral
Hi all,
I have a personal situation and would appreciate any advice.
Tier 2 general holder has spent 4 years and 11 months in the UK before leaving her job. She is married to an ILR holder. The goal is to get her own ILR as soon as possible.
If she switches to a spouse visa and finds a job with salary above threshold (£38k), would that make her eligible to continue on the 5 year Tier 2 ILR track or rather her clock would be reset?
Thank you!
Re: Switching from Tier 2 to Spouse visa: impact on ILR track
Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2020 7:08 am
by CR001
If she switches to a spouse visa and finds a job with salary above threshold (£38k), would that make her eligible to continue on the 5 year Tier 2 ILR track
No. She needs to be employed by a tier 2 sponsoring employer to be qualify for ilr based on 5 years tier 2. She cannot combine tier 2 time and spouse visa time to make up 5 years for ilr.
or rather her clock would be reset?
Yes.
Re: Switching from Tier 2 to Spouse visa: impact on ILR track
Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2020 10:04 am
by Deral
CR001 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 22, 2020 7:08 am
If she switches to a spouse visa and finds a job with salary above threshold (£38k), would that make her eligible to continue on the 5 year Tier 2 ILR track
No. She needs to be employed by a tier 2 sponsoring employer to be qualify for ilr based on 5 years tier 2. She cannot combine tier 2 time and spouse visa time to make up 5 years for ilr.
or rather her clock would be reset?
Yes.
Thank you for your help!
Re: Switching from Tier 2 to Spouse visa: impact on ILR track
Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2020 10:16 am
by secret.simon
Hopefully she has not left her job already, because she will also need a letter from the employer stating that they intend to employ her for the foreseeable future, at the end of the five years of the Tier 2 General visa.
If she switches to a spousal visa, her clock is reset to zero.
The general rule for ILR is either five years of the same visa/leave to remain leading up to ILR OR 10 years of legal residence based on a mix of visas/leave to remain.
Re: Switching from Tier 2 to Spouse visa: impact on ILR track
Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2020 10:50 am
by Deral
CR001 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 22, 2020 7:08 am
If she switches to a spouse visa and finds a job with salary above threshold (£38k), would that make her eligible to continue on the 5 year Tier 2 ILR track
No. She needs to be employed by a tier 2 sponsoring employer to be qualify for ilr based on 5 years tier 2. She cannot combine tier 2 time and spouse visa time to make up 5 years for ilr.
or rather her clock would be reset?
Yes.
Thanks again - a follow-up question: once she switches to a spouse visa can she later go back to Tier 2 and "continue" her 5 years on Tier 2 to ILR path? Or all those 4 years+ that she had spent on Tier 2 General is lost?
Re: Switching from Tier 2 to Spouse visa: impact on ILR track
Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2020 10:54 am
by Deral
secret.simon wrote: ↑Mon Jun 22, 2020 10:16 am
Hopefully she has not left her job already, because she will also need a letter from the employer stating that they intend to employ her for the foreseeable future, at the end of the five years of the Tier 2 General visa.
If she switches to a spousal visa, her clock is reset to zero.
The general rule for ILR is either five years of the same visa/leave to remain leading up to ILR OR 10 years of legal residence based on a mix of visas/leave to remain.
She has left the job unfortunately. She has accepted a new job offer and the new employer has applied for an unrestricted CoS which given the COVID situation can take months. This puts her at risk of the leave curtailment.
Re: Switching from Tier 2 to Spouse visa: impact on ILR track
Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2020 10:56 am
by CR001
a follow-up question: once she switches to a spouse visa can she later go back to Tier 2 and "continue" her 5 years on Tier 2 to ILR path?
No. Her clock resets to zero each time she changes visa categories for ILR based on 5 years residence.
Or all those 4 years+ that she had spent on Tier 2 General is lost?
Yes. Note also that to go back to a tier 2 general, she would be subject to the 12 months cooling off period, meaning she has to wait 12 months on another visa before she can apply for tier 2 general again and has to apply for tier 2 general from her home country. She cannot switch from a spouse visa to tier 2 general within the UK.
Re: Switching from Tier 2 to Spouse visa: impact on ILR track
Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2020 1:26 pm
by Deral
CR001 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 22, 2020 10:56 am
a follow-up question: once she switches to a spouse visa can she later go back to Tier 2 and "continue" her 5 years on Tier 2 to ILR path?
No. Her clock resets to zero each time she changes visa categories for ILR based on 5 years residence.
Or all those 4 years+ that she had spent on Tier 2 General is lost?
Yes. Note also that to go back to a tier 2 general, she would be subject to the 12 months cooling off period, meaning she has to wait 12 months on another visa before she can apply for tier 2 general again and has to apply for tier 2 general from her home country. She cannot switch from a spouse visa to tier 2 general within the UK.
Thanks a lot for your help!