Tier 1 General Extension!

Hi all,

The other day I was discussing with a friend of mine and he presented a very interesting case.

• He is in UK on an HSMP visa (prior to which he was on WP).

• His current leave to remain expires on MARCH' 10.

• He is a bit worried about loosing his current job.

• He wants to apply for Tier 1 extension ASAP in order to cover himself for ILR which is due on September' 10

• To qualify for Tier 1 General he requires atleast 35,000 GBP which he will get in his current employment on FEB' 09

• This means he can apply for Tier 1 General Extension from HSMP on or before May' 09

Issues / Questions
***************
If he looses his job on or after FEB 09, can he apply for his Tier 1 General Extension On or before May 09, considering the fact that his Leave To remain is valid until MARCH '10

Assuming NO to the previous question, Can he apply for Tier 1 General, not as an extension but as a fresh applicant?

Assuming NO to the second question, what are the options that he is left with?

Do post your thoughts.

Cheers
PG

Any thoughts on this please?

Cheers
PG

If he looses his job on or after FEB 09, can he apply for his Tier 1 General Extension On or before May 09, considering the fact that his Leave To remain is valid until MARCH '10

He can apply for an extention only around 5 -6 weeks before his visa expires. Unless you have valid reason.

Assuming NO to the previous question, Can he apply for Tier 1 General, not as an extension but as a fresh applicant?


I am not sure but I dont think of any reason why he shouldnt apply as a fresh applicant if he is able to qualify.

Senior members please comment on this.

I'm not a senior member, but I recently got my Tier 1.

A girl I work with who is also on Tier 1 was told that she didn't have to wait until her HSMP expired-- that she could apply right away because technically HSMP to Tier 1 is switching to a new visa type-- and not extending under the same conditions. In any case, she applied and had her Tier 1 accepted.

Wish I knew that. I would have applied earlier.

aruni4470 wrote:If he looses his job on or after FEB 09, can he apply for his Tier 1 General Extension On or before May 09, considering the fact that his Leave To remain is valid until MARCH '10

He can apply for an extention only around 5 -6 weeks before his visa expires. Unless you have valid reason.

Assuming NO to the previous question, Can he apply for Tier 1 General, not as an extension but as a fresh applicant?


I am not sure but I dont think of any reason why he shouldnt apply as a fresh applicant if he is able to qualify.

Senior members please comment on this.

Surprisingly, people talk about 5-6 weeks prior to expiry as a mandated time line for applying for extension.

I haven't read any document yet which says that you should apply for extension only before 5 - 6 weeks and not prior to that.

The 5-6 weeks is just a recommended period. I know of people who have applied almost 4 months prior to their expiry and have successfully got the visa.

Can some sr member comment. I might be wrong in my statement.

Cheers
PG

The years do not add up in the example provided and the months do not reflect the underlying details needed to assist correctly.

If the leave expires March 2010, it must have been obtained in March sometime back. The application for a renewal has to be made before March and not in May.

If the ILR eligibility is in Sep 2010, then the 5 years are from Sep 2005, initial leave. That means that there was already a renewal.

Considering the fulfillment of the income criteria is expected in Feb 2009, I would suggest to apply (either renewal or new) immediately once that is achieved. Whether the application is new or renewal it doesn't matter, although, it would follow some logic if it was a renewal.

MyHSMPApplication wrote:Surprisingly, people talk about 5-6 weeks prior to expiry as a mandated time line for applying for extension.

I haven't read any document yet which says that you should apply for extension only before 5 - 6 weeks and not prior to that.

The 5-6 weeks is just a recommended period. I know of people who have applied almost 4 months prior to their expiry and have successfully got the visa.

Can some sr member comment. I might be wrong in my statement.

Cheers
PG

i think the 'not earlier than 5 weeks' clause is in Appendix E of guidance and hence it applies only to extenson application under Judicial Review.

and for other applications the ukba website says 'as early as possible' and suggest to apply atleast 1 month before current leave expires..