CoS good for only 1 entry unless you tick box on SMS

Just to let you know we have challenged the meaning of the question "Does the migrant have multiple entry" on the SMS forms for Tier 2 and Tier 5.

UKBA's interpretation is in fact that this means more like "Does the person need to enter the UK more than once during this certificate's validity"?

I would always tick YES to this even if you don't know, because if you don't, and the musicians (or whoever) pop out to France and try to come back in they will get grief on re-entry. You might even end up having to issue a whole new set of certs to them even though the old ones are still valid.

Further to this, UKBA's website currently says a 3-month CoS under Tier 5 anly allows one entry.

This contradicts what everyone had been told at Taskforce meetings etc.

We fought for 3 years to get most bands exempted from the entry clearance requirement and the last thing we need is this petty nonsense. If this is carried through (not overturned quickly) it will mean that some bands will need 2 or more sets of certificates for 1 tour. That means sponsors (already led up the garden path about groups being covered by 1 cert) would need to request much bigger allocations of certs.

We called the UKBA helpline yesterday and gave the example of a US band here for a 2-wek tour but they had to pop out to France or Germany for a day then come back for more gigs. At first the guy didn't know what to say about this - he seemed caught up with French immigration would do. In the end he said it seemed the band would need a second set of certs for the re-entry. We said "But what if the first certs are still valid" He said they'd have to be cancelled. What a farce.

He then suggested we contact immigration at Heathrow to see what they thought...................

Dear God

Not a farce when you look at the rules applied across the board.

So, for one, under the old work permit scheme, short term work permits were valid for one entry only. Under tier 5, and in line with PBS sponsorship across the board, a CoS needs to be matched against an application for leave to enter. Once matched it automatically becomes 'used'. A CoS is not designed to be used again once already matched against an application (for entry clearance or at port of entry). Under tier 2, this is certainly the case and would answer why the CoS has a limited life

If the promoter wants someone to re-enter they need another CoS on the second application as the first one has effectively died as soon as it is used.

Make sense?

Update: as soon as a certificate is coming up as used on the SMS (in other words processed correctly for 1 entry) it cannot be cancelled. Just go and issue new ones for the second entry, even if the dates overlap. UKBA stated on many occasions that you could not do this (issue certs where the dates overlap) but you CAN as long as the previous one is Used.

I replied to Traveller1973 separately. Yes, I understand - but that doesn't mean it's sensible.
Making promoters and agents sit in front of PCs for days on end inputting the same travel parties again and again helps no one. It doesn't help IOs either - in fact it's a pain for them to process each band as new even though they were here just a few days before.

Bands are the only people whose work patterns dictate this constant re-inputting of data as being necessary - there should be a sensible alternative to entry clearance. We had a sensible system with the old 6-month MEWPs (which COULD be used more than once, despite what Traveller said), but the new system basically says "you jump through the hoops (re-doing the same people time after time) or the band jump through the hopps (everyone gets entry clearance)".

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For a member of standing, Bebe, I find your reply utterly useless gibberish. Is there a moderator about?