Resident Labour Market Test on current visa

Hi gurus,

Please help!

I am currently on a Tier 5 YMS Visa. I have 6 months left, and my employer wants to sponsor me – this means I will be on a Tier 2 (general) visa.

Can I remain employed on my Tier 5 visa while they do the Resident Labour Market test and issue the certificate, and while I go back to my home country to apply?

I have researched and called the UKBA, but there seems to always be barriers to this being possible.

I understand I need to go to my country of citezenship to apply, but the UKBA person I spoke to implied that I can’t be employed at this time.

They said that it is a contradiction to remain employed by my sponsor, and apply to be sponsored. Does this mean I have to resign and reapply for the job? They need to conduct a Resident Labour Market Test, but can this be done while I am still employed (even if it is for another person for my role – i.e. they actually do need another person in my team additionally to myself).

I thought I would be able to take leave, return to my home country and get approval to come back to my job.

Any ideas/help would be much appreciated!!

why can't you be employed on tier 5?

you have 6 months remaining.

it is your intention to switch to tier 2 general in near future but you have a valid leave to remain for 6 more months and in my opinion you can stay and work here until your tier 5 visa expires.

Labour test etc. is employer's responsibility and theya re doing it. once its done, they need to request "Restricted COS" and as an applicant this is what you need to apply from your home country. its not your problem what your employer is doing at this moment in time when you are on tier 5!

based on the facts in front of me... i think ukba official is mistaken. it is known to have happened in the past when people on telephone gave wrong advice.

lets see what other members think about it...

thanks Arsenal.

Well, the point is I want to stay beyond July - but in order to do so I will need to be sponsored. We want to get this organised sooner rather than later so if it doesn't work out I can look at other options for myself.

I can't switch, so have to apply from scratch as if it is a new job (if I am interpreting the visa info correctly).

The difficulty comes where my employer need to recruit for someone else, even though I currently hold the position (on a Tier 5 YMS). It seems uncertain to me because what if a UK resident is good enough to take the position....does this mean my employer can't prove I am the best candidate and therefore have to leave when my visa expires?

I don't want to leave this process to the end of my current visa because what if I return to my home country to apply and it gets declined, I will still have an apartment, life etc I would need to come back to close off. By doing it now, if it fails I can come back and remain on my Tier 5 YMS visa for a few months.

Let's see what other feedback there is...

Thank you!

first and foremost - you definitely need an understanding between your employer and yourself!

If he REALLY really wants to employ you... what he can legally do is... he can advertise exactly your job description as per Code of practice but Also include a bullet point saying people with previous experience etc will be preferred or something like that.

So that, he can reject most of the application that he might receive in response to his ad in your favour.

Mind you, by law, he cant refuse application unless he has got a good reason and that extra point which totally fits the bill for you can be used to refuse any applicant but you!

Hope you see my logic

I was in your exact situation. We started the process 1 year ahead of my YMS expiry. I worked through the labour test advertising, COS assignment and returned home for 3 weeks on annual leave (i.e. did not resign) and was granted a Tier 2 visa very quickly.. I still had 5 months remaining on my YMS when I applied.

I'm the 4th person I know of to successfully obtain a sponsored visa whilst remaining employed on their Tier 5 YMS up until their Tier 2 application was successful so you should be fine. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get everything done before your visa expires. I would also suggest asking your company to get a migration agent to guide them through the process.

hey guys im in a similar situation, ive put everything through jsut waiting for reply, im just a bit concerned about the rlmt, hoping the employer has done it all correctly, do you know, if you've been granted a restricted cos do they scrutinize the rlmt a lot?

Thanks Arsenal49 Whomper and Sam0987. It is good to know people are, and have been, in the same position. I thought this must have been done loads, but so hard to find information on success stories!

Would you have any migration agencies that you would recommend and what are the rough costs of this? My employer is about to confirm the go-ahead to conduct the RLMT...so fingers crossed. Do you have any tips/ideas on how to conduct it most effectively? I am worried too, as I want them to do it properly.

A massive down-side is having to take time out to go home to apply. The latest timescale is an average of 15 working days processing time - this means I will need about 3 1/2 weeks off work...nearly all my leave for the year!

im currently awaiting my visa as i sent it away on friday. my suggestion is with rlmt check EVERYTHING for it, im not sure how home office checks it all (been asking people on forum) but thats what im nervous about with mine, i have appropriate salary above my soc code and they advertised it in 2 places, but it still owrries me a bit. i'd also say having ur restricted cos organised as because they dont assign them until 11th each month, it does make timing of when u go home important, i have heard ukba sometimes review those applications upon which means u have to send in documents for it to be reviewed the following month, which of course pushes everything back esp if your taking leave

so, does that mean that a new burst of CoS are available for "sponsors" on the 11th of each month? I can't be issued with one until the RLMT is carried out from what I understand. Should my employer already have restricted CoS on their Sponsorship Management System?

boarder wrote:so, does that mean that a new burst of CoS are available for "sponsors" on the 11th of each month? I can't be issued with one until the RLMT is carried out from what I understand. Should my employer already have restricted CoS on their Sponsorship Management System?

from what ive gathered with mine (still pending) is that any CoS can only be assigned after the rlmt test has been done. Each month a certain number of restricted cos are put aside to give out to employers who meet or who confirm they have carried out rlmt and are assigned one. If that makes sense... for example, my employer carried out the rlmt (hopefully correctly) and than requested a restricted cos. they were granted one on the 11th of this month which was then assigned to me and i could then send in my application for visa with required documents. hope that helpes