Tier 2 - employer changes status (overtaken)

Hi everyone,

I will be very grateful if anyone can help me with my case.

I work in a secondary school for the local council. My job is on shortage occupations list. After the completion of the first 3 years, I extended my leave to stay as a tier 2 migrant with the same sponsor (council) for further 3 years last June 2013 (expiring in June 2016).

This January I have started working in a different school for the same council. So the council changed the details to my new school on the home office system, expiring April 2014 because...

My new school was over taken by another 'Academy trust' (group of academy schools) and changed its status from a school to an Academy in September 2013. As a result the school's HR is no longer managed by the council after April 2014. So my new Academy successfully applied for the sponsors' license and issued me with a new CoS number this December 2013.

I will still be working for the same school, the only thing that is changing is the status of my new school (my new school has come out from the council) which means council can no longer sponsor me.

Do I have to submit a fresh application or are there other transitional arrangements for me to use in my case?

This happened to me...

You should be covered by TUPE arrangements... As long as your 'new employer' has applied for a sponsor license, you SHOULD *in theory* still be covered (from what I remember). Have a google of TUPE, but from what I recall it does cover immigration issues. I know I was never required to submit another application.

education2014 wrote: So my new Academy successfully applied for the sponsors' license and issued me with a new CoS number this December 2013.

I will still be working for the same school, the only thing that is changing is the status of my new school (my new school has come out from the council) which means council can no longer sponsor me.

Do I have to submit a fresh application or are there other transitional arrangements for me to use in my case?

You need to find out if TUPE applied to the transfer of the school from the council to the Academy Trust. Also, ask for a printout of the CoS if they haven't already given it too you

Instead of, or in addition to, Googling TUPE look at

para 559 onwards and 723 onwards in the T2 sponsor guidance:
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

and

para 200 in the T2 policy guidance
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... idance.pdf

If TUPE wasn't triggered by the transfer then you will probably have to make a fresh application because a CoS is generally only valid for 3 months from the date of assignment.