Tier-1 (General) Extension

Hi All,

My sister is due Tier-1 (General) extension in less than 3 weeks' time and have following questions regarding her extension application:

1. She initially applied under HSMP on 17 March, 2008, and received approval letter dated 03 July, 2008. She then applied for Entry Clearance which was refused due to funds maintenance on 04 November, 2008. She reapplied on 18 December, 2008 which was subsequently approved and she got her visa stamped on 22 December, 2008. She turned 32 on 23 March, 2008. So, my question in this regard is what is the date of initial application in this case? Is it the date of the HSMP application (i.e. 18 March, 2008) or the date of Entry Clearance where she got her visa stamped (i.e. 18 December, 2008)? It's particularly important as she may not be able to claim point for her age depending on which date it is.

2. She received MCS (Master of Computer Science) degree from Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. She secured 30 points (being equivalent to a Bachelor's degree in the UK) on her HSMP application without any equivalence certificate. The university name has been changed since she graduated and it is known as Pir Meher Ali Shah University of Arid Agriculture, Rawalpindi, Pakistan (the university is listed on the points based calculator with this name). She isn't sure if this change of name of the university would cause any issues during her extension application as the names on her degree and the one on the points based calculator are not exactly the same. However, there's another point in the application form under section H4 that states "Evidence previously provided with the applicant’s initial Tier 1 (General) application". We're not sure if it'd be okay that we state "Qualification recognised on the points based calculator" under section H2, then claim 30 points for for Bachelor's degree under H3, and then state "Evidence previously provided with the applicant’s initial Tier 1 (General) application" under H4. Or if we really need to get degree equivalence from NARIC?

Any help and quick response on these two matters would really be appreciated.

Thanks, Ammar.

1. 17 March 2008.

Thanks sushdmehta for your quick reply. Please can you give your input on the second question as well?

I can only assume that UKBA would be aware of the name change, and therefore, selecting the new name of the university in the PBS calculator and filling up the application form accordingly should be sufficient enough.

That said, to eliminate the risk of refusal for any such reason your sister may consider doing either of the following:
1. Arrange for a letter from the University certifying the name change and mentioning the date of such change, or
2. Apply for a letter of comparability from NARIC.

IMHO ...