Tier 2 ICT - Change of employer - High Income Category

[Manoviraj]

Dear Manci

I need your urgent help please as am in a peculiar situation

I first came to UK in june 2009 on a "VISA WORK PERMIT" valid from 1st may 2009 to 1st may 2011 via my employer A , i stayed for about 4 months and returned to india in late 2009. That visa ofcourse expired in 2011 but i kept on coming to UK on business visa thereafter many times.

i remained with same employer (i am a continuous employee since 2006) who sponsored my TIER 2 ICT LONG TERM STAFF MIGRANT visa in may 2013 and came here in november 2013. I also moved my family with me. Last year when the first two years were coming a close, i applied for the extension and mine and family visa was extended till May 2018.

Now i wish to transfer to TIER 2 General visa. my questions are as follows:

1. If I stay with the same employer, can i apply for a switch to T2 General while remaining in UK ( since i had earlier stayed in UK (prior to 2010) on a Visa work permit for same employer - not sure if that will be considered in any way - or was that done and dusted)

2. If my salary crosses the 1,55,300 mark with the same employer , can i apply for a T2 general visa while staying in UK

3. If i wish to move to a different employer (say B) , who is giving me more than 155300 (including bonus/allowances) then would they need to file a fresh CoS/ Visa application and the the cooling off period wont apply ?

4. In case of 3 above, if no cool off is required would I be required to file the visa from india or can i do that while being in UK on Tier 2 ICT for employer A.

I would be really obliged by a response. PLease do advise sir.

[manci]

1 and 2: no
3 and 4: you will not be subject to cooling-off but will need to apply for entry clearance from home country with a new CoS

[Manoviraj]

Thanks a lot Manci for clear yes and no answers. I have a small follow up question for you..

On point 4 above : Provided with the salary>155k if i do need to go and file from India on the new CoS :

1) Would i need to surrender/ cancel my current ICT tier2 Visa first beforehand (which is currently valid till 2018) ?
2) Would my family (who are here and dependant on me ) would also need to go alongwith me or they can be here for the duration?

[Manoviraj]

1 and 2: no
3 and 4: you will not be subject to cooling-off but will need to apply for entry clearance from home country with a new CoS

Thanks a lot Manci for clear yes and no answers. I have a small follow up question for you..

On point 4 above : Provided with the salary>155k if i do need to go and file from India on the new CoS :

1) Would i need to surrender/ cancel my current ICT tier2 Visa first beforehand (which is currently valid till 2018) ?
2) Would my family (who are here and dependant on me ) would also need to go alongwith me or they can be here for the duration?

[manci]

1
you don't need to do anything, the new T2G visa will automatically replace your current T2 ICT visa
2
If you could change your T2 visa from within the UK your family's PBS dependant visas would remain valid until they expire or until the expiry date of your new visa whichever the sooner. However, since you will be applying for entry clearance from India, and assuming your application is successful, you will not actually have leave to enter and remain until a Border Force officer stamps your passport I think your family would also need to apply with you from India. If it is confirmed that the dependant visas expire when you apply for entry clearance it may be possible for them to use the 28 day grace period for overstaying and apply from within the UK - wait for the views of other contributors to the forum.

[Manoviraj]

1
you don't need to do anything, the new T2G visa will automatically replace your current T2 ICT visa
2
If you could change your T2 visa from within the UK your family's PBS dependant visas would remain valid until they expire or until the expiry date of your new visa whichever the sooner. However, since you will be applying for entry clearance from India, and assuming your application is successful, you will not actually have leave to enter and remain until a Border Force officer stamps your passport I think your family would also need to apply with you from India. If it is confirmed that the dependant visas expire when you apply for entry clearance it may be possible for them to use the 28 day grace period for overstaying and apply from within the UK - wait for the views of other contributors to the forum.

Thanks for the response Manci. Overstaying seems to be a tricky situation to put them in. I keenly await the views from the other contributors.

In the meantime , one final question. If I do manage to get the tier 2 general visa by going through this route and all is good, post 2.5 years from now, can i apply for ILR under the 5 year legal stay route (basically am asking that would the time spent under tier 2 ICT till now, will count towards the five years, or would the clock be reset when i get a Tier 2 general. Many thanks in advance for your and other contributors response.

[manci]

your ILR clock be reset, your time under T2 ICT unfortunately doesn't count.