Tier 2 (gen) extension and promotion

[Iasad1]

Hi all,

My name is Asad Imam and I work in a digital marketing agency (within SEO) in London. I am a fan of this forum and I have always got the right answers whenever I found myself checking confused. So kudos to the administrators and contributors to the forum. Friends I find myself in a dilemma and hence request for your help.

My question today is regarding my extension application which is due is January '15 and implications regarding RLMT in view of promotions and salary increase. The guidance States that you will score 30 points if you are in the same occupation and want to continue working for the same employer. However, what defines same occupation ?as my job title has changed from search specialist ( when I applied for the first time) to a search director with a near 20k plus salary rise. I ask this because when it comes to SOC both , my initial and the current job titles, can be covered by the same soc I.e. 3543. I have crossed cross checked all the documents, including the caseworker guide, and none have addressed the issue of promotion. As far my employer is concerned, I am still in same occupation as I was doing SEO before and I am doing now?

I have shared this with my company's immigration lawyer and he suggests it will be a straightforward extension application under the same SOC code.

Would really appreciate a quick as the confusion is killing me.

Thanks and regards,
Asad

[jonser]

Hi Asad,
I do not think you have anything to worry about since the job is under the same SOC code. You would not need an RLMT regardless of if you got promoted and are earning more than you originally did.

[Iasad1]

Thanks Jonser, thats really reassuring to know. The real trigger for my worry was presence of the word 'director' in my new job title. It made the job appear closer to one in a different SOC code i.e. 1132 (Marketing and Sales directors). However, when I compared the job description with that in both SOCs, then my job is a near point to point match of the job description of the SOC code 3543, which is what my current SOC code is. To confirm, I read the Tier 2 policy guidance for the applicant and the sponsor multiple times. In both, I found that a close match of the job description is more important than that of a job title.

In answering my own question in what qualifies the 'same occupation' clause, I went through a couple of examples. For example, if by profession I am still a search marketing expert with broadly the same job description but being slightly more answerable to a client than before, I qualify being in same occupation. However, if I move marketing to say finance, then my profession changes and hence it triggers the need for a change of employment application along with RLMT. To conclude, we may say that same SOC means same occupation.

I am a chronic worrier, something which I am working on. I am sure, everyone on this forum understands how the uncertainty fuels this behaviour. However, it is always good to collect facts to be better prepared. Thanks for your reply anyway, it went a long way in putting my mind at peace.

Thanks,
Asad