CofS Company Separation

[molecule]

Hi All,

This is such a fantastic forum and I want to thank in advance all the great people that make it possible.

I have been working with my company for a few years now and currently in my second Certificate of Sponsorship with them. My company belong to a conglomerate of companies that together form a multinational corporation recognised worldwide.

Therefore in both my certificates of sponsorship(current and previous one) it shows the name of the corporation under 'sponsor name' and in the address it shows the name of my company with its address.

During last week we were informed that our company is actually de-merging/separating from the corporation to become independent on its own as of 24th November this year. On Monday I had a meeting with HR and they are actually in the process of applying for a sponsor license which they are about to finalise and submit by tomorrow.

I was told that since they are submitting their application before the de-merger takes place, it all should be fine for myself since the waiting time for the approval of the license falls under a transitional time and having it done before the separation takes place it is allowed by HO. Once the new license is approved, they will transfer my current certificate of sponsorship into one of the new ones without having to submit an application, since I work for the same company, same position and salary as before. My current leaves only expires in the middle of 2017.

These are my queries:
Firstly, Is the above information correct and this process allowed, etc?

Secondly, what would it happen if for any reason my company does not get a sponsor license?(it is a pretty solid company that has been trading for over 30yrs with a revenue turnover of around 50 million per year, etc).

Thirdly, I am already able to apply for ILR under the 10 years residence but I haven't prepared anything since I didn't have the need for it and the timeframes are now very tight. So should they fail to get a license, etc. Could I then apply for my ILR around Feb 2015?(Since it takes around 8 weeks for approval of a new sponsor license).

I would really appreciate if someone could please give me an advise on my queries or has experienced similar circumstances.

Many Thanks in advance.

[manci]

Hi All,

This is such a fantastic forum and I want to thank in advance all the great people that make it possible.

I have been working with my company for a few years now and currently in my second Certificate of Sponsorship with them. My company belong to a conglomerate of companies that together form a multinational corporation recognised worldwide.

Therefore in both my certificates of sponsorship(current and previous one) it shows the name of the corporation under 'sponsor name' and in the address it shows the name of my company with its address.

During last week we were informed that our company is actually de-merging/separating from the corporation to become independent on its own as of 24th November this year. On Monday I had a meeting with HR and they are actually in the process of applying for a sponsor license which they are about to finalise and submit by tomorrow.

I was told that since they are submitting their application before the de-merger takes place, it all should be fine for myself since the waiting time for the approval of the license falls under a transitional time and having it done before the separation takes place it is allowed by HO. Once the new license is approved, they will transfer my current certificate of sponsorship into one of the new ones without having to submit an application, since I work for the same company, same position and salary as before. My current leaves only expires in the middle of 2017.

These are my queries:
Firstly, Is the above information correct and this process allowed, etc?

Secondly, what would it happen if for any reason my company does not get a sponsor license?(it is a pretty solid company that has been trading for over 30yrs with a revenue turnover of around 50 million per year, etc).

Thirdly, I am already able to apply for ILR under the 10 years residence but I haven't prepared anything since I didn't have the need for it and the timeframes are now very tight. So should they fail to get a license, etc. Could I then apply for my ILR around Feb 2015?(Since it takes around 8 weeks for approval of a new sponsor license).

I would really appreciate if someone could please give me an advise on my queries or has experienced similar circumstances.

Many Thanks in advance

the above is by and large correct but with some qualifications. Read section 13 of the T2 sponsor guidance, especially 13.8
http://www.immigrationboards.com/uk-tie ... 75840.html
Also read para 200 in the T2 policy guidance:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... e_v0_6.pdf
Under the circumstance it would probably be advisable to start preparing for the long residence ILR application
https://www.gov.uk/long-residence/docum ... st-provide

[molecule]

Hi Manci,

Thank you for taking the time to answer and guiding me through this. I've been reading the suggested sections of T2 sponsor guidance and T2 policy guidance, which leaves me with further queries.

In T2 sponsor guidance under paragraph 13:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... _11-14.pdf

It says in paragraph 13.7 'The company must apply for a sponsor license within 20 working days of the move taking place' Does it mean that the company needs to wait until the de-merger official date and after that apply for their license or can they apply just before the de-merger date? My company de-merger is scheduled for 24th November and I was told they are applying for their license next week, so a week before the de-merger date, are they allowed to do it before the de-merger?

Another thing in the same paragraph 13.7 it says that should the application for sponsor license gets refused, the migrants will have their leave reduced to 60 days. Does this means that in that period of time from the refusal date I still have legally 60 days where then I could apply for my ILR? I was concerned that should their application gets refused I would not be able to apply for my ILR and my current leave to remain will be terminated right away? So I would have a transition time of 60 days being still legal in the UK from the date of refusal(should it happens, I really hope not) and that will still allow me to submit my application for ILR?

Finally, I keep on reading and finding the term 'TUPE' which I'm unable to understand the meaning of, such as in paragraph 13.8 where it says 'The only exception is where the move involves the migrant changing their job or the migrant does not have TUPE or similar protection' Would you clarify the meaning of TUPE and what are they referring in such phrase?

I'd really appreciate your advise and help with the above.

Many Thanks in advance.

[molecule]

Hi Manci,

Thank you for taking the time to answer and guiding me through this. I've been reading the suggested sections of T2 sponsor guidance and T2 policy guidance, which leaves me with further queries.

In T2 sponsor guidance under paragraph 13:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... _11-14.pdf

It says in paragraph13.7 'The company must apply for a sponsor license within 20 working days of the move taking place' Does it mean that the company needs to wait until the de-merger official date and after that apply for their license or can they apply before the de-merger date? My company de-merger is scheduled for 24th November and I was told they are applying for their license next week, so a week before the de-merger date, are they allowed to do it before the de-merger date?

Another thing in the same paragraph 13.7 it says that should the application for sponsor license gets refused, the migrants will have their leave reduced to 60 days. Does this means that in that period of time from the refusal date I still have legally 60 days where then I could apply for my ILR? I was concerned that should their application gets refused I would not be able to apply for my ILR and my current leave to remain will be terminated right away? So I would have a transition time of 60 days being still legal in the UK from the date of refusal(should it happens, I really hope not) and that will still allow me to submit my application for ILR?

Finally, I keep on reading and finding the term 'TUPE' which I'm unable to understand the meaning of, such as in paragraph 13.8 where it says 'The only exception is where the move involves the migrant changing their job or the migrant does not have TUPE or similar protection' Would you clarify the meaning of TUPE and what are they referring in such phrase?

I'd really appreciate your advise and help with the above.

Many Thanks in advance.

[molecule]

Hi again, anyone that could follow up on my queries?
Any help is much appreciate it
Many thanks

[manci]

TUPE means the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) regulations. It is to ensure that when employees are transferred from one company to another their conditions of employment remain the same.

If the application for a sponsor licence by the de-merged company fails your leave will be curtailed to 60 days from the date of the curtailment decision, not from the date of the refusal. IMHO In this situation you will not be able to apply for ILR because one of the requirements of ILR is for the sponsor that issued your last CoS to certify that they still require you for the employment in question and you are no longer employed by that company and, indeed, you no longer have a sponsor.

[molecule]

Hi Manci,
Many thanks again for clarifying the queries.

Now, if I understand correctly, when applying for ILR the requirement of the employer to certify that they still require you for the employment in question is applicable when you apply for ILR in the 5 years basis of continue employment under Tier2.

However, in my case I already qualify since June this year to apply for my ILR based on 10 years long residence.

So should my company fail to obtain a license and I am still within the 60 days of the curtailment decision, do I still need to have an sponsor or certification that I'm still require for the job? should I apply for my ILR under the 10 years route

The other thing is that if my company can launch their application for a sponsor license before the de-merger date on 24th November? They mention in the T2 policy guidance that must be within 20 working days of the de-merger date but no mention if the company can already apply a few days before the de-merger.

I can't believe this is happening to me at this stage! Sorry for all these queries but I am just looking for different scenarios of what can happen.

Again, I will greatly appreciate for your advice.

Many Thanks in advance.

[manci]

You are right, the sponsor's certificate I referred to only applies on the 5 year route. You will find the rules on the long residence route here:
https://www.gov.uk/long-residence/overview
and
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... .0_EXT.pdf

To apply for a sponsor licence a number of documents need to be submitted relating to the company concerned. If they have these available I doubt if it makes any difference if they apply a few days before the official de-merger date.