Tier 2 ICT Long Term to Tier 2 General

[abinayavijay]

Hi Members,
I am on a Tier 2 ICT long term visa granted from Mar 2014 to March 2016 with a salary of £42k per annum. I am in the process of applying for an extension. I knew that in order to switch from Tier 2 ICT to Tier 2 General I need to serve 1 year cool off period outside UK but immigration rules say its different if you earn over 155K per annum. So if I understood correctly if another employer sponsors me visa along with a gross salary of over 155k per annum would I be eligible to apply immediately without serving 1 year cool off period?

[moonlight55]

Your understanding is correct.

[abinayavijay]

Hi Moonlight,
But when I called the home office they say thats not the case and still I have to serve the 1 year cool off period. Can someone provide a proof that is wrong and still eligible to apply for the T2 General with a different sponsor providing a salary of over 155K without serving cool off period.

[CR001]

Tier 2 Policy Guidance (click)

[abinayavijay]

I already read the guidelines and it doesnt specifically say Tier 2 General. Please see below,

Paragraph 24

a Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) applicant in the Long Term Staff sub-category will be granted leave up to five years. You will not be able to extend your stay beyond five years (or nine years for any staff earning £155,300 or more) and you will not be able to re-apply to return to the UK under an Intra-Company Transfer category until 12 months after your last leave as an Intra-Company Transfer expired or 12 months after you left the UK, whichever is sooner, unless you will be paid an annual gross salary of £155,300 or higher or where you were only being sponsored in Tier 2 (as recorded by the Certificate of Sponsorship, for a period of three months or less.


But the same has been mentioned in the gov.uk website overview as below,

You can’t:

switch into any other Tier 2 (Intra-company Transfer) visa type
switch into Tier 2 (General) if your Tier 2 (Intra-company Transfer) Long-term Staff visa was granted after 6 April 2011

So bit confused.