Switching jobs whilst ILR is processing

[Nala808]

Hello,

I'm in a bit of a panic at the moment as I am switching jobs whilst waiting for the approval of my ILR.

I am married to a British citizen and have recently applied for my ILR. I submitted the application on 20/01/2021 and biometrics on 13/02/2021. The first 2 visas (spouse and visa extension) we used my husbands income.

The first visa, my husband switched jobs as soon as he received the 6th payslip that was required to satisfy the proof of income. Our application was approved within 3 weeks (we paid for the priority service).

The extended visa, I was job hunting when we submitted this visa but we used my husbands income on this so it didn't matter that I was in between jobs. The application was approved in about 2 months without priority service.

Now this time around with my ILR application we are going based off my income as my income itself satisfies the income requirement. I have submitted the application on time. We didn't do priority as it wasn't offered (I believe due to covid backlog).

My job is absolutely soul destroying, Overworked (weekends and late night) and unappreciated. I actually had to get a therapist due to how this job as affected my mental state. I decided to job hunt shortly after I submitted my ILR application and secured a new position within 4 days (with better pay!). I accepted the new position and gave my current job my one month's notice. I had asked my solicitor to write a letter confirming I am eligible to work in the country whilst my ILR is being processed. Although my new employer hasn't asked for this I wanted to tick all the boxes and make sure there was no questioning the job offer. My solicitor freaked out when I asked her to compose this letter saying I shouldn't be switching jobs at this time and to wait until my ILR is approved.

I just about had a breakdown when I was told this. I don't see it fair that the government would reject an application due to switching jobs for a better quality of life (better mental state and pay!). I really wasn't thinking clear either when I accepted the new job. Because my husband left his job as soon as the 6 month payslip requirement was satisfied (as stated above), I thought that I could do that in this situation completely forgetting that we used priority service the first time around.

I have submitted everything to prove that I satisfied the income requirement; 6 months payslips, bank statements, P60s, and a letter from my employer confirming my employment. I guess my question is, what are the chances that the immigration officer reviewing my application would call up my current employer to confirm that I am still employed?

[zimba]

All family visa requirements are evaluated based on the date of the application. If you change jobs later it should not matter.
Your solicitor's letter however will not help you to prove your right to work to a new employer. The employer must follow specific procedures for this. I assume you applied before the visa expiry and now your visa has expired. That means you are now under Section 3C protections and your new employer will need to perform right to work checks and get a positive response from UKVI using your application number (UAN) via Employer Checking Service: https://www.gov.uk/employee-immigration ... ent-status