Tier 2 Cooling Off Period

Hopefulll · Post by **Hopefulll** » Sun Apr 29, 2012 5:44 pm

Hi,

I am a little confused about the new cooling off period rules... quick response would be much helpful.

I have my Tier 2 (ICT) visa from June 2010 to June 2012 . I am going out of UK in June 2012.

1) I would like to know if I can apply for Tier 2 General in July 2012 (after the expiry of my current visa in June 2012) ? Would the cooling off period of 12 months apply before I can apply for Tier 2 General ?

2) If I am eligible to apply for Tier 2 General in July 2012, and assuming I will be earning more than 35K pounds, would I be getting 3 years + another 3 years extension ?

Post by **manci** » Sun Apr 29, 2012 8:49 pm

Hopefulll wrote:Hi,

I am a little confused about the new cooling off period rules... quick response would be much helpful.

I have my Tier 2 (ICT) visa from June 2010 to June 2012 . I am going out of UK in June 2012.

1) I would like to know if I can apply for Tier 2 General in July 2012 (after the expiry of my current visa in June 2012) ? Would the cooling off period of 12 months apply before I can apply for Tier 2 General ?

2) If I am eligible to apply for Tier 2 General in July 2012, and assuming I will be earning more than 35K pounds, would I be getting 3 years + another 3 years extension ?

If you got your Tier 2 ICT visa in June 2010 you must be Established Staff. I expect you know that Tier 2 ICT Established Staff can switch into the Tier 2 (General) category in-country, i.e. you don't have to leave the UK provided you obtain a T2G CoS and apply for leave to remain before your current leave expires.

1) You can apply for Tier 2 General as soon as you are out of the UK (there is no cooling-off period) but only provided you obtain a CoS beforehand for which your future sponsor would more than likely have to do a resident labour market test (takes 28 days). Also, UKBA have a monthly quota for Tier 2 General CoSs.

2)yes, you will be getting 3+3 years. The £35k pay threshold you mentioned applies (according to current rules) if and when you apply for settlement after 5 years. To obtain your initial 3 year T2G CoS and visa your pay would only have to be £20k or the pay specified in the codes of practice for your particular SOC code, whichever the higher.

Post by **manci** » Mon Apr 30, 2012 10:19 pm

Hi
Correction to the previous post.
If your leave the UK on expiry of your current leave the cooling off period will apply. It applies to all Tier 2 entry clearance applications (except ICT in a short term category returning under ICT Long term Staff). Applicants must not have had Tier 2 leave at any time in the last 12 months, regardless of whether they have been in the UK during that time.
The only way for you to avoid being subjected to the cooling-off period is to switch into Tier 2 General in-country while your current leave is still valid provided you are able to do so.

Hopefulll · Post by **Hopefulll** » Tue May 01, 2012 8:56 pm

Thanks Manci for the quick reply. That was helpful, though not what I would have liked to hear.

1) I also read that post April 6'2012, Tier 2 (ICT) to Tier 2 (General) switch is also not possible.

2) Does this mean Cooling period applies to anyone wishing to apply for Tier 2 (General) from outside of UK (or) is there any exemption to this depending on the SOC ?

3) Does the cooling period start from the day I leave UK or the last date of my current Tier 2 ICT visa.

Hopefulll · Post by **Hopefulll** » Wed May 09, 2012 9:38 am

Hi,

Can anyone please help clarify my queries.

smoothraj · Post by **smoothraj** » Thu May 17, 2012 4:26 pm

Hopefulll wrote:Hi,

Can anyone please help clarify my queries.

from whatever little knowledge i have...
as you entered the country before 6th april 2011 you are allowed to switch in country to another employer (provided Resident Labour market test is carried out) or apply for tier-2 general without resident labour market test if you are mreely extending your right to work with your current employer.

unfortunately from what i have read cooling off period may apply to you if you leave UK. have you tried reaching workpermit office on the phone? their advisors are often very helpful on the phone and may answer 1-2 straightforward questions if you ask them politely and are to the point...
good luck ...

ame72 · Post by **ame72** » Tue Mar 11, 2014 12:34 pm

hi can you help me regarding cooling off period query
my last grant of leave is ict long term (rule before april 2011) and i returned to india as visa expired
should i wait for 12 months for cooling off period

i read in Immigration Rule 245GB that those below are excluded from cooling off ,
(ii) is applying under the Long Term Staff sub-category and who has, or last had entry
clearance or leave to remain as a Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) Migrant in the Short
Term staff, Graduate Trainee or Skills Transfer sub-categories, or under the Rules in
place before 6 April 2011,

hence since i come under rules before 6 april 2011 , can i apply for long term from outside UK without waiting for 12 months cooling ?
please reply

Post by **manci** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 6:50 pm

yes, as per the rule you quoted

patcee7 · Post by **patcee7** » Fri Jun 20, 2014 5:07 pm

Please help me with my query :

I was granted Tier 2 (ICT) established staff vis for 3 yrs before 6th april 2011 and it was valid till 11th may 2014. Due to medical reasons , my visa got extended for 3 months and now i need to go back in July 2014.

So once i am back in India , do i have a colling period applicable to me ? if so how long ? or am I exempted as I was on old visa which was extened ?

Regards
Patcee

abid4u · Post by **abid4u** » Mon Jun 23, 2014 11:00 pm

Hi, it would be more helpful if you give the exact dates. Anyways, cooling period doesn't apply for your case if you want to come back on Tier 2 ICT long term visa. Please refer to the Paragraph 245GB(e)(ii) of the "Immigration Rules Part 6a", URL is below.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... MASTER.pdf

Some additional points that might help you.

1) As per the Paragraph 245GE (b) (v), you can extend your visa as long as you can if your company is willing to do so.
2) If you exit and apply for new entry clearance, you will get a max of 5 years of visa and then 12 months cooling period will be applicable to come back again on a tier 2 visa.
3) You're eligible to switch to a tier 2 general visa if you find any new employer, but your stay will be capped to 5 years from the time of your current tier 2 ICT entry clearance date.
4) This will be helpful in getting ILR only if you had current tier 2 ICT granted before Apr-2010.
5) If you exit and want to apply for a Tier 2 General visa, 12 months cooling period will be applicable.

Hope this information helps.

harshy2k · Post by **harshy2k** » Sat Sep 06, 2014 1:09 pm

Hi All,

Request you to please advise on my query mentioned below:

I had traveled to UK from Aug 2012-Jun 2013 on a Tier 2 ICT Short Term CoS. I have completed my cool off period and my Visa is again being processed and I have already received my CoS and the Biometric and stamping appointment scheduled for the next week.

However, when I was going through some of my old documents I found that my Internet and TV connection is still active which I had handed over to my friend who is still using them on a different address.

Request you to please clarify if that might affect the Visa stamping process for me and my spouse.

Thanks,
Harsh.

Post by **manci** » Sat Sep 06, 2014 1:33 pm

no, it shouldn't

harshy2k · Post by **harshy2k** » Sat Sep 06, 2014 1:51 pm

Hi Manci,

Thanks for the quick response.

I hope I was clear when I mentioned that my friend is using the same connection on my name but on a different address. They are making a direct debit payment through their own account. I had transferred it to them as when I was leaving the country some of the contract period was remaining and terminating the connection would have caused me some monetary loss.

Please advise.

harshy2k · Post by **harshy2k** » Sun Sep 07, 2014 12:13 pm

Hi All,

Request you to please advise on my query mentioned below:

I had traveled to UK from Aug 2012-Jun 2013 on a Tier 2 ICT Short Term CoS. I have completed my cool off period and my Visa is again being processed and I have already received my CoS and the Biometric and stamping appointment scheduled for the next week.

However, when I was going through some of my old documents I found that my Internet and TV connection is still active which I had handed over to my friend who is still using them on a different address.

My friend is still using the same connection on my name but on a different address. They are making a direct debit payment through their own account. I had transferred it to them as when I was leaving the country some of the contract period was remaining and terminating the connection would have caused me some monetary loss.

Request you to please clarify if that might affect the Visa stamping process for me and my spouse.

Thanks,
Harsh.

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Tier 2 Cooling Off Period