Can a tier 2 visa be held until sponsorship licence granted

[Rafifi]

Hello
I am making an enquiry for a friend at work - she is a Canadian national here on student visa and her visa expires on the 18th February 2013, she had originally thought that it ran out in June
She would be just under the points for a Tier 1
She has been working for us for a year and a half so we wouldn't have to advertise the vacancey first
Our company does not have a licence for sponsorship which means at the moment we are not eligible to sponsor her
I therefore have three questions
If we apply for the licence and the certificate immediately can the certificate be held over until the licence issue has been resolved
Can the result of the visa appliacation be held over until the licence and certificate issue is sorted? This is regardless of whether she has to leave the country or not
Is there any other way she could stay here until the visa issue resolved
Any help greatly appreciated as this issue obviously very stressful for the person concerned