Tier 4 - Tier 2 Before complete Masters

[namalik]

Hi All,
Asking behalf of my friend who's under T4 student visa now. He has completed his Bachelor here in UK and now doing his Masters in here (nearly 5 months),Now he got a job offer from a company and they would like to sponsor him under T2, can he switch to T2 now or does he has to wait until he complete his studies.(as he's on middle of his masters)or does he has to go back and apply from his home country?

[Djsuccess]

He can switch his visa to tier 2 no problem from immigration side of things. Finishing his master will however be an issue because once he switches to Tier 2, he can no longer study as a full time student.
If he's at the middle of his masters and still interested in getting his MSc. He might be able to convert the remaining part of his masters to part time.

[eduleal]

He can switch from Tier 4 to Tier 2 from within the UK - that would be the easiest option - HOWEVER, in order to be exempt from a Resident Labour Market Test (the employer having to advertise the position to settled workers first), he needs to show successful completion of his Masters.

So definitely best to wait until he finishes his masters, have at least a certificate stating he will pass and get a degree, and then apply for Tier 2.

Meanwhile, as a Tier 4 student, he could still work for 20 hours a week...

[namalik]

Thank you very much for information guys, does employer has to carry out RLMT (many ppl says employer doesn't have to as he did passed his batchlor here) but it's very Confusing as he switching middle of his masters. Can you guys please advise re this?

[eduleal]

He is exempt from the RLMT if he has the degree awarded on his current Tier 4 visa.
That's definitely a safe route.

If he will not graduate, he can only get a Tier 2 after an employer has completed the full RLMT.

If you're saying he ALREADY received a job offer, then either the employer has already completed a RLMT OR a future RLMT might not be taken seriously and he might struggle proving he wasn't pre-selected.

Therefore, completing his degree (again, he can work 20 hours/week until the end) is by far the smoothest route.