Tier 2 visa curtailment

[explorer14]

Hi,

I had been on a tier 2 general visa that was sponsored by employer but I left that job in July 2017 and my employer told me that I would recieve a letter from the home office for the 60 day grace period after which I will need to leave the country. I have been looking for jobs in the meantime. Its now November and I haven't yet recieved the letter. This morning I called the visa office and they asked me to send in a form for personal circumstances change because according to them its likely that they didn't have the right address and therefore the letter was sent to the wrong address because I should have recieved the letter by now. My ex-employer said that they had taken the responsibility of duly informing the UKBA and that there was nothing for me to do.

I am now in a bit of a panic wondering if I have overstayed. Anyone in a similar situation (hard to imagine that anyone would be) or anyone with any idea what happens next? How do I know if I have overstayed and what are the consequences? Will I still get some time to pack my things leave the country?

Thanks

[CR001]

A curtailment letter often takes many months to get sent out.

However, as you now have more than 60 days since your last employment, you will be ineligible for ILR as a Tier 2 migrant with 5 years residence.

[explorer14]

Thanks for your prompt reply. The visa office rep I spoke to sounded fairly confident that if I haven't recieved the letter by now is probably because they don't have the right address and that's its my legal obligation to inform of any change in personal circumstances to avoid getting into the possibility of overstaying. But if my employer says that I don't need to do anything and that they will inform the UKBA, how and why would it even occur to me to contact the UKBA myself? Its just bizzarre.

I have this morning sent out the circumstances change form with the explanation and all my contact details so they know that I am not trying to go under the radar. I don't know if I am too late in doing that.

About the ILR thing, yes, that unfortunately seems to be the case as I was told by an HR person of a company I interviewed with. Its a shock, since I have already been on a tier 2 visa for 5 years but simply because of this gap of 90 some odd days, that clock will be reset and all the hard work down the drain.

[CR001]

As you cannot be on Tier 2 for more than 6 years, you might have to find another visa you could qualify for to even get you to 10 years long residence.

The 60 days employment gap is written in the immigration rules and is being heavily applied, with some members being refused ILR for only a couple of days past 60 days.

[explorer14]

So does that mean resetting of the clock on ILR has no effect on Tier 2 clock? i.e. I cannot restart Tier 2 cycle for the next couple of years until I can get to the 10 year residence route?

[CR001]

No you can't. You cannot hold a Tier 2 for more than 6 consecutive years. To restart the Tier 2 clock, you have to either leave the UK for 12 months or switch to a dependent visa category or another visa category for 12 months before you can reapply for Tier 2 and another 6 year limit.

[explorer14]

So the fact that I cannot apply for ILR anymore doesn't automatically entitle me to keep doing Tier 2 just long enough until I am eligible for ILR again in 2019 via the 10 year residency route (I suppose that would be too easy). I only have a year left before hitting the 6 year limit but I suppose that's not enough to carry me through to 2019 for ILR application. Geez!

But out of curiosity what would happen if I happened to have overstayed through no fault of my own? Will they atleast give me enough time to leave the country? If you don't know that's ok, I appreciate you taking time to help out.

Thanks

[explorer14]

Hi once again,

I still haven't received my curtailment letter yet but I have managed to secure a job in Netherlands in the mean time and am currently in the process to apply for a Dutch work permit, however, I have a question.In order to get a Dutch visa, I have been told, that I will need to carry my current UK residence permit to the embassy. Now, the valid until date on my BRP shows December 2018 and considering that I haven't yet received my curtailment letter am I safe to assume that until I receive that letter my current BRP is still valid and that I can take it with me to the Dutch embassy to get a Dutch visa?

Thanks

[makky86]

Hi once again,

I still haven't received my curtailment letter yet but I have managed to secure a job in Netherlands in the mean time and am currently in the process to apply for a Dutch work permit, however, I have a question.In order to get a Dutch visa, I have been told, that I will need to carry my current UK residence permit to the embassy. Now, the valid until date on my BRP shows December 2018 and considering that I haven't yet received my curtailment letter am I safe to assume that until I receive that letter my current BRP is still valid and that I can take it with me to the Dutch embassy to get a Dutch visa?

Thanks

That is correct. Even after the curtailment you'll have another 60 days to sty in the UK.