T2 General Application Documents

[Suh1234]

Hello,

I am currently a T2 ICT visa holder which was granted back in 2008 and after which it was always been extended from within the UK. (I could not apply for ILR yet due to continuous residence was broken at one point in between).
The current extension of the ICT visa runs till April 2018. However my employer asking me to go back to India on Dec mid 2017. I have a new employer ready to sponsor me through T2 General and currently undergoing the COS process. I understand that I can switch to T2 General being in the country once COS is assigned as current ICT was granted before April 2010.
Q1> Now the concern is if the COS processing takes time and goes beyond December and by the time my current employer asks me to go back to India, Can I still apply from India using the same COS? or would any cooling period applies if I leave country in December even though the Visa is valid till April'18?

Q2> In a worst case scenario I was thinking of resigning just before my employer asks me to leave and wait for the COS to arrive and immediately go for same day service to switch to general. Can I stay in the country after resigning? If yes for how long so that I can time it correctly to get the COS in between to switch? Would there be any other obligation by resigning before the COS is handed over to me and would it be too risky?

Appreciate if someone can help with above queries urgently.

[poper]

Hello,

I am currently a T2 ICT visa holder which was granted back in 2008 and after which it was always been extended from within the UK. (I could not apply for ILR yet due to continuous residence was broken at one point in between).
The current extension of the ICT visa runs till April 2018. However my employer asking me to go back to India on Dec mid 2017. I have a new employer ready to sponsor me through T2 General and currently undergoing the COS process. I understand that I can switch to T2 General being in the country once COS is assigned as current ICT was granted before April 2010.
Q1> Now the concern is if the COS processing takes time and goes beyond December and by the time my current employer asks me to go back to India, Can I still apply from India using the same COS? or would any cooling period applies if I leave country in December even though the Visa is valid till April'18?
12 months cooling period applies if you leave the country. I believe COS generation does not take time and moreover it should be an unrestricted COS for your case. Its only RLMT by the employer which takes time.
Have they already performed a proper RLMT?

Q2> In a worst case scenario I was thinking of resigning just before my employer asks me to leave and wait for the COS to arrive and immediately go for same day service to switch to general. Can I stay in the country after resigning? If yes for how long so that I can time it correctly to get the COS in between to switch? Would there be any other obligation by resigning before the COS is handed over to me and would it be too risky?
You can stay in the UK after resigning from your employer. Your employer will let HO know that you have left the organisation withing 10 days after you leaving. HO usually takes a good few months to send a curtailment letter curtailing your visa to 60 days. In your case you may not receive one as your leave is valid only till April 2018.
As you said, in the worst case it should be OK to resign and remain in the UK if your main intention is to switch employers and continue here.
However note that your 5 year qualifying period for ILR may be reset if the time between your Tier 2 application for employer switch is made 60 days after you leave your current employer

When did your last continuous period in the UK start?

Appreciate if someone can help with above queries urgently.

[Suh1234]

Many thanks for your response. A few follow-up queries I have:
1>So the cooling period applies even if I have not applied for leave to enter through any route since 2011 and my visa is valid until 2018 April (which was issued under the rules before April 2010)? The concern is RLMT, as the new employer have only started that last week, so I am assuming it would be 28 days + the time to generate/assign COS which can take the timeline to end of Dec/early Jan.

2>On 2nd Query, I am then safe to resign by mid-December assuming I will have at least two months from then within which I should be able to get the COS and switch. So just to confirm there is no such rule which impacts the switching process or application of T2 Gen, if HO sees a curtailment is already in progress on the same person for the previous visa?
On the ILR point again I assume you meant that if I can make the switch application happen and get T2 General in hand before Curtailment period of two month ends, then there are no problems?
My last continuous period started from Sep'2013 so I am eligible again Sep'2018.

[CR001]

It would be useful if you could list every visa category you have held, the visa start date, visa end date, where you applied for the visa and dates of entry and exit if applying for visas overseas.

[Suh1234]

It would be useful if you could list every visa category you have held, the visa start date, visa end date, where you applied for the visa and dates of entry and exit if applying for visas overseas.

Hello, the Initial 2008 Visa was under work permit (I believe it was called WP by then), then always extended every 2 years i.e. 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016 and now valid till 2018 April. All the subsequent extensions done from within the UK and are T2 ICT long term. No visa was applied from overseas.
Could you/poper please help confirming additional queries posted above?

[poper]

Many thanks for your response. A few follow-up queries I have:
1>So the cooling period applies even if I have not applied for leave to enter through any route since 2011 and my visa is valid until 2018 April (which was issued under the rules before April 2010)? The concern is RLMT, as the new employer have only started that last week, so I am assuming it would be 28 days + the time to generate/assign COS which can take the timeline to end of Dec/early Jan.
If you leave the country, cool off period will apply irrespective to when your initial leave was granted for a fresh Tier 2 General application. If RLMT has only commenced have you been pre-selected for this role? UKVI refuse applications if they have the slightest doubt on the candidate pre-selection

2>On 2nd Query, I am then safe to resign by mid-December assuming I will have at least two months from then within which I should be able to get the COS and switch. So just to confirm there is no such rule which impacts the switching process or application of T2 Gen, if HO sees a curtailment is already in progress on the same person for the previous visa?
Curtailment period is precisely for a candidate to look for an alternate sponsor or wind up affairs in the UK. No, your current leave's curtailment will not impact your new application as long as you apply before the end of curtailment period
On the ILR point again I assume you meant that if I can make the switch application happen and get T2 General in hand before Curtailment period of two month ends, then there are no problems?
No, do not confuse with curtailment period for ILR. As already already stated, your 5 year qualifying period for ILR may be reset to 0 if the Tier 2 application for employer switch is made 60 days after you leave your current employer
My last continuous period started from Sep'2013 so I am eligible again Sep'2018.

You also need to mention your entry and exit time for CR001 to advise better

[Suh1234]

Many thanks for your response. A few follow-up queries I have:
1>So the cooling period applies even if I have not applied for leave to enter through any route since 2011 and my visa is valid until 2018 April (which was issued under the rules before April 2010)? The concern is RLMT, as the new employer have only started that last week, so I am assuming it would be 28 days + the time to generate/assign COS which can take the timeline to end of Dec/early Jan.
If you leave the country, cool off period will apply irrespective to when your initial leave was granted for a fresh Tier 2 General application. If RLMT has only commenced have you been pre-selected for this role? UKVI refuse applications if they have the slightest doubt on the candidate pre-selection

Thanks poper for clarifying on the cool-off, so the best option is to resign rather than going back even if I dont have the COS by then. I am not very sure if they have started the RLMT through adverts a lot earlier but I will check with employer, this might make things faster for me to get the COS within December. One more query - once 28 days of RLMT period is over, can the Unrestricted COS be generated and assigned to me very quickly? like within a day or so? Is there any other lag to be followed between RLMT completion and UCOS assignment?

2>On 2nd Query, I am then safe to resign by mid-December assuming I will have at least two months from then within which I should be able to get the COS and switch. So just to confirm there is no such rule which impacts the switching process or application of T2 Gen, if HO sees a curtailment is already in progress on the same person for the previous visa?
Curtailment period is precisely for a candidate to look for an alternate sponsor or wind up affairs in the UK. No, your current leave's curtailment will not impact your new application as long as you apply before the end of curtailment period

Thanks Again. so best option is to resign assuming that UCOS and Visa application can be sorted with 60 days of I receive the letter.


On the ILR point again I assume you meant that if I can make the switch application happen and get T2 General in hand before Curtailment period of two month ends, then there are no problems?
No, do not confuse with curtailment period for ILR. As already already stated, your 5 year qualifying period for ILR may be reset to 0 if the Tier 2 application for employer switch is made 60 days after you leave your current employer

So the Switch application or the T2 General VISA appointment date has to be within 60 days from my resignation date?

My last continuous period started from Sep'2013 so I am eligible again Sep'2018.

You also need to mention your entry and exit time for CR001 to advise better

The first entry was in April'08 then exit may'12 and re-entry Aug'13. As mentioned previous post, when came back it was the same visa which was running from 2012, so always been extended from within the country. Please advise if any issues on counting cont residence period from my last entry?

[Suh1234]

Hi Poper, CR001,

It would be really helpful if you can clarify the final set of queries I posted in previous post?
-- once 28 days of RLMT period is over, can the Unrestricted COS be generated and assigned to me very quickly? like within a day or so? Is there any other lag to be followed between RLMT completion and UCOS assignment?

--On the ILR point again I assume you meant that if I can make the switch application happen and get T2 General in hand before Curtailment period of two month ends, then there are no problems?
No, do not confuse with curtailment period for ILR. As already already stated, your 5 year qualifying period for ILR may be reset to 0 if the Tier 2 application for employer switch is made 60 days after you leave your current employer

So the Switch application or the T2 General VISA appointment date has to be within 60 days from my resignation date?

-- On counting continuous residence for ILR -- The first entry was in April'08 then exit may'12 and re-entry Aug'13. As mentioned previous post, when came back it was the same visa which was extended on 2012 before I left, so always been extended from within the country. After my re-entry I did not have any long breaks apart from annual leaves out of the country. Please advise if any issues on counting cont residence period from my last entry given if my employer switch can be done within 60 days from my resignation? I plan to apply for ILR on Sep'18 counting back to Sep'13.

[Suh1234]

Hi CR001, Poper, Appreciate if you can provide help on the final queries please.

[Suh1234]

Hello, Can anyone please clarify if a UK NARIC certificate is required for English language requirement for an in country switch application from T2 ICT to T2 General?

[Suh1234]

Hi,

I have received my T2 General VISA so thought I should share the experience.
My case was In country Switch so UCOS generation was almost immediate.
The same day visa application is very fast and you will receive the letter on the same day.
The BRP arrived within 5 working days. For Dependants it was even quicker and arrived in 2 days.
The only documents was asked for In country switch is your applications, Passport, current BRP, Degree Certificates and UK NARIC certificates