Tier 2 General to ILR

[VirtualWaver]

Hi All,

I will really appreciate if Gurus could shed some light on this questions. Spoke with a number of people / lawyers and everyone is telling a different thing.

1. I will apply for ILR soon from Tier 2 General. Does my salary need to be the same as in the COS I used when I last got the Tier 2 extension or it needs to match the most recent salary in SOC code that Home Office has by the time I apply for ILR? My current salary is 37K - it was the salary Home Office had in their SOC code the last time I extended my Tier 2 General visa and this is the salary that was in my COS when I was extending my visa. Now Home Office increased salaries in SOC code to 39K. Lawyers say that I do not need to worry about this as Home Office will only require to see that I still get 37K as states in my COS even though the SOC codes have been changes since then - the SOC code is only for people who apply for Tier 2. However it says in HO website that Tier 2 General migrant can apply for ILR if they earn the salary stated in Codes or Practice. Can someone please advise this is true or my salary needs to be increased to match the SOC code or my current salary is enough even though HO increased it in SOC?
2. My dependant will apply with me for ILR. It says in HO website that dependants can also apply if I have enough income to support them. Does it mean that I need to provide my bank statements? Or my dependant needs to provide one? Or she can only get a letter from her employer saying that she is working full-time and earning this much?
3. Do I need to show any bank statements at all?

Thanks a lot!

[VirtualWaver]

To make it more clear:

1. My current salary is 37K
2. Current SOC code required 39K for my role

Can I apply for ILR with my 37K salary or it has to be 39K+ for ILR?

Someone told me that I can get the ILR with 37K even though the current SOC code says 39K because HO will use my last COS and assess my current salary against the salary level that was in my last COS.

Can someone please confirm this? Thanks.

[Echoes]

Your salary must be at least £35000 (£35500 from 6th of April) or equal to the rate specified in relevant SOC code, whichever is higher.

My understanding is, you'll have to be paid at least £39K to qualify if that's the amount for your SOC code.

[VirtualWaver]

Thanks, that was what I was thinking too but I had a word with a lawyer today who said that current SOC doesn't matter because HO will use my previous COS and SOC rate of the time when I extended the visa to evaluate my salary if it is higher than 35K ILR requirement. This is very confusing as it says in HO site that the salary must be 35K and the migrant must be paid the amount from SOC code.

I am really lost with this, maybe someone else knows? Are there any people who recently got ILR via Tier 2 General route?

[lanrezy]

Your salary must be at least £35000 (£35500 from 6th of April) or equal to the rate specified in relevant SOC code, whichever is higher.

My understanding is, you'll have to be paid at least £39K to qualify if that's the amount for your SOC code.

This is correct.

[VirtualWaver]

Hi All,

My last salary increase was in May 2016, I didn't have any increase in May 2017, but my employer wants to increase my salary in May 2018 through individual assessment based on my performance.

Question 1: does this need to be reported in SMS or this is considered as an annual increment?

The increase will be generic, not huge, around 5%. My current salary is 37K+ so higher than required for ILR but lower than the one for my job in the latest SOC. After increase it will be higher than in current SOC.

Question 2: will Home Office raise a flag with this taking into consideration that I will apply for ILR after 5 months after increase? Or this is normal and there shouldn't be any issues?

Question 3: should my employer provide a letter when I will apply for ILR stating that this increase was based on my individual assessment of performance, nothing else. Or this might draw unnecessary attention?

Thanks!

[Djsuccess]

As much as I know, I think the annual increase is the one involving the whole company. If you are the only one receiving the increase, your employer will need to report it via SMS. If UKVI needs additional information, your company will be contacted.

[VirtualWaver]

Thanks! Do you think this will be a big issue with Home Office?

[Djsuccess]

To make it more clear:

1. My current salary is 37K
2. Current SOC code required 39K for my role

Can I apply for ILR with my 37K salary or it has to be 39K+ for ILR?

Someone told me that I can get the ILR with 37K even though the current SOC code says 39K because HO will use my last COS and assess my current salary against the salary level that was in my last COS.

Can someone please confirm this? Thanks.

Depending on the number of hours you work vs required hours for your SOC code. 37k might be enough for you

[Djsuccess]

Thanks! Do you think this will be a big issue with Home Office?

It might and it might not. A few people have had issues in the past and their ILR applications held for a while to conduct investigation and also to see that the company is actually able to sustain the increase for a long time. I can't tell you if UKVI will for sure raise an eye on this, but it is important you report the increase in salary.

[VirtualWaver]

Thanks for your reply!

The thing is that my current salary for the hours I do is higher than required for ILR but lower as in current SOC. My understanding is that my salary should be at least equal to current SOC by the time I will apply for ILR otherwise I wont be eligible.

Obviusly, my employer is not going to increase the salary for me purely to help me to get the ILR - they said to me that they are really happy with my performance and results I deliver and are happy to offer me an increase based on my work. I personally dont think any honest employer will risk having big issues with Home Office purely to help the migrant to settle down.

So based on your reply my employer can increase my salary then mention in SMS that they increased it based on my performance (which is totally true) and thats it?

A few other questions: do they need to have any proof of my performance on hand to show to home office? Do they need to issue a letter for me that they reviewed my salary and increased it? If Home Office wont do anything once they report it in SMS does it mean that I will have no issues with ILR application or the officer can question this? Also, how early they can increase my payment to avoid any issues? Is 5 month before ILR ok? Thanks.

[Djsuccess]

Thanks for your reply!

The thing is that my current salary for the hours I do is higher than required for ILR but lower as in current SOC. My understanding is that my salary should be at least equal to current SOC by the time I will apply for ILR otherwise I wont be eligible.

Obviusly, my employer is not going to increase the salary for me purely to help me to get the ILR - they said to me that they are really happy with my performance and results I deliver and are happy to offer me an increase based on my work. I personally dont think any honest employer will risk having big issues with Home Office purely to help the migrant to settle down.

So based on your reply my employer can increase my salary then mention in SMS that they increased it based on my performance (which is totally true) and thats it?

A few other questions: do they need to have any proof of my performance on hand to show to home office? Do they need to issue a letter for me that they reviewed my salary and increased it? If Home Office wont do anything once they report it in SMS does it mean that I will have no issues with ILR application or the officer can question this? Also, how early they can increase my payment to avoid any issues? Is 5 month before ILR ok? Thanks.

You can get a salary increase as part of a promotion or any other reason. The main point is that it must be reported, And the earlier you report it the better. Also, it is not wrong for a company to increase salary to meet the required wage for visa renewal or ILR. The issue is the ability to convince UKVI that the salary was not just increased for ILR and probably reduced once ILR is approved.
in your case, you will either get a salary increase from your company or get another job that will offer you the required salary. We all know which option is easier.
Get your salary increase, let your sponsor use the SMS to inform the UKVI and then wait if they will ask for any evidence. You and your sponsor must be prepared in the event that UKVI decides to audit you. If you have been doing everything properly, then you have nothing to worry about even if you are audited.
I wish you all the best

[VirtualWaver]

Thanks a lot for your reply!