Switching FLR(M) to Tier 2 General

[Stephlu88]

Hello all,

I am relatively new to this forum and really struggling to find information on this. I am coming up to the end of my FLR(M) visa and am switching to a Tier 2 General visa. It is my belief that I must do so from outside the country, is this correct? And if I do so from outside the country, am I okay to apply for the Tier 2 General visa even if my FLR(M) visa has lapsed? I'm just conscious of the Restricted CoS backlog and want to cover all my bases otherwise I would just renew FLR(M).

Thanks

[CR001]

It is my belief that I must do so from outside the country, is this correct?

Correct yes. This will reset your clock for ILR to zero though.

And if I do so from outside the country, am I okay to apply for the Tier 2 General visa even if my FLR(M) visa has lapsed?

Yes. They are two completely unrelated visa categories.

I'm just conscious of the Restricted CoS backlog and want to cover all my bases otherwise I would just renew FLR(M).

Why wouldn't you renew FLR(M) anyway if you have already been on this visa for 2.5 years??