Tier 2 ICT Long term Staff Partner TO Tier 2 General

[aja]

Dear Experts,

I have tried to explain the whole situation in details below.
Could you please please please help in showing some direction.

Very humble request, if any reference on any answers to ukba website can be made, that will be a lot helpful to convince the employer .


Original Situation:

> On Tier 2 ICT Long Term Staff partner visa

> Visa valid till Jan 2015

> Date of first entry in same category of visa : Jan / 2012

> Working for a company in UK as a permanent employee since June /
2012

Changes recently in situation:

> Spouse project may get over in a couple of months, so may have to
return back, when officially informed. Hopefully, things will be fine till
March/2014

> My employer in UK has agreed to start the sponsorship process.
Planning to start the process in Jan / 2014.


Help Required, Based on Above situations :

1. Approximately, How long does it take for a company to get the
sponsorship license ( Company is head quartered in US and is
NASDAQ Listed). Has office in 3 locations in UK and about 120
employees on UK payroll.

2. To confirm if i need to go to home country to change my visa from
Tier 2 ICT Long Term Staff partner TO Tier 2 general.

3. In case, i change my Visa successfully and if my spouse project still
runs successfully in UK, till i am back in UK on my new Visa, can my
spouse and child change their visa to be my dependent In Country or
do they have to go to home country ?

4. Is the minimum duration to run RMLT 28 days ?

5. What proof needs to be provided to UKBA from RMLT that they did not
find a suitable candidate ?

6. From the date the RMLT starts to the date i get my new visa and reach
back UK, can i still be on Company payroll ? Working from Offshore
office, till the visa is processed and got back in hand.
Or, is any break in employment required ?


Many Thanks in Advance for all your valuable inputs and thoughts

[manci]

Dear Experts,

I have tried to explain the whole situation in details below.
Could you please please please help in showing some direction.

Very humble request, if any reference on any answers to ukba website can be made, that will be a lot helpful to convince the employer .


Original Situation:

> On Tier 2 ICT Long Term Staff partner visa

> Visa valid till Jan 2015

> Date of first entry in same category of visa : Jan / 2012

> Working for a company in UK as a permanent employee since June /
2012

Changes recently in situation:

> Spouse project may get over in a couple of months, so may have to
return back, when officially informed. Hopefully, things will be fine till
March/2014

> My employer in UK has agreed to start the sponsorship process.
Planning to start the process in Jan / 2014.


Help Required, Based on Above situations :

1. Approximately, How long does it take for a company to get the
sponsorship license ( Company is head quartered in US and is
NASDAQ Listed). Has office in 3 locations in UK and about 120
employees on UK payroll.The first hurdle is to submit correct documentation with the application for a sponsor licence. Assuming no problems with the documentation submitted one cannot predict the HO processing time (depends on their workload, etc) but currently it is a matter of weeks. If the application is granted there will be a further week to 10 days before the sponsor can use the online SMS. Once they can use the SMS they have to apply for a restricted CoS for you. Applications submitted by the 5th of a month are decided on the 11th of the same month, if later then by the 11th of the following month

2. To confirm if i need to go to home country to change my visa from
Tier 2 ICT Long Term Staff partner TO Tier 2 general. yes, you will have to apply for entry clearance from home country and will need a restricted CoS to do so.

3. In case, i change my Visa successfully and if my spouse project still
runs successfully in UK, till i am back in UK on my new Visa, can my
spouse and child change their visa to be my dependent In Country or
do they have to go to home country ? they can switch in-country

4. Is the minimum duration to run RMLT 28 days ? yes

5. What proof needs to be provided to UKBA from RMLT that they did not
find a suitable candidate ? The whole RLMT process is described in the T2 sponsor guidance http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

6. From the date the RMLT starts to the date i get my new visa and reach
back UK, can i still be on Company payroll ? Working from Offshore
office, till the visa is processed and got back in hand.
Or, is any break in employment required ? This depends on the timescale, i.e. when your husband's job in the UK finishes. If you can work from company;s offshore


Many Thanks in Advance for all your valuable inputs and thoughts

[aja]

Thanks a Ton Manci, for the detailed reply.

wrt to point 6 of the question:

Will try to break them into possible scenarios to get it clear:

6.1 > My Tier 2 General visa gets processed fine, and i am able to come
back to UK, before my spouse project ends and has to go back to
home country.

q) In this case, can i assume that no break of employment is required
with my employer, even if the processing of visa takes a little longer,
I have the option to work from offshore office, before i get my visa.

6.2 > If spouse has to return back to home country if project gets over, well before i get my Tier 2 general visa

q) In this case, during the process (time) of attaining sponsorship
and running RLMT and visa being issues.
Can i continue to work from offshore office for same company, still being under UK payroll ?

The Reason for this sort of question (6.2) is because, the employer
has a lot more HR formalities to do, when transferring the payroll
across countries and generally don't encourage the complication.

If its still legal to do so as in my question (6.2), they are fine with it.

Will wait for your expert comments
Many thanks for your help

[aja]

Came across this para from PBS guidance;
could you please clarify if this holds valid in my case ?
------------------------
EXEMPTIONS FROM THE RESIDENT LABOUR MARKET TEST
285. This section sets out all of the circumstances in which you do not have to conduct a
resident labour market test before you can assign a CoS under Tier 2 (General).
CONTINUING TO WORK IN THE SAME OCCUPATION
286. If the migrant is already working for you and they need to extend their leave to continue
working for you in the same occupation, you do not need to conduct a resident labour market
test.
-----------------------------------

Would the statement " extend their leave "
has a different context, which is not applicable for me.

Thanks Again

[manci]

286 doesn't apply to you, it is for extension applications made in the UK. You could only be exempt from the RLMT if the job was a shortage occupation or if you were a high earner.

[aja]

Thank you very much for the reply.

This clarifies my question of RLMT.

Any help on 6.1 and 6.2 please ? hope the question makes sense.
If the scenario or question is not clear enough, plz let me know and i shall try to make it a bit more clear.

Many Thanks

[manci]

6.1
you can remain in the UK durring the RLMT/CoS process and only have to be in the home country when the process is complete and you actually apply for the visa. Depending on what your home country is this usually only takes up to 2 weeks and could be managed by taking part of your annual leave. Visa processing times in all countries can be checked on the UKBA webste. See also 6.2 below
6.2
There is no reason why a UK company cannot employ somebody who works abroad. However, I expect that if you work for a prolonged period in the home country (or any country) the tax authorities there may take an interest in youir activities.

[aja]

That's right on Target....

Thank you so much for your precise and clear cut answers.

I think i have enough information to proceed the discussion further with HR and get things moving forward.

I may have more questions, as we progress through the process and will get back for all your expert advice.

Once Again Many thanks for quick, clear and precise replies Manci.

Appreciate all you help.

[Ishika]

Hi aja,

I have similar case with me. My husband is on tier 2 ICT long term staff visa and I am looking to switch myself on Tier 2 (general) visa. Please keep us posted with you case status.

All the best with your visa processing, I hope all goes well.

Thanks,
Ishika

[aja]

@ Ishika,

Thanks for your wishes.

If you already have an job offer from a company that has sponsorship, then it should be a easy cake walk.

If you have a job offer in hand, from a company that does not have sponsorship at present, but willing to go through the
sponsorship process, then my case is more relevant to you.
Either ways, good luck !

My Update :- Its only today i could see all people back in office at work. From mid Dec, the turn out of ppl has been really less.
I will start chasing around people in a day or 2. Will have more questions and will require the experts help, as we start and go through the process.

[Ishika]

When I check for registered company for sponsership on UKBA, i found my company name with below:

Tier 2 (A rating) Tier 2 General
Tier 2 (A rating) Intra Company Transfers (ICT)

I am only worried about RTLM, why would employer want to go thru all the trouble

Lets see!
Ishika

[aja]

For a company, which already has the Sponsorship license, they know the process and procedures.

They wouldn't treat it as a trouble

It is for companies, who are totally new to this, they think of it as a headache.

If they are happy with your skills / performance, if they think you are the right candidate for the role. Then why not.

Best Wishes !

[Ishika]

Hi aja,

How its going on? progress so far?

Thanks,
Ishika

[aja]

Hi Ishika,

Very very slow.

Company still hasn't started any of the processing yet. That's why i wasn't active on the forum as well, with questions.

It is still going through the budget approval and such process.

I am hoping that the actual process of Applying for License will begin this Month . Fingers crossed,
Hoping for the best.
Thanks for checking.

[aja]

Hello,

My company has finally started the application process and is going through filling the online application.

In order to speed up the entire process, my HR checked with the HO, if it is fine to start the RLMT even before the sponsorship status is attained. The reason, is to not have further delay of 28 days or more after the sponsorship is attained.
Upon checking, we did get the information that, we can start the RLMT now as well and there should only be a few days overlap
in running the RLMT and attaining the sponsorship.

From my limited knowledge, i was thinking that, its a sequential process, where only after attaining the sponsorship rights, can the RLMT be conducted.

Can you please throw some light on the matter please.
Would such a RLMT be valid ?

[manci]

the RLMT is no more than advertising a vacancy observing certain rules that the HO prescribe and checking if there is a suitable applicant from the settled workforce. It can be carried out at any time and is valid for 6 months.

[aja]

Many Thanks Manci,

It is definitely a huge relief to know this.

I will update the HR on this positive response, by which, i am hoping to reduce the total duration by a few weeks at least .

Thank you again for your Continuous Support

[Ishika]

Hi aja, So good to know that thing are moving at your end. Bless you!

[Ishika]

Hi Manci,

My company is looking for document which can list the procedure for me to change my visa category from ICT long term staff partner to Tier 2 (general). Do you think either you or someone from immigrationboard.com would be able to do this?

Also my husband (ICT long term staff visa holder) and I (ICT long term staff partner visa holder) both work for the same firm (its A rated multinational company) and obviously my husband can't change his catergory because of tier 2 cool-off restriction. Do you think it could be a problem for me to change my visa catergory to tier 2 general under same employer?

Many thanks,
Ishika

[manci]

Hi Manci,

My company is looking for document which can list the procedure for me to change my visa category from ICT long term staff partner to Tier 2 (general). Do you think either you or someone from immigrationboard.com would be able to do this?
the procedure is for the company to do the RLMT (unless an exception applies), then they should apply to the HO for a restricted CoS and once this is granted assign the CoS to you and then you can apply for entry clearance from your home country.The job should be NQF level 6 with appropriate salary.
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary


Also my husband (ICT long term staff visa holder) and I (ICT long term staff partner visa holder) both work for the same firm (its A rated multinational company) and obviously my husband can't change his catergory because of tier 2 cool-off restriction. Do you think it could be a problem for me to change my visa catergory to tier 2 general under same employer?
it doesn't matter that you worked for the company as a PBS dependant, the procedure is as above


Many thanks,
Ishika

[Ishika]

Thanks Manci for the insight.
I found below on UKBA website

For the year from 6 April 2013 to 5 April 2014, a maximum of 20,700 skilled workers can come to the UK under Tier 2 (General) to do jobs with an annual salary below £152,100.

How would I get to know if the cap is already reached or not?

Thanks,
Ishika

[manci]

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/busin ... locations/

[aja]

Hello Manci,

Company has started to do the online application and getting all the necessary documents to be sent out to Border Agency once the online application is completed.
A Proactive question here please :

The Job i will be undertaking is SOC 2010;
2139 - Information Technology and Telecommunications
Related job titles:

 IT consultant
 Quality analyst (computing)
 Software tester
 Systems tester (computing)
 Telecommunications planner

The Official Designation is : Lead QA Engineer,
The roles and responsibilities apart from stated in the SOC includes people management and few managerial activities.

Q ) The RLMT will be conducted based on the Lead role, is that fine ?

Q) While generating the COS, we should still stick on to the SOC code above, but can provide the additional responsibilities right ?

q) The designation to be mentioned in COS should be the Official designation or should it be in the one stated in SOC ?

Many Thanks
aja

[manci]

there are 3 job related matters that have to input when assigning a CoS:

the SOC2010 code number

job title - this can be the title used within the company and doesn't have to be exactly the same as one of the job titles given under the particular SOC code

job description - this should closely match the job tasks given for the particular SOC code but can of course include additional related tasks

[Ishika]

Hi aja,

How is RLMT going on?

I don't know how to send private message so posting it here.

Cheers!
Ishika