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Manci, Please help

Only for the UK Skilled Worker visas, formerly known as Tier 2 visa route

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kevstar
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Manci, Please help

Post by kevstar » Thu Jul 03, 2014 10:11 pm

I was issued with a Tier 2 General Skilled Worker Visa on 20th July 2011 and it was valid till 8th June 2014. I applied for an extension for leave to remain on 7th May 2014 and from what I have heard, it's likely to be refused since my sponsor's licence expired on the 27th Nov 2012.

The authorising officer failed to renew the licence on in time due to an administrative error and company restructure. I wasn't issued a curtailment letter and continued to work for the same employer, doing the same job on same pay and living at the same address since January 2010. I think that I haven't been in breach of the immigration rules and did travel abroad a few times for holidays and visiting relatives in the past couple of years. But still, I'm unsure about my immigration status?

Since I was without a sponsor after the licence expiry date, my manager is telling me that I could be regarded by the Home Office as an illegal worker and consequently refuse any subsequent visa applications. Is this correct?

Our parent company, being an A-rated sponsor, would like to be cautious as to not put their licence in jeopardy and has asked me to request for a written confirmation letter from the Home Office to confirm my immigration status before they would consider assigning me a new CoS.

@Manci Please advise.

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Frontier Mole
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Re: Manci, Please help

Post by Frontier Mole » Fri Jul 04, 2014 8:46 am

How did you apply for an extension when you could not have had a COS from your employer?

Your immigration status.: that is a good question. There is no certain answer to that without HO confirmation.
When the first PBS licences expired the approach to companies that did not renew was varied. The company would have been contacted and dependent on the respose that would have set off different chaines of action.
My initial thought is that your current sponsor has lasped the licence in favour of the perent company licence. If they just let the licence expire without provision for the tier 2 employees there would be consequences.
You would have expected to have received a curtailment letter BUT it could have been sent to the Sponsor as the PBS system does not necessarily have your home address. However unlikely that sounds it does happen.
If that did happen the curtailment will be on their system but it does not mean it is valid. The rules on deemed service back then would be in your favour.
You could have been totally overlooked and nothing has happened.

Until you have an answer from the HO it is impossible to give you a way forward.. I would not wait for the certain refusal. I would get the parent company to issue a COS and reapply ASP.

The company are at a far greater risk than you. They have continued to employ you when they did not have the right to do so. Assuming they have not transfered the sub company into thr parent company licence.

kevstar
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Re: Manci, Please help

Post by kevstar » Fri Jul 04, 2014 11:19 am

Frontier Mole wrote:How did you apply for an extension when you could not have had a COS from your employer?

Your immigration status.: that is a good question. There is no certain answer to that without HO confirmation.
When the first PBS licences expired the approach to companies that did not renew was varied. The company would have been contacted and dependent on the respose that would have set off different chaines of action.
My initial thought is that your current sponsor has lasped the licence in favour of the perent company licence. If they just let the licence expire without provision for the tier 2 employees there would be consequences.
You would have expected to have received a curtailment letter BUT it could have been sent to the Sponsor as the PBS system does not necessarily have your home address. However unlikely that sounds it does happen.
If that did happen the curtailment will be on their system but it does not mean it is valid. The rules on deemed service back then would be in your favour.
You could have been totally overlooked and nothing has happened.

Until you have an answer from the HO it is impossible to give you a way forward.. I would not wait for the certain refusal. I would get the parent company to issue a COS and reapply ASP.

The company are at a far greater risk than you. They have continued to employ you when they did not have the right to do so. Assuming they have not transfered the sub company into thr parent company licence.
Thanks for your reply Frontier Mole.

I used the same CoS issued to me for my initial application 3 yrs ago - I wasn't aware that I needed a new CoS for the extension. Silly me! My employer did try to renew the licence but it was done a month late and was refused. The email reminders for the renewal were sent to a staff member (Authorising officer) who had since left the business and these were picked up late. I'm not sure if HO was informed about the takeover. The SMS level 1 user wasn't very familiar with the PBS system and immigration rules and procedures. As you said, it could be possible that my leave was curtailed and the letter was sent to the ex-head office address but then we should still have received it given that we still have some staff members working at the ex-head office (sponsor's registered address). Also, the immigration officer would not have let me back into UK in April this year when I went abroad briefly if my visa had been cancelled?

The parent company is refusing to do so without confirmation from HO about my current immigration status as understandably, they do not wish for their licence to be revoked. I have emailed HO to ask for clarification on this but God knows whether they would reply back and when.

My employer is trying to win back their sponsor status but this would take time and given that I was the only one requiring sponsorship, I doubt they would still go ahead with this due to my current immigration situation.

Any ideas, what I could do?

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Frontier Mole
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Re: Manci, Please help

Post by Frontier Mole » Fri Jul 04, 2014 12:46 pm

There is virtually zero chance of your current sponsor getting a licence - they are employing you without thr right to do so so that will be an near instant refusale.
So that is a pointless route in my opinion.

The only sucessful way forward is the parent company to include the sub company in their licence and issue you with a COS.
If they won't do that then you are in danger of being left with a refusal, no continueing leave and a pointless appeal if you were to go down that route.

I would play hard ball with your HR - essentially the company is dismissing you as you have no right to work but that is not a fault of your making. Maybe they would like a£20k fine for employing you illegally? That is where they stand today, knowingly employing you when they did not have the right to do so.

Your not illegal as you have a visa but they didn't have a licence.

I suggest you take legal advice.as this looks like being a mess in the making.

kevstar
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Re: Manci, Please help

Post by kevstar » Fri Jul 04, 2014 1:31 pm

Thanks mate ... you're right!. I am indeed badly in need of legal advise as my case is getting really complicated unfortunately.

My employer has tried to hire a legal firm and my manager told me that the solicitors said that they can't take over this case yet as they need to run some sort of checks/risk assessment before associating them with my company and this process is taking time. Personally, I haven't heard of any such thing before but could this be true?

Also, I haven't yet been dismissed but I believe that I would have to resign anyway as soon as I get the refusal letter from HO.

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