Cooling off period clause

[praghavendrapraveen]

Hi
I have gone through the recent changes to UK immigration and still not clear about the cooling off period clause.
At present I am in UK on Tier 2 ICT visa (issued in June’ 2012) and permit is valid up to 2015. I would like to explore the opportunities in UK and want to be here on Tier 2 General.
In my case, if an employer wishes to sponsor me Tier 2 general, do I need to go back and should apply from my mainland? I will come under 1 year cooling off period now (I haven’t completed total 3 years on Tier 2 ICT now and also there was a gap of more than 6 months during my stay). It means if I leave UK by August 2014, I cannot apply for general Tier 2 until August 2015?
Thanks in advance

[ankjain]

I am no expert mate but since I fall in the same category as yours I would like to share my research.

after your current visa expire in 2015 you can apply for 'in-country' visa extension for 2 more years i.e. till 2017. But after that you have to go back to your home country for 12 months ('cooling off') and then apply for tier-2 G depending on your sponsorer/exployer. Only case when you can avoid 12m cooling off is if at the end your visa i.e. 2017 your base salary is more than £153,500 (currently this is the threshold & this can increase as last year it was £152,000)

I also heard that, other than this, if your spouse gets a Tier2-G you can change your visa to Tier2-G dependant. (not 100% sure about this)

* you might want to confirm with an expert/experienced person.

Good Luck
(I fall in exactly same bucket)

[praghavendrapraveen]

Hi
Thanks for your reply. But it looks like that the 2 years extension and then cooling off period is applied when you are on Tier 2 ICT and then you would like to switch. But what if, without completing the entire 3 years of ICT tenure, if somebody wishes to apply for Tier 2 general. Still he needs to go through the 1 year cooling off period in mainland?

If he switches to Tier 2 Gen Dependent then his ILR clock will be reset or earlier ICT period will be counted towards the ILR period?

[moonlight55]

Irrespective of the duration you stay in UK (utilize the visa duration fully or partially), you will have to undergo 12 month cooling off period once you return back to your home country. This will apply from the date you return back from UK and not from the visa end date , if you return early (provided certain steps are followed).

Once you serve the cooling off period and re-apply for entry clearance as a Tier 2 general, your ILR period will be reset.