ILR eligibility on Switching Tier-2 employer

[aadish.nair]

Hello,

I have been over a year on a Tier-2 General with my employer. If I change my employer now and get a new Tier 2 general, will this reset my 5 year clock to be eligible for ILR? In short do I have to be with the same employer for 5 years on a Tier-2 to apply for an ILR at 5 yrs. Thanks in advance.

Cheers

[moonlight55]

No. You can switch employers with Tier 2 General visa from within UK without resetting your ILR clock. However, if you leave UK and then try to return on Tier 2 General again, then your ILR clock with reset.

[awezome]

Thanks moonlight55, that helped me too.

[aadish.nair]

Thanks for the information.

Cheers

[svasu]

I have a question related to the same topic..

I have been on Tier 2 G since Aug 2011 and my visa was due to expire in Aug 2014. But I was made redundant in the last week of June 2014. In the first week of July 2014 I applied for a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa and by virtue of which my previous grant of leave ie Tier 2 was extended until the new application is completely processed. I have now been offered a job under Tier 2 G and its a good offer and hence planning to go for it. Considering that I countinue on Tier 2 till say Aug 2016 (by withdrawing tier 1 application) .. will I then be eligible to apply for ILR in Aug 2016? will my lack of employment from July 2014 till say Dec 2014 be an issue?

[kevb2014]

@svasu if you haven't received the decision letter from UKVI regarding the Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa, you can vary the application by applying for T2G and requesting UKVI to consider the second application. Withdrawing the Tier 1 Entrepreneur application will cause your 3c leave to lapse, therefore you'll start overstaying. And if your T2G is then approved, you'll be eligible to apply for ILR (5 yrs) on or after Aug 2016.

[svasu]

thanks kevb2014... that is such a sigh of relief..
I have one more question...
I was planning to apply through a premium visa service.. I know it costs £400 more than the postal visa service.. but was wondering if there was a different application form that needs to be completed (like there is a different application form for a priority service).. Couldnt find the premium option to tick in the in-country TIer 2 application form..

[kevb2014]

Not a problem svasu.

I'm not sure if you'll be eligible to use the premium service for your varied application as they may consider it as complex even though it's not really the case. I suggest that you give HO a call and inquire about your options - don't be nervous

To use the premium service, you'll need to register online to book the appointment, so you might as well make the application online itself. And if you're not able to use the premium service, then you can post the supporting documents including a covering letter to inform them of your intention to vary the existing T1 application.

I find the online application the best option, it's faster and will flag up any incomplete section(s), therefore minimising the risk of making a silly mistake that could turn out to be costly to rectify.