Tier2 ICT Dependent - Moving to T2 General

[bowcreek]

Hello Experts

Appreciate the effort and time you put into help people with their queries here on this forum. Unfortunately I am here to add another one for you. Please could you help?

About me
-----------
-Indian
-In the UK on T2 ICT since Oct 2010, Visa issued on Feb 2010
-Married
-Had to go back to my Home country on 26th Dec 2012 on last project completion but came back again on 2nd Feb 2013 working on a new assignment for same employer on already valid Visa

About my wife
------------------
-Indian
-In the UK since May 2012 and has dependent Visa
-Had to go back with me to our Home country on 26th Dec 2012 with me as stated above but came back again with me on 2nd Feb 2013 on already valid Visa
- Working as Service Desk Analyst in internal IT department supporting local and all global offices of the company, since June 2014 with her current employer
-Salary of £22500 per annum


Situation
-----------
My wife checked with her company HR if she can be sponsored a Tier 2 General Visa rather than continuing as my Dependent and HR responded saying, her job title is not listed in the job classification list, as such and her job title is not eligible for a switch to Tier 2 visa.

Is above actually true you think?

What my limited knowledge and research on the forum tells me is that one needs to be have a job at Occupations skilled to NQF level 6 to be able to get a Tier 2 General Visa by employer.

I searched for a suitable SOC code and apparently 3132 under SOC 2010 matches her Salary and job tasks she has been doing.


Main Questions
----------------
1. Is it possible for her to get Tier 2 General? Or would she have to go to Home country and wait for few months as cool off period or something?
2. Can she respond to HR saying if they can slightly adjust her job title to be able to match Job titles in an appropriate SOC Code which also has the salary requirement of £ 22500 ?
3. What SOC code do you think is best given whole scenario please?

Your advise and comments would be much helpful.

Thanks in advance

[bowcreek]

Hello Guys - please could you have a look at above for me?

[moonlight55]

1. Is it possible for her to get Tier 2 General? Or would she have to go to Home country and wait for few months as cool off period or something?
Yes, she can apply for Tier 2 General. However, she cannot do it from within UK and has to apply from her home country. No cool-off is applicable for her.

2. Can she respond to HR saying if they can slightly adjust her job title to be able to match Job titles in an appropriate SOC Code which also has the salary requirement of £ 22500 ?
The SOC code has to be determined by the employer which identifies the role & responsibilities which an employee will undertake. Job title is not of much importance, Job role description is critical. They cannot assign any role just to fit in the salary requirement. I guess this is between her and the employer.

3. What SOC code do you think is best given whole scenario please?
See response above. It'll depend which code matches her work closely.

[bowcreek]

2. Can she respond to HR saying if they can slightly adjust her job title to be able to match Job titles in an appropriate SOC Code which also has the salary requirement of £ 22500 ?
The SOC code has to be determined by the employer which identifies the role & responsibilities which an employee will undertake. Job title is not of much importance, Job role description is critical. They cannot assign any role just to fit in the salary requirement. I guess this is between her and the employer.

thanks moonlight55.

Glad that your comment is in agreement with what I think and found on the forum and elsewhere. So in nutshell job tasks in a chosen SOC code are of utmost importance and should define what one does on the job. Job title in reality can differ. But what the HR understands in her company seems a bit different ! Looks like HR hasn't took advice from legal/immigration dept internally.

My wife passed on SOC code list to the HR for reviewing code 3132 and mentioned she firmly believes that the Example Job tasks mentioned in code 3132 outline all of the tasks and responsibilities which she performs on daily basis but HR responded saying

the document further explains ‘’Only the following job titles in this classification are skilled to NQF level 3 (all others are lower skilled and therefore ineligible)’’:

• Senior PC support analyst
• Senior PC support
• Technical pre- or post-sales support
• Senior database administrator or analyst
• Database administrator or analyst
• Computer engineers, installation and maintenance


As her job title is not listed above, that made HR conclude that she is not eligible to switch to a Tier 2 visa. They also mentioned that If her circumstance change in the near future, they can have another review

1. How valid is that please? Does my wife need to explain that to them? What about following titles which are given under that SOC code?

 Customer support analyst
 Help desk operator
 IT support technician
 Systems support officer

2. How do I know what NQF level her current job is ?

Best regards

[moonlight55]

Since this section specifically mentions the job title which are valid, I could understand where the employer is coming from. And I guess the case-worker may go with the same thought process.

Getting her job title changed or more aligned to what she does seem to be the safer approach. Once it happens, then u can start thinking abt switching to tier 2.

[bowcreek]

Since this section specifically mentions the job title which are valid, I could understand where the employer is coming from. And I guess the case-worker may go with the same thought process.

Getting her job title changed or more aligned to what she does seem to be the safer approach. Once it happens, then u can start thinking abt switching to tier 2.

My wife has responded back to HR in accordance to info given on page 33 of following link for now. It clearly backs up what you mentioned in your earlier post.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... _11_14.pdf

Will put next update when HR responds back, which would most probably be tomorrow.


Appreciate your time and help.

[bowcreek]

Quick question about - Only the following job titles in this classification are skilled to NQF level 3 (all others are lower
skilled and therefore ineligible): under SOC code 3132.

What does it mean exactly when a set of titles are provided under related Job titles field as below.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
It states following

Related job titles:
 Customer support analyst
 Help desk operator
 IT support technician
 Systems support officer

Only the following job titles in this classification are skilled to NQF level 3 (all others are lower
skilled and therefore ineligible):

 Senior PC support analyst
 Senior PC support
 Technical pre- or post-sales support
 Senior database administrator or analyst
 Database administrator or analyst
 Computer engineers, installation and maintenance

[manci]

SOC code 3132 is for NQF level 3 jobs, your wife needs to have an NQF level 6 job to be eligible for a T2G visa.

[bowcreek]

SOC code 3132 is for NQF level 3 jobs, your wife needs to have an NQF level 6 job to be eligible for a T2G visa.

Why is it so manci when its NQF level 3 job ? Apologies I didn't understand.

[manci]

SOC code 3132 is for NQF level 3 jobs, your wife needs to have an NQF level 6 job to be eligible for a T2G visa.

Why is it so manci when its NQF level 3 job ? Apologies I didn't understand.
the min. skill level for T2G entry clearance is NQF6 (unless the job is a shortage occupation). See para 69 in the T2 policy guidance:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... e_v0_6.pdf

[bowcreek]

SOC code 3132 is for NQF level 3 jobs, your wife needs to have an NQF level 6 job to be eligible for a T2G visa.

Why is it so manci when its NQF level 3 job ? Apologies I didn't understand.
the min. skill level for T2G entry clearance is NQF6 (unless the job is a shortage occupation). See para 69 in the T2 policy guidance:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... e_v0_6.pdf

OK. I see. I wonder why are other jobs at lower NQF levels are there in the SOC code document then?

[moonlight55]

Thats required for T2 extension applications. Example, someone who came to UK when the minimum criteria was NQF level 3 job, can only extend if his new job code is atleast NQF level 3 or above. He/She is not required to be in NQF level 6 job for extending. That's only for entry clearance applications.

[bowcreek]

Thats required for T2 extension applications. Example, someone who came to UK when the minimum criteria was NQF level 3 job, can only extend if his new job code is atleast NQF level 3 or above. He/She is not required to be in NQF level 6 job for extending. That's only for entry clearance applications.

So as I understand, that really restricts a lot of professionals to apply for Tier 2 Gen anymore.

In practice, can employers "vaguely" match a potential employee's job tasks with one of the level 6 SOC codes anyhow?

[moonlight55]

I guess it's a known fact that getting a UK visa is difficult compared to few years back.

Ideally, they should not. Nowadays, even employers are being scrutinized very closely by home office. Regular visits, document verification and so on. Employers are becoming more restrictive to ensure they are not on the wrong side of the immigration department, which makes sense. Genuine employers don't want to dilute their brand image by an incorrect hiring.

[jhabak]

Hi there

I am in UK currently on Tier 2 ICT and will be leaving UK on 22 Feb to apply under Tier 2 (already got my Restricted COS allocation).
My employer wanted to ensure I get a visa appointment before going to India.
However without giving details of the below section, I cannot submit my application and get an appointment.

Please Enter Details of up to your 5 most recent visits (which will include my 22feb exit from UK)

Can you guide me what I can do in such a scenario please?