Tier 2 General Extension (Urgent)

[v2kisad]

Hello All,

I'm on a Tier 2 General Visa which is due to expire in march. I wish to apply for an extension (3yrs) however my company has told me to pursue the application on my own. My company is an overseas one with a branch in UK and they have no HR personnel in UK.

1>How straightforward is the application process, can I apply on my own or do I need to go through a consultant.
2>How can I obtain the new COS considering my HR has no idea on how to get this done.
3>What other documents or help do I need from my Company for the application.


Thank you

[hassanh]

1> Application is straight forward and you apply online. No need to pay consultant to do this for you.

2> You cannot obtain COS yourself from the system. Your company must have the authorised officer and/or level 1 user of UKVI SMS system. Only they can login into the system and issue you the COS (if they have remaining allocations).

3> You need massive help from the company HR now. They will need to act promptly now as your visa is expiring in March. The first thing they need to do is to find how who is the authorising officer in your company. They will need to login to sms system and check to see if they have COS allocations for this year. If they have remaining allocations, they can issue you COS straight away. If they have not got any COS remaining then they will need to request one unrestricted COS from UKVI which will take up to 19 weeks.

Just wanted to know out of curiosity what your company do/will do if there is UKVI company visit.

Thanks,

[v2kisad]

Many thanks for your reply @hassanh.

My company should have remaining COS allocation as I'm the only person on sponsored Visa.

My company had availed the services of an immigration consultant for my initial application though I'm not sure who had actually obtained the COS.(I had got it in an email from the consultant).Can a consultant help in getting the COS if HR provided them the required information.

I'm sorry I didn't understand your question about the UKVI company visit.We have proper offices in UK.Does a UKVI officer do a company visit to validate that I work there.


Thank you.

[hassanh]

Hi,

My company should have remaining COS allocation as I'm the only person on sponsored Visa.

It is not necessary that your company will have remaining COS allocations. COS allocations are meant to be manually renewed through SMS system every year. It seems like that your company SMS system has not been used since you had your last visa approved so they will need to login and check if there is any COS available for you or not?

My company had availed the services of an immigration consultant for my initial application though I'm not sure who had actually obtained the COS.(I had got it in an email from the consultant).Can a consultant help in getting the COS if HR provided them the required information

Your company will need to get in touch with that Immigration Consultant who process their sponsorship application and either will have to ask him to issue COS for you or will need to ask him to transfer SMS system control to someone in your office. (Transferring control does not mean simply passing on login details, a new level 1 user will need to be created). Actually, your HR guys need to sit with that immigration consultant and go through everything and do handover.

Does a UKVI officer do a company visit to validate that I work there.

Yes, they are authorise to do compliance visit anytime and when they visit, they expect to see the key contact person nominated by the company.

To be honest mate, you have left the things for very late. You should have planned this well over in advance. Your company will need to make this top priority and have to be on top of this.

Thanks,

[v2kisad]

Thanks again for your reply.

I'll contact the consultant and inquire about the COS. My company is listed in the "REGISTER OF SPONSORS (Tiers 2 & 5 and Sub Tiers Only)" list, by any chance does this mean that COS allocation was renewed.

[hassanh]

No, it does not mean that COS allocation was renewed. Only the person who has access to SMS system will be able to tell this.

[v2kisad]

@hassanh You were spot on. There is no COS allocation and needs to be applied for. I have got in touch with the consultant and they confirmed it, they will assist with my case.Fingers crossed it will work out.Please let me know if there's anything else that I need to keep in mind/or get done.

Thank you for taking the time to help.

[hassanh]

The good news is at least someone has access to the SMS system. Normal application of in year cos renewal takes up to 18 weeks. It will be wise if you ask your consultant to go for priority application which will cost £200 but cos allocation will be very quick. See link below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... ce-service

I hope things will sort out for you. My little advise for you would once your visa is approved, then please ask your employer to make sure that all UKVI stuff is in order and that they are compliant with UKVI policies. I am sure there sponsor license will be expiring soon as well so worth checking with Condultant when their sponsor license is expiring and remind them about renewing it nearer to that time.

Good luck. Thanks

[v2kisad]

Thanks mate.

The consultant is applying via the priority application. Thanks for bringing up the sponsor license renewal, it hadn't even crossed my mind. I'll be sure to let me company know about this. Would you happen to know how much it costs to renew the license.

Thanks.

[v2kisad]

I found this link , not sure if its the correct one for license cost.
https://www.gov.uk/uk-visa-sponsorship- ... ur-licence

[hassanh]

The link you posted is correct to know the license renewal cost. Did you find out when your company license is expiring?

Thanks,