Cooling off period for Tier 2 general visa

[gunjam]

Hi
I had been in the UK since 2012, firstly on ICT Tier 2 short term visa, then later on its expiry reentered in 2013 on ICT Tier2 Long Term visa.
In 2017 I switched to dependent visa through my spouse who is on ICT Tier 2 Long term visa valid till April 2018.
My question is if an employer is ready to sponsor a Tier 2 General visa for me, does a cooling off period of 12 months applies to me?
I did not find anything on the UK BA website that specifies about visa history being considered while determining applicability of cooling off period.

Thanks

[CR001]

Yes it applies to you. You must be on dependent visa for a full 12 months before you can apply for Tier 2 general from home country.

[gunjam]

Thanks for the quick response.
One of my acquaintances were able to switch to Tier 2 dependent(they moved from Tier 2 main applicant to Tier 2 dependent in the UK) to Tier 2 general within 6 months.
Was looking for some references from the UKBA website which can confirm about what holds true for such scenarios.

Thanks

[CR001]

Impossible, there is no exception to the 12 month cooling off unless perhaps for a job on the shortage list and at a certain salary level.