Hi RMP,
Thanks for the info. U said your visa is expiring in dec 2009 and you have applied now. my visa is expiring march 2010 and I have emailed twice to bia and their replied were as follows:
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(1) We recommend that applicants submit an application for an extension around 5 weeks before their visa expires, however, this is not mandatory – applications can be submitted at any time before the current leave expires.
(2)Thank you for your enquiry.
You should apply for visa extension 28 days before expiry. If you would like to submit your application now then please include
a covering letter for the case worker giving reason why you would like to apply earlier.
Any final decision will be at the discretion of the case worker.
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I am confused here. did u enquire similar before applying early? did u provide any reson in the covering letter if so then if poss. could you please tell us.
Thanks
RMP wrote:Dear All,
Trust me, it is nothing to worry for the current HSMP holders now. I just called the immigration office and they repeated the same sentence word to word -
"Applicants who currently hold leave to remain under the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme, Writers, Artists, Composers or Self Employed Lawyers categories, and are applying to extend their leave to remain in the UK in Tier 1 (General) will not be affected by the changes announced by the Home Secretary"
Two members have quoted the same sentence in their posts. Now the person I spoke to also repeated the same. hence the news cannot be untrue. He also mentioned that they have just got this information.
However I did ask him, that the statement does not talk of the people currently holding tier 1, it does talk of people holding hsmp. At this he said, he is not sure and he re read the same statement.
So guys who are currently holding the hsmp visa, dont panic. Do not apply for early extension as this is not required.
Untill now I was a silient reader of this thread and just created an account because I have been going through the similar panic as my husband currently holds hsmp and does not have a masters. We did read all the posts on this forum but still we applied for his early extension even though the visa was expiring in dec 2009. It is too late for us now to stop the post and stop the payment as we sent postal orders. The only way for us is to withdraw the application now. We will have to loose the fees anyway.
But after having spoken to an immigration office and having read the same statements received by other members in the group, I have a strong feeling that there is no need to worry for hsmp holders. the news is not on their website but guys we should trust that some of our fellow group members have got these emails from official sources. Also I have spoken to them. The tier 1 holders should still call to confirm.
Hence my advice is that if you still do not trust , please do speak to the immigration officers yourself before making a further move. It is no point wasting 750 pounds for an application and then again getting into a hastle of further extension three yrs after.
I would be happy to answer any of your PMs. I am just putting in this post so that others who are planning to apply for early extensions can avoid getting into a situation like ours.
Also please just dont read the threads in the forum, make your enquiries and help others with the information you receive.