Tier 2 extension - mistake?

[Harry1234]

one of my employees had a WP.

His Visa was valid from 16/10/2006
He entered the UK 27/10/2006

I've issued a COS with an expiry date of 16/10/2011 in order to get the 5 years.

Should I have out 27/10/2011 instead?

Based on this have I just ruined his chances of indefinite leave to remain?

The ILR application is being processed currently. I assume I could cancel the certificate and issue a new one with the new date and make sure I get the correction sent to the ILR office straight away?

Any suggestions?

[arsenal49]

....i think he will be short of few days for his ILR....

but i think HO will give him some buffer time to stay here in UK beyond the end date written on the COS. 28 days seems to be the norm but it varies.

So its bad situation but nothing is ruined yet...

In the mean time...

As an employer... contact UKBA... tell them there is a slight problem....

Make sure you ask applicant (who i presume is currently in UK) to ready the "change of circumstances" application form mentioning all this....

Once you, as an employer, have made a contact with UKBA.. ask them to allow you to issue another COS and assure them that applicant would send new COS etc. via next day delivery post.

Do you know when applicant submitted his application form... Has he already been asked to come down for biometric part of application? Applications are taking 4-6 weeks to be processed since new year so.. there might still be a chance for you to address the issue before his application is decided

keep us updated

regards

[Harry1234]

Thanks for the reply.

He is due to attend for his biometric this Wednesday (3 days time) so depending on what UKBA say tomorrow we may re arrange for a week or twos time.

If they allow upto 28 days is there much point in this as we are only talking 11 days difference?

I've seen on the ILR thread that where people have a few days short it doesn't seem to be an issue provided they apply 28 days before the entry date? All very confusing. Glad I've some time to try and resolve it though.

whats you take on this?

Thanks in advance!

[arsenal49]

umm its late and i might not be thinking straight but...

he is applying for tier 2 and not ilr as you mentioned it in ur original post

ILR, as we know it, might not be there in Oct 2011. rumours are around that it will be replaced by something similar, but different nevertherless, in summer of 2011. just so you know.. i dont know if this changes anything or not...

Basically contact UKBA, ask for advice whether you should change your COS or are they willing to give him visa that would take him past 5 years period.

its immigration law, its bound to be complicated and confusing:)

regards

[Harry1234]

Update!

His Visa was valid from 16/10/2006
He entered the UK 27/10/2006

Spoke to the employer helpline - not interested as its a ILR question, so helpful. Asked about reissuing CoS. I've only got an allowance of one CoS as I only need one. If I cancel the old one I've no new one to reissue. Ask how long increase in allowances would be and was told 'months!' so thats not an option as his application is in progress.

Spoke to the Visa Helpline they quoted me the usual, he can apply 28 days before the 27/10/2011. I said that his previous visa renewals had been based on the 16/10/06 (then renewed to 16/4/10) so that he would have a gap of 11 days. The answer came back shouldn't be a problem and in any case PBS visa's are normally issued to make sure they cover the full 5 years.

Seems as though you can get a different answer dependant on how each question is asked.

[arsenal49]

yes, this whole system is..... kinda sinking ship and thats why PBS system was introduced but that didnt help people who are now getting affected from the transition.

What i can suggest is... ask the applicant to fill out change of circumstances form. ask him to mention that he needs visa until xyz date so that he can make ILR application based on 5 years of stay...

Few days difference should not make much difference , in theory, but hey its immigration law. noone is certain

regards

[Rammi]

Hi as you hace quoted that you had only one COS which have already used....
Just to reassure that i was in a similar position where my employer had only one COS and they used wrong information. but when they applied for an additional certificate of COS they got it within 15 days.

so please dont rule out this option. I would suggest apply for additional COS even if you dont use it, it will be there in your allocations for you to use it later if you require.

[Harry1234]

Thanks for the responses.

I've applied for another CoS, I've also been given an email for that teams and sent them an urgent email stating that an application is in progress and that I believe there is an error on the issued CoS due to conflicting advice from the employer helpine. I've also filled in notes on the CoS to this effect and also that I've tried to get a new CoS but have been advised there is a 3 month backlog. So at least there is a record of us know that a) we've been given conflicting advice and b) we've tired to do something but been stopped by HO backlogs.

Perhaps you experienced guys can help here as I seem to go around in circles on the WP/Visa date questions. I another WP holder with a similar problem:

Initial Entry visa valid 9/1/07
Entry date 29/1/06
Original WP for 18 months
Extended WP for 3.5 years
Extended Visa expires 9/1/12

So no matter what they do she can't get 5 years?

I understand that she is entitled to apply for PR from 28 days before the 29/1/2012. I assume that if she applies before 9/1/12 that this would suffice due to the automatic extension of stay and work rights due to the application being made or am I really missing something?