Applying for Tier 1 highly Skilled Visa Prior to April 2011

[bradm110]

hi there.

if i apply for the Tier 1 highly Skilled visa prior to the planned changes in April 2011 and the quota is met will it still get through under the old rules?

say for example, if i apply from my home country in february and there is a massive influx of others applying, the quota is met in feb and march while my application is continued to be pulled through to subsequent months. It then gets to april, do they throw all the current applications out and start the new rules or do they keep going until they have dealt with all the applications that were submitted under the old rules maintaining the 600 quota for each month??

long winded sorry... please help

[dandm]

Yes, if you aren't processed by April 2011 you will be assessed under the new rules.

The stated intention of implementing a temporary cap was to thwart a panic rush of people trying to get in under the old rules before the permanent cap came into place. So to allow anyone who applies during this period to keep being assessed under the old rules would be contrary to that intention. In other words once the temporary cap is exhausted, it is exhausted.

I would encourage you to get your application in ASAP, it's just my guess but given that the November cap was essentially full within a week of that month, and now we have news that Tier 1 is closing (which will cause a panic rush) the annual quota will probably be full by December/January even if a lot of those people don't get their visas until March.

[mulderpf]

Just to add to that - you will be processed the new rules which don't really exist.

[adityaisukapalli]

I am on PSW visa and working in UK. I will meet my Earnings thresholds by end of Feb 2011 , which is 35k. As soon as i get my bank statements, i will apply (say 1st week of March). Am i safe ? I am an inside UK applicant swtching PSW to Tier-1(G).

[rohitys]

I am on PSW visa and working in UK. I will meet my Earnings thresholds by end of Feb 2011 , which is 35k. As soon as i get my bank statements, i will apply (say 1st week of March). Am i safe ? I am an inside UK applicant swtching PSW to Tier-1(G).

yes i guess inside the country has no cap and u shud be good...tat's my understanding

[neosumit]

I find the idea of ascertaining the applicant's visa application based on 'new' rules absurd as the applicant would very easliy 'not qualify' under the new rules.

So if the new rules haven't been publised, I as an applicant would like to have an option of withdrawing my application and not getting charged, because I have no idea as of date what the new qualifying criterion would be.

Thus if my application cannot be processed if the 'limit has been reached', then UKBA should give me the option to backout!

[Niroshana]

Has anybody checked with homeoffice ?

[mensacorp]

Below is the Tier 1 General Guidance document which is published by UKBA:

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... idance.pdf

which says:

APPLICATIONS STILL UNDECIDED WHEN THE INTERIM PERIOD OF GRANT ALLOCATION IS OVER
At the end of the interim period, applications that have not been concluded will be considered in accordance with the new rules that replace the interim limits. Consultation is ongoing on the form those new rules will take. Therefore, UKBA cannot guarantee that any application will qualify under the new rules, which could be significantly different than those rules in operation for the interim limits.

I think these bad news are enough for the one's who are planning to apply further after January. But I definitely think that they have to pay the whole fee back since people are only aware of the situation once the new limit is reached with the new month.