FLR IED

[skjaisha]

Hello,

I am new to this post and seeking guidance in obtaining FLR IED. I am currently on a student visa. I graduated in 2003 at undergraduate level in a recognised UK Institution. I carried on studying towards MPhil/Phd in the same instiution and recently I felt that my chances of getting my Phd is low. This is because I am not enjoying with what I am doing and I am not getting satisfactory support from my supervisor. However, the course was partly funded and I have sincerely worked hard and have a letter from the university stating my expected date of completion is end of this year (although I know it is definetly not going to happen!). So, instead of wasting my time on studying more, I started applying for jobs in my related discipline.

I have been succesfully offered a position by an employer, who also helped me in obtaining a workpermit. My employer has sent me a copy of the letter from workpermit UK, stating that my work permit application has been successful. My employer have asked me to apply for FLR IED in person to speed up the process to change my status from student visa to workpermit visa, so I can start working asap. I have made an appoinment with the Croydon home office next week. My concerns are, the fact that I did not complete my phd, will anyway affect my FLR application?
What sort of questions are they going to ask me?
Have I got anything to worry about?

Sorry if my questions sounds silly, I havent done this sort of things before and I have got no one to seek help apart from this forum. Please help.

Thank You.

[Raptor]

hi skjaisha

Although I too am relatively new to the forum, I thought I could say a few things regarding applying for FLR(IED) in person, as I did it recently. I too was a student who changed my status. A problem that could arise with your application is the fact that You need to show a relevant qualification that you have received recently. This is a pre-requisite when changing from a "student" status to a "workpermit" status. You've stated that you successfully graduated in 2003. But your subsequent LTR was for the successful completion of your PhD. I may be an alarmist, and this may not matter to them at all. So I'm am quite unsure as to how this would affect your application. I presume a senior member could, and would, enlighten you.

Apart from the above mentioned, I don't think you would have any other issues. Please ensure that you arrive well before your appointment. If the queues are low, they would allow you in to do the necessary pre-checks and the payment. Be prepared to stay for lengthy period as it took my application about 4 1/2 hours from the initial pre-check to receiving the passport with LTR on it.

I wish you success

Raptor

[skjaisha]

Thanks a lot for spending that time give me advice Raptor. I have been told that as long as I have been on a continuous student visa and hold a UK qualification degree, which I have in 2003(can that be classed as a recent qulification?) I wont have any problem changing from a student visa to a workpermit visa. is this correct? Can a senior member please shed some light on this?

Thank you.