WHM visa switch to Work Permit - advice needed please

[f22]

Hi,
I'm sure this is a very common case and I'm hoping you can help me.
I'm currently in UK on a WHM visa, which expires May 2007. It comes with the 12 mth work restriction. I have now started working full-time since the end of January 2006. Previous to that, I worked a few days here and there as a temp through recruitment agencies.
My current employer is willing to apply for a work permit for me before my 12 mths are up. My questions are:
a) do I have to return to Australia to re-apply for a visa to come back to the UK?
b) do I have to wait for my current WHM visa to expire before I can apply for a WP visa?
c) how long does that process normally take?
The reason I ask is that I'm returning to Australia on a holiday for a few weeks in August this year, and ideally, would like to organise matters while I'm there, should there be any need for me to make applications outside of UK.
Any advice would be appreciated. I've been searching in vain on various websites and have not found any answers.
Thanks in advance.

[supertiger]

Hi am not sure about WHM. but do you have a UK degree? if not you may need to go back to Australia, they changed rule, it used to be ok to apply from here but I have a colleague from NZ had to go back... The HR of yr company or the consultant who is doing yr case should be able to tell clearly.

[f22]

No, I only have an Australian degree. My employer is trying to find out as well, but seem to be coming up against dead ends...
Thanks for answering. Anyone else with a similar experience or advice?

[supertiger]

I went downstairs to see my NZ colleague, she actually had the same situation, transferred from WHM to WP. She told the whole process is:
1. leave the country;
2. Your comany submit application in UK
3. WP approved here, yr company send you all documents
4. take the paper go to your local British consulate or something equivalent for visa
5. come back

She did it end of last year so that;s her experience. You need to provide all necessary documents before you go to save time... hope it helps.

[TintinHerge]

I went downstairs to see my NZ colleague, she actually had the same situation, transferred from WHM to WP. She told the whole process is:
1. leave the country;
2. Your comany submit application in UK
3. WP approved here, yr company send you all documents
4. take the paper go to your local British consulate or something equivalent for visa
5. come back

She did it end of last year so that;s her experience. You need to provide all necessary documents before you go to save time... hope it helps.

A friend was in a similar situation(came to UK on a WHM visa, got a job and then wanted his company to apply for a WP for 5 years) and he had to do something very similar to what supertiger has suggested , except the order in which he did it.

2. Your comany submit application in UK
3. WP approved here, yr company send you all documents
1. leave the country;
4. take the paper go to your local British consulate or something equivalent for visa
5. come back

He did NOT have a UK degree and he is an Indian citizen.

Everything went on smoothly and he was out and back in the country in 3 weeks with a 5 year WP.

Hope this helps.

[supertiger]

The order l listed was exactly my colleague told and she emphasizes that you definitely need to leave the country first before the submission... however, do check with authorities as policies can change overnight these days... good luck!

[f22]

Thanks for all your responses so far... it has been really helpful.
Did your friend have to wait for his/her WHM visa to expire before they can apply for a WP visa? The reason I ask is, my visa has a 12 mth work restriction, and that 12 mths is coming up at the end of this year, even though my visa expires May next year. Ideally I'd like to sort out the WP visa before my 12 mths are up so I can continue working full-time uninterrupted.
Any thoughts?

[TintinHerge]

No, his WHM visa had still 3-4 months to go when his company applied for the WP. SO I guess, you can apply as soon as you want.

[f22]

Great, thanks for that! Much appreciated

[Ness]

f22, not sure what kind of work you do, but please note it can be quite hard to get the WP to begin with. They're easy for certain jobs with industry shortfalls, but for other jobs (e.g. a secretary) then the company has to prove that nobody else in the EU can do your job.
Thus they need to show proof they have advertised your job (e.g. a copy of the national newspaper it was advertised in) plus show the resumes of the applicants and indicate why each applicant is not satisfactory.

In some specialised jobs this will be easy to prove (you have done the job for a few years and it is industry specific).

But you will have only been working for them for 6 months at this time, so this might not be the case.

Not trying to scare you at all, just giving you food for thought before you make any major changes in your life.

[v3]

nice to see all replies

I too am on working holiday maker visa , currently in UK.
I am applying for HSMP this october 20.

I have few questions for you,

> Being on WHM ,did home office or hsmp team ask y u worked full time ? since i presume to get pay more then 27k u sud have done full time ?

> wht additional documents you submitted for HSMP application apart from normal required for ppl pn WP or applying from out country ?

> did u apply through consultants ? i am planning to apply thru hsmpservices.... i have scored 80 points ( 5 age , 15 bachelor, 25 work, 35 salary) ... i have all documents right ....i am cofnident to apply myself but some thing in me is making me apply thru consultant as i will have first level of review from them ...tht wud make me more confident.


I would be grateful if you could answer me on this.

Cheers,
v3