ILR - I am on the crossroad or a dead end

[jeffreychen83]

Hi all, I was shocked to hear that my SOC code was changed from 2121 to 2129, the minimum salary is changed from £23000 to £29000p.a.

I am an old Work Permit holder who obtain it in Aug 2008. My full story is as follows (key info with underline):

1. My job title Environmental Consultant, my Work Permit granted in Aug 2008 using job category "contaminated land specialist" which is in the shortage occupation list at that time. In 2008, it is just a occupation list, nothing more.

2. In 2010, "contaminated land specialist" seems to be replaced by "Contaminated Land engineer" under code 2121 (still in the shortage occupation list although it has been totally re-structured for the purpose of Tier 2).

3. In April 2011, HO added a salary limitation for applying ILR, which was fine because the minimum salary is £23000 in the code of 2121.

4. In Nov 2011, new shortage occupation list was released, "Contaminated Land Engineer" was removed from code 2121, and moved to code 2129, in which the minimun salary is circa £29000. My salary is way below it, and I believe my company is unable to increase my salary to meet this requirment as it's even higher than my manager.

5. I will be able to apply ILR in July 2013, but apparently it will fail due to the salary limitation.




Therefore, my question is what should I do now to secure my ILR. I just feel so sad and a bit angry because the stupid change in the shortlist entirely altered my plan.

I couldn't find my job title (Environmental Consultant) in the SOC code, but the most matched one seems to only fall into code 2129 right now, so it's not possible to apply ILR using lower salary's code.

I am thinking whether I should change employer which is willing to pay £29000 and apply Tier 2. It's very very very difficult, all salary for this position currently ranged between £20000-25000, even in central London. I have no idea how they get £29000 as a minimum salary. Can I argue with them on this point when applying ILR.

In addition, I heard all Tier 2 applied after April 2011 will not be able to apply ILR. So it seems to be no solution, I have to leave the country when the old work permit due... and the reason is so ridiculous

I hope someone could give me some advice and help me out. Thank you in advance.

Kind regards
Jeffrey

[geriatrix]

ILR: Assuming no change in policy in the iterim, if you are not being paid at the minimum rate specified for the SOC that (closely / exactly) matches your job responsibilities then your ILR application will be refused.
Changing sponsor: continue in this topic.

[jeffreychen83]

ILR: Assuming no change in policy in the iterim, if you are not being paid at the minimum rate specified for the SOC that (closely / exactly) matches your job responsibilities then your ILR application will be refused.
Changing sponsor: continue in this topic.

Thank you. But I recently heard that all Tier 2 granted after April 2011 will lose the eligibility of ILR application. If this is true, does it mean if I switch to Tier 2, I will automatically lose the right to apply ILR?

Because my job title (used to be in shortlist in 2008, but is no longer in it now), can I use the code which is not in the shortlist with lower salary requirement when I apply ILR? Does it matter?

[ceyes]

You may use the nearest soc code which matches your current salary. Try 1212 for environment consultant where the salary requirement is 12.94/hr that is £25233 pa.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

[jeffreychen83]

You may use the nearest soc code which matches your current salary. Try 1212 for environment consultant where the salary requirement is 12.94/hr that is £25233 pa.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

Hi Ceyes,

Thank you very much for your reply and searching the SOC code for me. Did you mean that it is OK to use the SOC code out of shortage occupation list even if I applied my WP under the list ( this title I used when applying WP seems to be removed/renamed - from Contaminated land Specialist to Contamimanted land engineer)?

Actually I also thought of that using 1212 or 3551, but the problem of 1212 is that it is on manager level, but I am not. As for 3551, it seems to be the code for Central Government or Local Authority due to the term "officer".

Who has the final judgement of the nearest SOC code? Home Office case worker or the employer? i.e. what if the employer or me think AAAA is the nearest code, and the HO case worker think BBBB is the best? where can I get an official assessment of the code before I apply ILR?

sorry for so many questions, but they are like storms hitting my brain at the moment.

Many thanks,
Jeffrey

[kumar17]

one way of resolving this is identifying the SOC Code that closely matches your job and getting your employer to submit a Technical Change of employment notification with the correct job title matching the job code.I think the key thing is that the HO CW should be able to punch your code in the computer and see that it matches the minimum rate. The fact that contaminated land is a skills shortage job would not matter at that point.

I work in contaminated land as well, its taken my a while (but i'm almost there) to get my employer to write to the UKBA with an appropriate job title - geoenvironmental engineer (2129) which is in the same code as contaminated land specialist. If the company is helpful, you should expect to receive a UKBA letter saying something along the lines


Mr B. A. Baracus continues to be employed at TD Milk Ltd under the work permit arrangements as an Environmental Consultant.

The alternative would be to change employer but i dont know about the guidance that new Tier 2 applications do not qualify for ILR.

[jeffreychen83]

one way of resolving this is identifying the SOC Code that closely matches your job and getting your employer to submit a Technical Change of employment notification with the correct job title matching the job code.I think the key thing is that the HO CW should be able to punch your code in the computer and see that it matches the minimum rate. The fact that contaminated land is a skills shortage job would not matter at that point.

I work in contaminated land as well, its taken my a while (but i'm almost there) to get my employer to write to the UKBA with an appropriate job title - geoenvironmental engineer (2129) which is in the same code as contaminated land specialist. If the company is helpful, you should expect to receive a UKBA letter saying something along the lines


Mr B. A. Baracus continues to be employed at TD Milk Ltd under the work permit arrangements as an Environmental Consultant.

The alternative would be to change employer but i dont know about the guidance that new Tier 2 applications do not qualify for ILR.

Hi Kumar, thank you for your reply, and hope all the best of your application.
My concern is whether changing title will trigger a new Tier 2 application. I called HO when my employer promoted me as Senior Consultant. HO told me new application is not needed if it is a natural career progression and keeping under the same code.

Are you saying that job description remains the same, and only to change the job title would not trigger new application?

And actually, I am quite happy with my current title "Senior Environmental Consultant", which is amphibolous, so that I may be able to use other code because the code "2129" requests £29000 a year which I do not meet.

Many thanks

[kumar17]

Problem solved. congratulations and I am sure you will be fine. I am still chasing employee to sort out job title so it fits a specific code.

[jeffreychen83]

Problem solved. congratulations and I am sure you will be fine. I am still chasing employee to sort out job title so it fits a specific code.

Thanks Kumar, but the only problem is that 3551 seems to be for public sector jobs (officer).

Fingers crossed for both of us.

[jeffreychen83]

Hi Kumar, I suppose my process would not be smooth. The SOC2010 code has been developed, and HO is not using it just because there is no salary data associated with the new codes. However, by 2013, when my work permit is due, it is very very likely that they will use the new SOC2010 with ASHE 2011 or 2012. I check through the SOC 2010, almost all environmental-related jobs will fall into 2142 (even the job title current under code 3551 will be relocated to 2142), which will be the same level of salary with 2129. (hope I just thought too much)

So that I studied transitional arrangement.
it says as follows

• The new Tier 2 criteria (i.e. the requirement
to be in a graduate level occupation, the new
salary thresholds and the requirement to have
competence in English language to level B1)
and the limit will not apply to those with leave
under Tier 2 or as a work permit holder granted
before 6 April 2011 and are seeking to extend
their stay as a Tier 2 migrant

• These requirements will also not apply to Tier
2 migrants or work permit holders granted
leave before 6 April 2011who are applying for
leave to remain as a Tier 2 migrant in order
to change their employer. Any such change
of employment application will, however, be
subject to the RLMT requirement as at present;

http://ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/siteconte ... iew=Binary

Does that actually mean New Tier 2 criteria (mainly the salary criteria) will not apply if I seek to extend my stay as a Tier 2 migrant. In addition when my curent work permit is due (in 2013). Furthermore, if I am going to change the employer before the my work permit is due, I don't have to meet the minimum salary criteria?

Thank you in advance.

[kumar17]

jeffrey,

It is difficult to guess what they immigration rules will be by the time you apply as they always say "you have to meet the rules at the time of application".

I did not think that if you changed jobs now you will be subject to stricter requirements. I think some of the senior members in the forum may have a more informed view.

[jeffreychen83]

jeffrey,

It is difficult to guess what they immigration rules will be by the time you apply as they always say "you have to meet the rules at the time of application".

I did not think that if you changed jobs now you will be subject to stricter requirements. I think some of the senior members in the forum may have a more informed view.

Thank you again Kumar.

[jay09]

Would it not be possible to argue that the inability of the applicant to meet the required rate was as a result of change in the SOC code by the UKBA...ie moved from SOC 2121 with less salary to 2129 which needs higher pay. Do they have any justification as to why it was moved.

[kumar17]

Jay, I am not too sure you will be able to argue that case....its the HO you are dealing with and also it depends on case officer to case officer. If your job SOC code does not meet the minimum requirement they will surely say NO.

The UKBA use the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) who are the guys who make the recommendations about changes to immigration requirements, etc and the government adopts it. Check this
http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/aboutu ... odies/mac/

their November report ( i think that is when the job title was moved from 2121 to 2129) is detailed in there.

Jeff still consider using the technical change of employment form to sort out your job title so that it matches a specific SOC code you are happy with. It is an effective tool which will sort out your problems.

[jay09]

Kumar,

Yes it was moved during the last review. Howeer i cld not see any real justification as to why a job title like geoenvironmental engineer cannot be classed under civil engineering whilst petroleum engineering is considered under the same SOC code 2021. In my opinion, amongst the two occupations, it is obvious that a geoenvironmental engineer undertakes a civil engineering related work more than a petroleum engineer.

So i still think that this might be a good arguement. Remember, before the MAC review in early 2010, geoenvironmental engineer was classed under a different SOC code under physicists, geologists and meteorologists.

So there has been a lot of movements going on which suggests inconsistency/incompetency in my opinion.

Just FYI in 2009 my appeal for refusal on grounds of low salary was approved and part of my arguement at the time was that my job title was placed under a supposed wrong SOC code (physicists, geologists and meteorologists) when considering my job responsibilities (much related to civil engineering). Even though the case was won based on another point, but that still was considered as an evidence. I can tell you now that most people in my field do not get paid up to £29000 as required by UKBA. The higher band for seniors/principal post is ard that mark but ordinary engineer with 5yrs of experience earns within £23-26k.