Switching from Tier 1 to Dependent

[jonbrager]

Hi guys, could use some advice here.

Both my wife and I have lived/worked in the UK for several years now. My wife's current Tier 1 General expires in Mar-13. At that point she will have been working in the UK for 5 years and thus be eligible for ILR. However, it is highly likely she will not have enough points to qualify. This is because she lost 10 points for age but has not increased her earnings enough to offset that. She initially entered the UK under the HSMP programme in Dec-07. I thought that maybe she was exempted from the points system under the HSMP Judicial Review, but it seems like that only applies to migrants receiving the HSMP before April 2007.

So, it looks like our only option is to switch her to a dependent on my Tier 1, which is a shame since we'd have to wait another 2 years for myself to qualify. It looks like in order to switch her from a Tier 1 to a dependent on my Tier 1 requries her to travel back to the USA and reapply and go through that whole process all over again. Seems silly considering she is already here. So is there anyway to switch to a dependent without having to travel back to the States?

Any info would be super helpful. Thanks in advance.

[geriatrix]

So is there anyway to switch to a dependent without having to travel back to the States?

No.

[geriatrix]

With regards to points for age, are you saying that she is unable to score the same points that she scored 5 years ago because she is now 5 years older and therefore in a different age band?

[jonbrager]

With regards to points for age, are you saying that she is unable to score the same points that she scored 5 years ago because she is now 5 years older and therefore in a different age band?

Apologies, I didn't realize your points for age never change. i.e. you always put the age you were when you initially applied. My only question for that is then does she use her age when she initially got the HSMP or her age when she renewed by switching from HSMP to Tier 1?

[geriatrix]

See Age.