Curtailment of leave-tier-2 ICT -

[smoothraj]

Sudhdmehta,

I am currently working on at Tier-2 ICT (entered UK on this work permit in Jan 2009 and then same sponsor extended it in March 2010 for 2 years). If my leave to remain expires 10 May 2012, would I be correct in assuming if I lose my current job after 11 November 2011, then essentially as I would have less than 6 months leave to remain on my work permit, I have up to 10 May 2012 to look for another sponsor/apply for leave to remain under another valid category?

I stumbled upon the latest tier-2 guidance document (effective date 1st october 2011) regarding curtailment of leave.. the clause is as below --

"Curtailing leave" Page 43 of 53
If you are no longer working for a licensed sponsor, we may curtail your leave. This may
222. happen if:
your employment ends before your period of leave;
or• your sponsor does not renew its licence;
or• your sponsor’s licence is revoked;
or• your sponsor is taken over by another organisation and/or there is a transfer of • employment, and your new employer does not apply to become a licensed sponsor within 28 calendar days of taking over the business.

We may curtail your leave as follows:

223. 60 days. You may wish to make a further application for leave in another category
• or with another sponsor;
or with immediate effect, if the sponsor’s licence was withdrawn and we consider that • you were complicit in the actions that resulted in the licence being withdrawn.

If you have 6 months leave or less remaining, we will not curtail your leave.

[arsenal49]

if I lose my current job after 11 November 2011, then essentially as I would have less than 6 months leave to remain on my work permit, I have up to 10 May 2012 to look for another sponsor/apply for leave to remain under another valid category?

true. it wont be curtailed

[smoothraj]

Many thanks!

I have two quick follow up questions ..

a) assuming my last working day with the current sponsor is in last week of November, can I travel out of country in December and re-enter UK in Jan and then continue to live in UK up to May?

b) And would this gap (without sponsor) of say Dec-May without a sponsor, still be counted towards the ILR requirement of 5 years?

[smoothraj]

if I lose my current job after 11 November 2011, then essentially as I would have less than 6 months leave to remain on my work permit, I have up to 10 May 2012 to look for another sponsor/apply for leave to remain under another valid category?

true. it wont be curtailed

thanks mate!

[arsenal49]

Many thanks!

I have two quick follow up questions ..

a) assuming my last working day with the current sponsor is in last week of November, can I travel out of country in December and re-enter UK in Jan and then continue to live in UK up to May?

im pretty sure there is a clause which can allow immig. officer to refuse entry unless you convince him otherwise. strictly speaking... you should not travel outside uk unless you got a job or interviews etc. lined up january onwards

b) And would this gap (without sponsor) of say Dec-May without a sponsor, still be counted towards the ILR requirement of 5 years?

you still have VALID leave which means it will count towards ilr

[Lucapooka]

b) And would this gap (without sponsor) of say Dec-May without a sponsor, still be counted towards the ILR requirement of 5 years?

You can't get ILR unless you make five unbroken years in qualifying work-related categories. Currently, with only 2 years of residence under your belt, you will need to switch into another category if you hope to eligible for ILR later. Note that not all work categories can be aggregated with previous leave under T2 ICT. So to answer your question, yes, you can remain in the UK for up to six months if you lose your job in November but any period of more than three months without a work sponsor will break your leave. Similarly if you apply for entry clearance with another sponsor you will break your leave.

[smoothraj]

Many thanks!

I have two quick follow up questions ..

a) assuming my last working day with the current sponsor is in last week of November, can I travel out of country in December and re-enter UK in Jan and then continue to live in UK up to May?

im pretty sure there is a clause which can allow immig. officer to refuse entry unless you convince him otherwise. strictly speaking... you should not travel outside uk unless you got a job or interviews etc. lined up january onwards


Thanks aresenal49! Unfortunately the travel in December is unavoidable

This would mean that immigration officer can refuse entry even when I have a Valid leave to remain!? Are you able to perhaps point me to some guidance document which may have this clause?

Do you not feel that the mere fact that I have all my worldly belongings in UK since I have lived here for 3 years - and more importantly have a valid leave to remain until May 2012 not suffice? Could I not point out to the UKBA 2011 guidelines regarding curtailment of leave?





b) And would this gap (without sponsor) of say Dec-May without a sponsor, still be counted towards the ILR requirement of 5 years?

you still have VALID leave which means it will count towards ilr

Thanks!

[smoothraj]

b) And would this gap (without sponsor) of say Dec-May without a sponsor, still be counted towards the ILR requirement of 5 years?

You can't get ILR unless you make five unbroken years in qualifying work-related categories. Currently, with only 2 years of residence under your belt, you will need to switch into another category if you hope to eligible for ILR later. Note that not all work categories can be aggregated with previous leave under T2 ICT. So to answer your question, yes, you can remain in the UK for up to six months if you lose your job in November but any period of more than three months without a work sponsor will break your leave. Similarly if you apply for entry clearance with another sponsor you will break your leave.

Thanks Lukapooka - i am with you on the first part. i.e. I need to make an application to switch (in-country) to another category(tier-2 general in my case) within 3 months of the last working day (so assuming my end date is 30th Nov) so before 29th Feb 2012 if I want my stay to date (jan 2009-Feb 2012) to be aggregated towards the reqd 5 year ILR bucket. If I find a new sponsor in say in March or April 2012, then my count towards ILR bucket will be reset to ZERO.

I am not quite sure what you mean by "if you apply for entry clearance with another sponsor you will break your leave"

Do you mean if I was to return back to my home country after November and then a new sponsor applies for entry clearance (out of country application) sometime next year (say April orfor that matter any time 2012) then my ILR count will be reset to ZERO.

Thanks!

[arsenal49]

im pretty sure there is a clause which can allow immig. officer to refuse entry unless you convince him otherwise. strictly speaking... you should not travel outside uk unless you got a job or interviews etc. lined up january onwards

Thanks aresenal49! Unfortunately the travel in December is unavoidable

This would mean that immigration officer can refuse entry even when I have a Valid leave to remain!? Are you able to perhaps point me to some guidance document which may have this clause?

oooh i read the exact para in one of the posts a while ago. it was mentioned by one of the seniors on this forum. sorry i cant be of much help there

Do you not feel that the mere fact that I have all my worldly belongings in UK since I have lived here for 3 years - and more importantly have a valid leave to remain until May 2012 not suffice? Could I not point out to the UKBA 2011 guidelines regarding curtailment of leave?

What immigration officer will be thinking is...
this person (i.e. you!) wants to enter uk on TIER 2 visa but this guy doesn't have any employer. i.e. (s)he is unemployed. So do i have enough reason to believe that this guy is gonna abuse the system i.e. use public funds, go underground, work illegally etc. etc.
The only way you can convince the officer otherwise is by showing him your spotless past immig. history and the fact you are actively looking for jobs etc. so a list of companies where you applied, including rejections , interviews etc etc. all will come handy at this stage.

By the way, thats just my common sense speaking. If i were in your situation, thats what i would be preparing myself for.

[smoothraj]

im pretty sure there is a clause which can allow immig. officer to refuse entry unless you convince him otherwise. strictly speaking... you should not travel outside uk unless you got a job or interviews etc. lined up january onwards

Thanks aresenal49! Unfortunately the travel in December is unavoidable

This would mean that immigration officer can refuse entry even when I have a Valid leave to remain!? Are you able to perhaps point me to some guidance document which may have this clause?

oooh i read the exact para in one of the posts a while ago. it was mentioned by one of the seniors on this forum. sorry i cant be of much help there

If its not too much trouble can you please point me to that post - i could perhaps ask that senior forum member... cheers.

Do you not feel that the mere fact that I have all my worldly belongings in UK since I have lived here for 3 years - and more importantly have a valid leave to remain until May 2012 not suffice? Could I not point out to the UKBA 2011 guidelines regarding curtailment of leave?

What immigration officer will be thinking is...
this person (i.e. you!) wants to enter uk on TIER 2 visa but this guy doesn't have any employer. i.e. (s)he is unemployed. So do i have enough reason to believe that this guy is gonna abuse the system i.e. use public funds, go underground, work illegally etc. etc.
The only way you can convince the officer otherwise is by showing him your spotless past immig. history and the fact you are actively looking for jobs etc. so a list of companies where you applied, including rejections , interviews etc etc. all will come handy at this stage.

By the way, thats just my common sense speaking. If i were in your situation, thats what i would be preparing myself for.


Gotcha - most helpful man- thanks!!

[geriatrix]

321A(1).

[smoothraj]

321A(1).

Many thanks for the link Sushdmehta.

As you are the moderator and expert, may I ask if you agree with the above responses by other members to my query?

Cheers!

[The Station Agent]

For what it's worth I agree that, if an IO asked you on re-entry after your trip in December, and if you had lost the job your current stay depends on, and you told him you no longer had a job, he would be reluctant or unwilling to admit you even though you have what looks like valid status. This is because the basis of the status no longer exists.

It seems to be mentioned in paragraph 321 (ii) - change of circumstances since your stay was granted.

[smoothraj]

For what it's worth I agree that, if an IO asked you on re-entry after your trip in December, and if you had lost the job your current stay depends on, and you told him you no longer had a job, he would be reluctant or unwilling to admit you even though you have what looks like valid status. This is because the basis of the status no longer exists.

It seems to be mentioned in paragraph 321 (ii) - change of circumstances since your stay was granted.

Thanks - so essentially in my case if I am unemployed in December, I will have valid 'leave to remain' up to May but not valid 'leave to re-enter'. Unless of course I have another offer letter /job lined up.

Why o why didnt I switch to tier1 when I easily could have in March this year! how frustrating!

[asad_coolsubha]

This is my situation really.
Work permit 17/03/2008 - to 17/03/2012
Lost job 09/Dec/2011 - As less than 6 months remaining on visa, didn't leave country and looked for jobs
Tier 2 Visa granted 08/03/2012 - 08/03/2015

Does above made me eligible for ILR in mid march 2013? Or does this gap in employment restart my conter.

I asked this question on this forum and
http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewto ... 199#793199
this reply stumped me to be honest.

Any suggestion? Thanks