7 months to ILR, tier 2 sponsor company goes bust!

[zezezee]

Guys,

My cousin's situation is a worrying one. He has been on a tier 2 visa for many years and he (including his wife and son) are elligible for ILR in Sept 2014. Last week, unexpectedly, his comany goes into administration (2 days notice to all staff being made redundant) and everyone is sent home!

He has an option to remain in the country for up to 2 months before he find a new job with a company that will sponsor him. But in the current job atmosphere, we are just not overly confident, especially with how long it takes to either secure the certificate of sponsor or license altogether. So I am just reaching out here to sample opinions and experiences of others please.

Does my counsin have any other viable options? Can he switch to another category that can buy him some time to get his ILR in 7 months time?

Thanks!!

[Lucapooka]

ILR under T2 would, in any case, require an undertaking from his current sponsor that his services were still needed. If he can't find a new sponsor he can leave and try to apply again after the 12 month cooling off period.

[zezezee]

Thanks. Would re-applying after 12 months mean starting from scratch - 5 or 10 years (not sure what it is these days) to qualify for ILR again?

[Lucapooka]

Yes, under the current rules the five year period that leads to ILR would have to begin again.

[bonrajee]

Find a sponsor, there are quite many people who are ready to sponsor but this may include some cost as you have just 7 months for ILR and the sponsor for sure knows you'll not be bound to him once you get ILR. But its worth the money, instead of starting all over again.

If I'm you, ill not look at the cost instead go for it and you never know how UKBA keep changing rules and tomorrow they come and say that its stopping immigrants from settling down. Do not take a chance.

You can reach out to me if you have any questions.

[onlooker]

Perhaps it's a good idea to not disclose the time to ILR to a potential new sponsor.