Long Term Stay options in the UK from Tier 2 ICT Visa

[Steverider]

Hi,

I am currently on a tier 2 ICT visa ( issued to me from India in Dec 2013 and I arrived in the UK in Jan'14 ). I have a Tier 2 ICT visa of 3 yrs which can be further extended for 2 more years. I am currently working full time with annual salary of £ 80 K pa. As my child has started settling in here , I and my wife would like to consider options that can help us to settle down here for ever however as I understand ICT Tier 2 visa does not allow one to stay in the UK for over 5yrs and also it does not help towards ILR. I would like to explore various options including switching of VISA for self OR wife whichever helps us to get ourselves first in the category which helps us to get the right visa type which is eligible for ILR after 5 yrs. I have spoken to multiple consultants and below are the various options that have been given to me as advise and I really need some professional advise on these before i formally proceed.

1. Complete 5 yrs here and go back to India for min 12 months and reapply to the same employer with Tier 2 general for the same position - Is this possible to apply for the same role after 12 month cool off period ? During the cool off period , can i come to the UK on a business VISA which has a validitiy of 6 months ? Will it effect my tier 2 general request that I would apply after my 12 month cool off period ?
2. Ask the current employer to raise the salary to over £ 153 K pa and take a tier 2 general visa. My current employer is a A rated sponser - Can they give me a tier 2 general visa for the same role that i am currently performing OR do they need to create a new role for me to switch me from ICT ? If yes , can I switch in the UK ? Also can they bring me down to a lower salary say after 6 months as I am not sure if they can put me on this salary for 5 yrs. They are willing to change my visa type to address my personal priorities and if my salary needs to be increased for me to get a Tier 2 general visa without the 12 month cool off period, they are happy to do so . What I need to know is If they do decide go for it but say change my salary to a lower level say after 6 months - firstly is this acceptable and legal by VISA authorities? If yes , will the lowering in salary require a new COS for me and my employer to create a new position for me in the company ? Also if this happens will I be required to change my tier 2 general visa which was issued to be with the £ 153 K salary ? Can this be done by my employer for the same role ?
3. After completing 5 yrs , switch to a student visa and complete 1 yr masters course and ask your current employer to recruit you after 12 months of your certification by offering a tier 2 general visa - Can I switch from my tier 2 ICT to Student Visa ? If Yes, can this be done in the UK ? will my wife and child get the dependent visa as well to stay with me while i study after my current ICT visa expires ? Also can we all switch in the UK ? My current employer will be able to hold the role for me if I decide to take a break from work for 1 yr to study and offer me a job after completion of my certificate post 12 months. This will help my employer as they will not be required to do RLMT if they are to recruit a non EU national like myself and the will be able to offer me one of the various jobs that they have for management roles via the tier 2 general route which should suffice my requirements as well as make things easire for my employer . This will also give me a tier 2 general visa for 5 yrs giving me the option for apply for ILR after 5 yrs.

Please advise as I would like to plan for next steps accordingly. Thanks much for your help.

[onlooker]

You may want to start looking for a new sponsor offering you a proper Tier 2 General. For someone with your salary they shouldn't be too hard to find. You may have to take a pay cut, but you will make up for it once your ILR is secured. Speaking to your current employer about this issue is not a good idea, IMO. You want to look as loyal to them as possible while you depend on them for your visa.

The route involving Tier 4 is unnecessarily risky and comlicated, so doesn't make sense to me. I would also recommend avoiding Tier 2 umbrella companies as things are getting tougher for them and they may not live for another 5 years.

[Steverider]

Thanks for your response but the issue with my current visa is 'switching'. To move on a Tier 2 General Visa from ICT I can not switch in country and therefore need to apply from my home country after serving cool off period of min 12 months and no employer will offer a future dated appointment letter and commitment to hold the position for 1 yr and have me join them on a tier 2 general visa. Visa formalities take min 1-2 months so we are talking about min 14 - 15 months before I can join another employer in the UK and i dont think I can get an offer for another position allowing me to join them after 15 months and hence my consideration to look at student visa as I have been given the understanding that after completing masters say 1 yr program , if I get a tier 2 general sponsership , then that at least gives my the option to get my visa thing sorted which currently can only happen after serving 12 month cool off period which I dont think will address my current situation. Any other options that I can consider please ? Thanks.

[Frontier Mole]

What are chances of your wife getting tier 2 employment?
Or can she do a degree course / masters in the uk at a uni?

both these options give you a route to remain without being dependent on ict

[iworker]

If i were u, i would do the following. (this is just my first gut feeling, i may be wrong in something)

Continue with ICT with current employer for, say, couple of years.. build good relationship with them.
Put wife on a university course and u become her dependent (in country switch). Once being her dependent, u will be on Tier 4 dependent, with full rights to work. ( in country switch).
Then being on Tier 4 dependent, it will allow u to switch within country to tier 2, make that switch.
Continue on tier 2 for 5 years and maybe, only maybe if the rules then allow, u can apply for ILR.

[Steverider]

Thanks for your response. My wife has been trying for tier 2 general visa but as I understand for us to be eligible for ILR after 5 yrs , she needs to continue working for 5 yrs with me as her dependent and due to child care reasons , she may not be able to work for full 5 yrs if she gets tier 2 general visa . Also its not too easy to get a tier 2 general visa due to RLMT constraints etc for non EU nationals . However the student visa option seems to be a good option. If she can get admission for a full time masters certification course, then I would like to understand the following:

1. Are there any issues with having a dependent visa for Tier 4 student ? Can it be declined ?
2. Can I continue independently on Tier 2 ICT while she continues as Tier 4 student visa ? What about kid's visa ?
2. If i change to Tier 4 dependent visa , Will I be able to continue with my current employer in the same role as currently on ICT ?
3. Will I be able to switch to a tier 2 general without any restrictions from Tier 4 dependent visa ? Do i need to change the employer or can i get the same from my current employer
4. Will i be able to switch to a tier 2 general visa from my current employer for the same role or do i need to look for another role in the UK ? If yes, are there any possible complexities or risks involved that I need to bear in mind.

Thanks much.

[iworker]

Your numbering is wrong as two no 2 points.

1. No issues, if your points are complete, then no problem. Best if she converts first. Then once she has a visa, then u can apply for her dependent. (She needs to be a univeristy student to be able to have a dependent, and not a college student).
2. u may continue on your own visa while she has her own student. Kids can be dependent on anyone.
3. Yes u can continue to work with same employer with same role
4. You will need a restricted COS and RLMT needs to be done. U may apply within uk. This is why i suggested in my earlier post that u should prefer to build relationaship with curent employer first before taking this ride so he agrees with all the restricted cos/rlmt etc.
4. I think once u are on tier 4 dependent, u will be ok to switch to tier 2 general for any role. (someone else may have something to shed more light on something i may be missing).

[Steverider]

Thanks for your response.

I have starting looking at various options that my wife can consider for her Masters course. So on the assumption that my wife gets through to a course ,gets a Tier 4 Student VISA, I move to Tier 4 dependent and continue working :

1.Is there a time period that I need to spend on my tier 2 dependent visa before I request my employer to move me to Tier 2 general ?
2. Will my wife be required to get a job with tier 2 general visa after she completes her course for me to qualify for a tier 2 general as well ?
3. If i get tier 2 general , will that be primary tier 2 general or dependent ?
3.If its dependent tier 2 general , then how do i become primary tier 2 general ?

As i understand 5 yr rule for ILR applies to the primary Tier 2 general applicant ( and dependents get it by default from the date tier 2 general starts for the primary ) and it is me who will continue to work so I need to understand how I would move to a primary Tier 2 general.

My wife is keen for the masters course and that will help us both w.r.t our leave to stay status however she may not be able to continue working or studying for an extended period after her course due to family reasons so I need to understand this better before we decide to formally move forward with these options.

Thanks much.

[iworker]

Your last post does not make much sense. I would suggest read my posts again. You have taken it to a completely wrong direction.

I have suggested all along that your wife becomes tier 4 main aplicant by starting to study, and hence u will become a tier 4 dependent. I dont know how you have taken your wife on a tier 2 visa and yourself on tier 2 dependent.

[Steverider]

Sorry for the typo error...I meant after i become tier 4 dependent from tier 2 ICT ( main applicant ) , how do I move to Tier 2 general main applicant. I presume my wife will be tier 4 main on account of getting admission to a uni course with me as Tier 4 dependent but then when she completes her studies will she be required to get a job to get tier 2 general visa ? If she does not get a job and her tier 4 expires but i get my tier 2 general from my employer , how would I become tier 2 primary applicant ? Thanks

[abid4u]

As long as remains as Tier 4 main applicant for a year, that should be fine. From the time you become Tier 4 dependent and complete 1 year on that visa, your Tier 2 cooling period will be served. Then you can switch to Tier 2 general category within country but I guess your wife will need to exit and apply for entry clearance as Tier 2 dependent, experts can correct me or add more to these points.

[Steverider]

Thanks for the response. My understanding has been that 12 month cool off period applies if you are to switch from tier 2 ICT to Tier 2 general however if one is on any other visa then they can switch to Tier 2 general without any cool off restrictions. Is my understanding right ? If yes, then once I move to tier 4 dependent , will I still be required to serve 12 month cool off period ? I understood that cool off period requires a person to be outside the UK for min 12 months OR does it mean one needs to have a gap of min 12 months between ICT to Tier 2 general and during this gap period they CAN BE within the UK as long as they are on any other visa ? I am not too clear about this cool off period thing ? Can some one shed some light on this please ? Thanks.

[iworker]

Your wife can change to tier 4 main applicant within country.
You can change to tier 4 dependent within country. I would suggest at soon as your wife gets the visa.
From Tier 4 dependent, you can change to tier 2 general main applicant within country.
Once you become a tier 2 general main applicant, your wife can switch from tier 4 main applicant to tier 2 dependent within country.

Now the only issue is of the cooling off period and when you can change from tier 4 dependent to tier 2 general. i personally think that there would not be any cooling off period as the last preceding visa was tier 4 dependent. For this take some legal advise.

[Steverider]

Hi,

Any comments from the experts on the above please ? Thanks

[ankjain]

Hi Steve,
I am in exactly same situation as yours. But I have doubt with the scenario you explained. Let me know if this is correct:
- you currently have tier 2 ICT, your wife T2ICT Dep
- your wife will apply for academic course, get T4, you change to T4 Dep
- after you get T4 Dep, you (depending on your employer CoS) could change to T2G
- your wife change to T2G Dep

I feel this is not seen as red-flag or to say a way around current visa norm. With UKBA coming with stricter norms every year hope such changing of Visa category so often not counted against you. If it works, I will follow the same. My wife is enrolling for PHd

Good Luck

[Steverider]

Hi,

Can the experts in the forum please provide their comments on T4 dependent visa limitations and conversion to T2 General rules ?

Considering I move to T4 dependent from ICT , when can i switch to T2 general ? Do I need to wait for min 12 months from the date i switch to Tier 4 from ICT before initiating a request for Tier 2 General ?

My Tier 4 dependent status will be for the duration my wife gets Tier 4 visa so what is the duration for T4 student visa for a masters course ...I presume it will only be for 12 months or can it be for a longer period ? If yes what is the max period T4 student visa can be granted ? Also can my employer provide me a Tier 2 General visa for the same position that I am currently holding ? what are the things my employer needs to bear in mind if they are to provide me a switch to tier 2 General visa from Tier 4 dependent ?

Thanks in advance

[sanket7447]

A letter from their sponsor stating that the migrant is still needed and is paid at the relevant rate as shown on the codes of practice;