Hi
I have a unique situation at my hands. a colleague of mine is working in the UK throught Tier 2 Employer sponsored visa.
At the time of application in 2009, his COS apparently had the From and expiry dates as
From date : Jan 2009
expiry date : April 2009 i.e. 3 months of validity of the letter. This was recently revealed to him by the company as a record in their system.
In 2009, He took the same letter to get a visa, switched from Student visa to Tier 2, and got Further Leave to remain for 3 years i.e. Till Jan 2012 .
The UK BA website states
(http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas ... onditions/)
If you were already in the UK and you successfully applied to switch into Tier 2 (General) from another immigration category,
you can remain here for a maximum of 3 years, or the time given on your certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days, whichever is shorter. This period will begin on the start date given on the certificate of sponsorship. If your application was decided early, you can stay in the UK between the date of our decision and the start date on your certificate of sponsorship.
I am very confused about the above statement in bold against his FLR status, which reads expiry as
Jan 2012. Is he really not allowed to stay beyond April 2009 which was when the CoS apparently expired ?
Please clarify this as he
has travelled multiple times post April 2009 out of UK and come in successfully each time without issues.
I am guessing the 3 month period is just validity period of the CoS letter and not the actual term of sponsorship
Please if someone could provide any inputs on this it would be really appreciated.
Cheers
Birdy