Tier 2 Transfer Applications

Tier 2 Transfer Applications relate to situations where an individual with existing leave to remain will either change their employment in county OR switch from one Immigration category to another (e.g. Tier 1 PSW to Tier 2 General).

In order to bring about an In Country Tier 2 Transfer a Tier 2 Licensed Employer will need to assign an ‘Unrestricted’ Certificate of Sponsorship to an individual. Once the CoS has been assigned the worker can apply for the Tier 2 General Visa.

Are you a highly skilled IT, Engineering, or Financial Services Professional? Do you need a Tier 2 General visa for the UK? If so Commonwealth Contractors may be able to help! We partner with Tier 2 Licensed employers and consultancies who may be prepared, where required, to sponsor an individual under Tier 2 General.

Change of Employment Applications

A change of employment application is one in which an individual switches his or her employment from one sponsor to another.

For example an IT Consultant working for one company as a Project Manager on a Tier 2 General Visa is offered a better role with a competitor. Once the new employer has assigned an unrestricted Certificate of Sponsorship the individual can submit a ‘change of employment’ Tier 2 application to move from one employer to the other.

Switching Applications

A ‘switching’ application is one in which a visa holder moves from one visa status to another (e.g. Tier 1 PSW to Tier 2 General).

Tier 1 Post Study Work to Tier 2 General

Now that Tier 1 General (the old HSMP) has been scrapped the only option for those on Tier 1 Post Study Visas is to find a sponsor and secure a Tier 2 General Visa.

If you are on a Tier 1 Post Study Visa at present it is very important that you begin to look for a Tier 2 licensed employer as soon as possible as transferring becomes very difficult (if not impossible) if done at the last minute.

So long as you have worked for the sponsor for at least 6 months in a qualifying role the license holder will not have to complete a Resident Labour Market Test prior to assigning an unrestricted CoS. If you are working at a lower level (sub £30k) this will probably be a deciding factor as to whether you secure sponsorship or not.

Tier 2 ICT to Tier 2 General

At present it is possible to switch from some Tier 2 Intra Company Transfer (ICT) Visas to a Tier 2 General Visa, but only where the Tier 2 ICT visa was initially applied for before April 2011 and in a relevant ICT sub category (please see our Tier 2 ICT page for further details).

Tier 1 General to Tier 2 General

Some individuals on Tier 1 General visas find that they struggle to qualify for an extension. This can be due to a number of factors but normally this is due to insufficient earnings in the qualification period.

If you are an IT Consultant and you believe that you may struggle to qualify for a Tier 1 General Visa extension due to insufficient earnings we may be able to help. For further details please get in contact asap.

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