Tier 2 Visa: Indefinite Leave to Remain under 5 Year route

A Tier 2 (General) Visa holder may apply for settlement (Indefinite Leave to Remain) after 5 continuous years in the UK. Here are the most common issues that Applicants face with Indefinite Leave to Remain applications under the 5-years’ Tier 2 route. :

1. Changed jobs and / or employers in the last 5 years

Remember, you are only allowed one job with one Tier 2 Sponsor employer per Tier 2 (General) Visa. You must ensure that you were covered by a valid Tier 2 (General) Visa throughout each qualifying employment period.

Changes to your work where a new Tier 2 (General) application is needed include:

• If you change employer
• If you move jobs within the same company, but there are significant changes to your responsibilities

This is the Home Office link to apply for a Tier 2 leave to enter or remain: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/apply

1. You have not been paid the appropriate salary rate

You should have been paid the minimum salary level as stated in your relevant Certificate of Sponsorship throughout the relevant employment period.

Furthermore, you would have to demonstrate that you are paid the below or more when applying for the Indefinite Leave to Remain application:

• £35,500 if the date of application is on or after 6 April 2018,
• £35,800 if the date of application is on or after 6 April 2019,
• £36,200 if the date of application is on or after 6 April 2020,
• £36,900 if the date of application is on or after 6 April 2021,
• £37,900 if the date of application is on or after 6 April 2022,
• £38,800 if the date of application is on or after 6 April 2023,
• £40,100 if the date of application is on or after 6 April 2024.

Certain professions are exempted from this minimum salary requirement:

• Nurses
• Medical radiographers
• Paramedics
• Secondary school teachers in mathematics, physics, chemistry, computer science & Mandarin

This exemption was due to expire in July 2019 but has now been extended.

1. You have a combination of Tier 2 (General) Visa and other visa categories in the last 5 years

You may count time spent on previous Tier 1 Visas, relevant Business Visa and Work Permit towards the 5 years’ qualifying period. You must currently be holding a valid Tier 2 (General) leave to enter or remain. The relevant Immigration Rules are as below:

(b) The applicant must have spent a continuous period of 5 years lawfully in the UK, of which the most recent period must have been spent with leave as a Tier 2 (General) Migrant or Tier 2 (Sportsperson) Migrant, in any combination of the following categories:

(i) as a Tier 1 Migrant, other than a Tier 1 (Post Study Work) Migrant or a Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) Migrant,

(ii) as a Tier 2 (General) Migrant, a Tier 2 (Minister of Religion) Migrant or a Tier 2 (Sportsperson) Migrant,

(iii) as a Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) Migrant, provided the continuous period of 5 years spent lawfully in the UK includes a period of leave as:

(1) a Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) Migrant granted under the Rules in place before 6 April 2010, or

(2) a Work Permit Holder, provided that the work permit was granted because the applicant was the subject of an Intra-Company Transfer,

(iv) as a Representative of an Overseas Business,

(v) as a Highly Skilled Migrant, or

(vi) as a Work Permit Holder.

1. Tier 2 Sponsor Licence employer has not reported relevant change of circumstances to the Home Office

We often encounter Sponsor employers who have failed to report to the Home Office certain change of circumstances of the company or the sponsored Tier 2 employees. This would usually occur when there are changes in the Human Resources staff, changes in company policies, changes with company structure or management, changes with the Level 1 User, Authorising Officer or Key Contact. There is a risk of the Tier 2 Sponsor Licence being suspended or revoked if the Home Office finds a major breach of Sponsor duty. Unfortunately, this may lead to the Tier 2 Indefinite Leave to Remain application being automatically refused, even if it was the fault of your company and not yours. Therefore, it is crucial that your employer has a competent personnel managing the Sponsorship Management System (SMS), or engage an Immigration Specialist to help ensure compliance of the Tier 2 Sponsor’s monitoring and reporting duties.

Monitoring & Reporting responsibilities of Tier 2 Sponsor employers https://www.gov.uk/uk-visa-sponsorship-employers/your-responsibilities

Our Corporate Specialists can help you or your company plan your successful Tier 2 applications.

Call 0203 637 8633 or e-mail info@qc-immigration.com today to discuss further.