When to extend your Tier 2 visa?

By 1st 4Immigration - #1 UK Immigration Experts -
This post is for those who have a Tier 2 (General) visa and is wondering when is the best time to extend it. On one hand, you shouldn’t apply too early because you may be ‘short of visa’ when calculating your qualifying period for Indefinite Leave (permanent residency). On the other hand, you may wish to apply as soon as you can to secure your visa and put your mind at rest (and as often happens, go on a well-deserved holiday).

There is a popular belief that you should apply within 28 days before your current visa expires but that rule is for ILR applications, not extensions. In fact, you can extend your Tier 2 visa within 3 months before it expires. On your Certificate of Sponsorship (COS) your employer has to put some dates for ‘Work start date’ and ‘End date’. These dates relate to your future visa, rather than the job, because you are already doing the job, not starting it. The ‘start date’ has to be within 3 months from the date of application for a visa (no later) and you must use your COS within 3 months from when it was assigned. Therefore, your Tier 2 Sponsor can put ‘Start date’ as the date when your visa expires, so you could apply as early as within 3 months before your visa expires.

At the same time, you won’t be ‘losing’ any period of your current visa because it will last for as long as the date on the COS and won’t be a problem when it comes to ILR.

For example, your current Tier 2 (General) visa expires on 1 December 2015. Your Sponsor puts ‘Start date’ on your new COS as 1 December 2015 (date when your current visa expires) and ‘End date’ as 1 December 2018, ie 3 years later (assuming you’re extending for 3 years, which is often the case if your initial visa was for 3 years). In this scenario you can apply from 1 September 2015 onwards and your visa will have an expiry date on 1 December 2018 and will be enough for ILR! Even if you're using same-day service, which we often do in our practice.

For an individual advice or to make an application please contact us: info@1st4immigration.com or visit www.1st4immigration.com

If you are an Immigration Adviser or a Solicitor please visit our immigration Training and CPD website: www.1st4immigration.com/training

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